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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-865

International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Uniform - India
NIUI

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
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with ASia clasp)

USS LST-865 was transferred to the Philippine Navy and named BRP Albay (LT-39)

542-Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 19 October 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.

Launched, 22 November 1944

Commissioned USS LST 865, 16 December 1944, LT. George J. Cain USNR, in command

During World War II USS LST-865 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

Following World War II USS LST-865 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
3 September to 20 December 1945
21 December 1946 23 February 1947	21 December 1946 23 February 1947
20 March to 15 December 1947	20 March to 15 December 1947

Decommissioned, 30 December 1947

Transferred to the Philippine Navy, 30 December 1947, named BRP Albay (LT 39)

Struck from the Naval Register, 22 January 1948

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-865
	200k	USS LST-865 moored in a shipyard, date and location unknown.	Mark Singleton for his father William Singleton S1/c USS LST-865
	185k	USS LST-865 main deck looking aft while moored in a shipyard, date and location unknown.	Mark Singleton for his father William Singleton s1/c USS LST-865
	221k	USS LST-865 main deck looking aft while moored in a shipyard, date and location unknown.	Mark Singleton for his father William Singleton s1/c USS LST-865
	161k	One of USS LST-865 single 40mm gun mounts.	Mark Singleton for his father William Singleton S1/c USS LST-865
	181k	William Singleton , on the right, and shipmate aboard USS LST-865 date and location unknown.	Mark Singleton for his father William Singleton S1/c USS LST-865
	16k	USS LST-865 under way, date and location unknown	LST Home Port
BRP Albay (LT 39)
	363k	Ex-USS LST-865 in Republic of the Philippines service as *BRP Albay* (LT-39) at anchor at Nha Be, Vietnam, 25 November 1971 (background) with RVN Dong Da (HQ-07), ex-USS Crestview (PCE-895)** (foreground).	©Richard Leonhardt
	54k	*BRP Albay* (LT-39)** at anchor at Nha Be, Vietnam, 25 November 1971.	©Richard Leonhardt
	62k	*BRP Albay* (LT-39)** at anchor in 1965, location unknown. Official Philippines Navy photo from the 1966/67 Edition of "Jane's Fighting Ships".	Robert Hurst

USS LST-865
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LT. Cain, George J., USNR	16 December 1944 - 26 October 1945
02	LT. Haight, Robert W., USNR	26 October 1945 - March 1946
03	LTjg. Newton Jr., Fred B., USN	March 1946 - ?
04	LT. Clark, Eugene Franklin	1946


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

Last Updated 12 June 2015