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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Hamilton County (LST-802)
ex
 USS LST-802 (1944 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Alpha - Kilo
 NHAK
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended)
Second row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal (7)
Fourth Row - Philippines Liberation Medal - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

USS Hamilton County (LST-802) was transferred to Japan and renamed JDS Hayatomo (MSL-461)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 2 September 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 19 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-802, 13 November 1944, ENS. Kenneth G. Adams, USNR, in command
  • During World War II LST-802 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-Three CAPT. W. W. Weeden Jr., USN;
     LST Group Sixty-Seven, CDR V. A. King USN;
     LST Division One Hundred Thirty-Three and participated in the follow campaign:

    Asiatic Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 8 May to 29 June 1945

  • USS LST-802 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    29 September to 26 October 19455 to 12 February 1955
    20 November 1945 to 15 April 1946 

  • Decommissioned, 21 July 1946, at Guam, Marianas Islands, and laid up in reserve
  • Assigned to Commander Naval Forces Far East (COMNAVFE) Naval Shipping Control Agency (SCAJAP), 21 July 1947, may have been designated Q101
  • Recommissioned, 30 August 1950, at Sasebo Japan, LT. Vladimir Fedorowicz in command
  • During the Korean War USS LST-802 participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    North Korean Aggression
    18 September to 2 Nov 1950     		UN Summer-Fall Offensive
    20 to 27 November 1951
    Communist China Aggression
    3 to 18 November 1950
    23 December 1950 to 24 January 1951     		Second Korean Winter
    28 November to 10 December 1951
    21 December 1951
    28 December 1951 to 17 January 1952
    21 to 26 February 1952
    21 March to 1 April 1952
    Inchon Landing
    15 to 17 September 1950     		Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
    3 to 12 May 1952
    First UN Counter Offensive
    25 January to 21 February 1951     		 

  • Named USS Hamilton County (LST-802), 1 July 1955
  • Decommissioned, 30 June 1960, loaned to Japan under the Military Assistance Program, renamed JDS Hayatomo (MSL-461)
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 July 1960
  • USS LST-802 earned one battle star for World War II service and seven battle stars for Korean War service
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement
    1,625 t.(lt)
    4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
    2,366 t. (beaching displacement)
    Length 328' o.a.
    Beam 50'
    Draft
    light 2' 4" fwd, 7' 6" aft
    sea-going 8' 3" fwd, 14' 1" aft
    landing 3' 11" fwd, 9' 10" aft (landing w/500 ton load)
    limiting 11' 2"
    maximum navigation 14' 1"
    Speed 11.6 kts. (trial)
    Endurance 24,000 miles @ 9kts. while displacing 3960 tons
    Complement
    13 officers
    104 enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    16 officers
    147 enlisted
    Boats 2 LCVP
    Cargo Capacity (varied with mission - payloads between 1600 and 1900 tons)
    Typical loads
    One Landing Craft Tank (LCT), tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment and military supplies. A ramp or elevator forward allowed vehicles access to tank deck from main deck
    Additional capacity included sectional pontoons carried on each side of vessel amidships, to either build Rhino Barges or use as causeways. Married to the bow ramp, the causeways would enabled payloads to be delivered ashore from deeper water or where a beachhead would not allow the vessel to be grounded forward after ballasting
    Armament (varied with availability when each vessel was outfitted. Retro-fitting was accomplished throughout WWII. The ultimate armament design for United States vessels was
    2 - Twin 40MM gun mounts w/Mk. 51 directors
    4 - Single 40MM gun mounts
    12 single 20MM gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 4,300 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two General Motors 12-567A, 900hp Diesel engines
    single Falk Main Reduction Gears
    three Diesel-drive 100Kw 230V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    two propellers, 1,700shp
    twin rudders
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS LST-802
    Hamilton County 524k USS LST-802 underway, date and location unknown. Note the LCI(L) in the upper right corner of the photo.
    US National Archives photo # USN USN 1045711, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Smolinski
    Hamilton County 119k USS LST-802 unloading vehicles at Inchon, South Korea. A Jeep is rolling down her ramp, and a bulldozer is parked on the beach. Photograph dated 16 November 1950.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # 80-G-467287    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Hamilton County 106k USS LST-802) at Inchon, South Korea, 2 April 1952. Note nested LSUs, far left, and US Army barge BK-8082 in the foreground.
    US Army Signal Corps photo by CPL. W. B. Buck, 225th Signal Service Co.    		 Tommy Trampp
    COMNAVFE (SCAJAP) Q101
    Hamilton County 105k Ex-USS LST-802 COMNAVFE (SCAJAP) LST Q101 beached at Inchon, South Korea, 16 September 1950. Another black-hulled Q LST is beached in the far distance.
    US Navy photo # 467292.    		 James Swank
    JDS Hayatomo (MSL-461)
    Hamilton County 45k Ex-USS Hamilton County (LST-802) in Japanese service as JDS Hayatomo (MSL-461) at anchor, date and location unknown. Robert Hurst
    USS LST-802 / USS Hamilton County (LST-802)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01ENS/LT. Adams, Kenneth G., USNR13 November 1944 - 5 May 1945
    02LT. Ray, Claris B., USNR5 May 1945 - 17 January 1946
    03LTjg. Bennett, Ernest Herman, USN17 January 1946 - 21 July 1946
     Decommissioned21 July 1946 - 30 August 1950
    04LT. Fedorowicz, Vladimir30 August 1950 - 1952
    05LT. Earl, Howard Douglas, USN (USNA 1945)1952
    06LT/LCDR. Weatherby, Vernon Ward, USN1955 - 28 March 1957
    07LT. Williams, Charles Dean, USN 28 March 1957 - 26 June 1959
    08LT. Dodd, Charles Allan, USN26 June 1959 - 15 June 1960
    09LTjg. Bishop, Larry D., USNR15 June 1960 - 30 June /1960
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Homeport
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 22 March 2024