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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Kent County (LST-855)
ex
 USS LST-855 (1944 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Mike - Sierra
 NIMS
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Second Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Korean Service Medal (6) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal
542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 6 September 1944, at Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, IL.
  • Launched, 27 November 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-855, 21 December 1944, LTjg. Thomas P. Kierl USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-855 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Thirty-One, CAPT. H. S. Covington USN (22);
     LST Group Ninety-One, CDR. Jesse Hogan Motes Jr. USN (31);
     LST Division One Hundred Eighty-One
  • Between World War II and the end of the Korean War USS LST-855 was assigned to both Occupation service and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    28 September to 18 October 1945 
    30 May 1946 to 10 January 194730 May 1946 to 10 January 1947
    24 May to 4 June 194911 January to 4 September 1947
    16 June to 2 July 19491 December 1947 to 17 January 1948
     25 February to 8 March 1948
     26 March 1948 to 21 May 1949
     5 to 15 June 1949
     6 to 11 February 1955

  • Decommissioned, 15 February 1950, at Puget Sound Naval Ship Yard, Bremerton, WA.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group
  • Recommissioned, 3 November 1950, LT. L. J. Parsons in command
  • During the Korean War USS LST-855 participated in the following campaigns

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Communist China Spring Offensive, 22 April to 8 July 1951 Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952, 1 May to 30 November 1952
    UN Summer-Fall Offensive, 9 July to 27 November 1951 Third Korean Winter, 1 December 1952 to 30 April 1953
    Second Korean Winter, 28 November 1951 to 30 April 1952 Korea, Summer-Fall 1953, 1 May to 27 July 1953

  • USS LST-855 and other units of US Seventh Fleet evacuated refugees and Free (Nationalist) Chinese troops from the Tachen Islands in February 1955 after their position there became untenable
  • Named USS Kent County (LST-855), 1 July 1955
  • Decommissioned, 22 January 1958
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS LST-855 earned six battle stars for Korean War service
  • Final Disposition, sunk as a target, 19 March 1958
    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-855
    LCT-1195 552k LCT-1195, LCT-841 and USS LST-855 beached at Okinawa in 1945.
    Photo by Donald Berton Dale RM3/c LCT-1195    		 Bernard Urbanik
    Kent County 50k USS LST-855 at anchor at Shanghai in 1946 Ted Poppke for his father David Poppke MoMM3/c USS LST-855
    Kent County 444k USS LST-855 at anchor, circa 1946-47, location unknown. Ted Poppke for his father David Poppke MoMM3/c USS LST-855
    Kent County 455k USS LST-855 crew photo, 14 April 1946, San Diego, CA. Ted Poppke for his father David Poppke MoMM3/c USS LST-855
    Kent County 111k USS LST-855 under way, date and location unknown. Photo by R. D. Comes USS LST-855
    Kent County 126k USS LST-855 under way, date and location unknown. L. L. Edmunson RMSN USS LST-855
    Kent County 97k USS LST-855 drydocked at Yokosuka, Japan, 1951. Standing on the drydock is RMSN L.L. Edmunson. L. L. Edmunson RMSN USS LST-855
    Kent County 72k USS LST-855 beached at Makpo, Korea, while disembarking Korean refuges in 1951. Note downfall fire hoses from the on-deck heads. Photo by L. L. Edmunson RMSN USS LST-855
    Kent County 82k USS LST-855 beached at Koje-Do, Korea, 19 October 1951. Photo by L. L. Edmunson RMSN USS LST-855
    Kent County 58k USS LST-855 beached at Koje-Do, Korea, 19 October 1951. Photo by L. L. Edmunson RMSN USS LST-855
    Kent County 62k USS LST-855 beached at Paengnyong-Do, Korea, 22 December 1951. Photo by L. L. Edmunson RMSN USS LST-855
    Kent County 82k USS LST-855 beached at Paengnyong-Do, Korea, 22 December 1951, while disembarking refugees. Photo by L. L. Edmunson RMSN USS LST-855
    Kent County 57k USS LST-855 beached at Paengnyong-Do, Korea, 22 December 1951. Photo by L. L. Edmunson RMSN USS LST-855
    Kent County 151k USS LST-855 beached at Paengnyong-Do, Korea, 22 December 1951. Photo by L. L. Edmunson RMSN USS LST-855
    Kent County 104k USS LST-855 iced in at Cho-Do, Korea February 1953. Photo by R. D. Comes USS LST-855
    Kent County 78k USS LST-855 beached at Paengnyong-Do, Korea, February 1953. Photo by R. D. Comes USS LST-855
    Kent County 67k USS LST-855 and USS LST-1096 beached at Paengnyong-Do, Korea, December 1953 . Photo by R. D. Comes USS LST-855
    Kent County
    1016085519    		 229k Port side view of USS LST-855 underway, date and location unknown. John R. Justice
    Kent County
    1016085520    		 241k Starboard side view of USS LST-855 at anchor, date and location unknown. John R. Justice
    Kent County
    1016085521    		 201k LT. Richard R. Justice, USN Commanding Officer of USS LST-855 on the bridge, date and location unknown. John R. Justice
    USS Kent County (LST-855)
    Kent County
    1016085526    		 311k USS Kent County LST-855 at anchor, 1 July 1955, location unknown.
    Photo belonged to LT. Richard R. Justice, USN, commanding officer, submitted by his son, John R. Justice, 21 September 2017, to wikipedia Commons.    		 Robert Hurst
    Kent County
    1016085518    		 232k LT. Richard R. Justice, USN Commanding Officer of USS Kent County (LST-855) and a small boat coxswain in one of the ship's LCVPs, circa July 1955. John R. Justice
    Kent County
    1016085523    		 239k July 1956 Change of Command, LT. Frank E. Johnson Jr. USN relieved LT. Richard R. Justice, USN of command of USS Kent County (LST-855). John R. Justice
    Kent County
    1016085524    		 278k
    Kent County
    1016085525    		 274k
    USS LST-855 / USS Kent County (LST-855)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LTjg. Kierl, Thomas P.21 December 1944 - December 1945
    02LT. Rowland, Charles W., USNRDecember 1945 - March 1946
    03LT. Deitenbeck, Hugo, USNRMarch 1946 - 1946
    04LTjg. Taylor, John K.1946 - ?
    05LT. Weidemeyer, Dick1949 - 15 February 1950
     Decommissioned15 February 1950 - 3 November 1950
    06LT. Parsons, Lloyd J., USNR3 November 1950 - ?
    07LT. Baker Jr., Lawrence Herman, USN1952 - January 1955
    08LT. Justice, Richard Rodman, USNJanuary 1955 - July 1956
    09LT. Johnson Jr., Frank Ernest, USNJuly 1956 - 1957
    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
    USS Kent County Newspaper articles
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Home Port
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Tank Landing Ship (LST) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 2 April 2021