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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST(H)-871
ex
 USS LST-871 (1945)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Uniform - Xray
 NIUX
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 9 November 1944. at Jeffersonville Boat & Machinery Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 20 December 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-871, 15 January 1945, LT. Frank W. Summers USNR in command
  • During World War II LST-871 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Thirty-Two, CAPT. D. J. Sweeny;
     LST Group Ninety-Four, CDR. E. Roughton USN;
     LST Division One Hundred Eighty-Seven
  • Redesignated Landing Ship Tank (Hospital) LST(H)-871, 15 September 1945
  • Following World War II USS LST(H)-871 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    22 to 30 September 1945
    25 October 1945 to 28 February 1946
    14 April to 4 May 1946

  • USS LST-871 was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.8.7 (Service Group - Rongerik Evacuation Unit for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946
  • Decommissioned, 4 October 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 13 November 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold for commercial operation, 30 June 1948, to Humble Oil & Refining Co., Houston, TX.
    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
    LST-871
    1016087102    		 274k LST-871 on the builders ways at Jeffersonville Boat & Machinery Co., Jeffersonville, IN., prior to launching on 20 December 1944. Bill Glass
    LST-871
    1016087103    		 242k LST-871 Launching, 20 December 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat & Machinery Co., Jeffersonville, IN. Bill Glass
    LST-819 327k Ten LSTs moored at the Yonabaru Pier, Okinawa, 23 July 1945. From right to left:

    USS LST-819,
    USS LST-879,
    USS LST-681,
    USS LST-926,
    USS LST-944,
    ?
    USS LST-715,
    USS LST-918,
    USS LST-871,
    ?
    ?
    US Navy photo 21st USNCB Neg. No. 204.    		 Donn Cuson
    LST-871 88k LST-871 beached at Truk Island, 6 February 1946. Carol Simpson for Richard M. Powell S1/c
    USS LST-871, 9 January 1945 to 15 June 1946.
    USS LST-871
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Summers, Frank W., USNR15 January 1945 - 20 October 1945
    02LT. Fadem, Leroy, USNR20 October 1945 - 3 January 1946
    03ENS. Fletcher, Milton B., USNR3 January 1946 - July 1946
    04LT. Watkins, James C., USNJuly 1946 - 4 October 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
    Action Report - Landing of Occupation Forces, Nagasaki Japan, September 1945
    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 17 March 2023