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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS La Moure County (LST-883)
ex
 USAT LST-883 (1946 - 1950)
 USS LST-883 (1945 - 1946)


1945-1946 International Radio Call Sign:
Nan - Item - Zebra - How
 NIZH
1950-1959 International Radio Call Sign:
November - Uniform - Golf - Charlie
 NUGC
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Second Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal (7)
Third Row - United Nations Service Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 16 November 1944, at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 30 December 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-883, 23 January 1945, LT. Winfield H. Cook USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-883 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Thirty-Two, CAPT. D. J. Sweeny;
    LST Group Ninety-Five, CDR. J. Capponi USNR;
     LST Division One Hundred Eighty-Nine and participated in the:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 to 30 June 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-883 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    8 to 29 September 1945
    30 October to 9 November 1945

  • Decommissioned from the Naval Register, 20 April 1946, at Samar, Philippine Islands
  • Custody transferred to the US Army Transport Service, 26 August 1946 and commissioned USAT LST-883
  • Struck from the Naval Register in 1948
  • Reacquired by the US Navy, 1 July 1950 and reinstated on the Naval Register
  • Recommissioned USS LST-883, 26 August 1950, at Yokosuka, Japan, LT Charles M. Miller in command
  • During the Korean War USS LST-883 participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    North Korean Aggression Campaign
    18 September to 2 November 1950     		Second Korean Winter Campaign
    28 December 1951 to 9 January 1952
    27 January to 13 March 1952
    20 to 28 March 1952
    Communist China Aggression Campaign
    3 November to 27 December 1950     		Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 Campaign
    10 June to 14 July 1952
    Inchon Landing
    15 to 17 September 1950     		Korea, Summer-Fall 1953
    27 July 1953
    First UN Counter Offensive Campaign
    3 February to 7 March 1951     		 

  • Named USS La Moure County (LST-883), 1 July 1955
  • Decommissioned, 7 December 1959, at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 January 1960
  • USS La Moure County as LST-883 earned one battle star for World War II service and seven battle stars for Korean War service
  • Final Disposition, sold to Zidell Explorations Corp, 30 November 1960 for scrapping
    Specifications:
    Displacement
    1,625 t.(lt)
    4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
    2,366 t.
    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
    La Moure County 39k USS LST-883 at anchor off Puget Sound Navy Yard, 20 April 1945. Puget Sound Navy Yard photo # 2068 of 20 April 1945, cropped. Tracy White
    La Moure County 44k USS LST-883 beached, date and location unknown. LST-883 web site
    La Moure County 59k USS LST-883 beached, date and location unknown. LST-883 web site
    La Moure County 12k USS LST-883 beached on a ramp at Inchon, Korea, circa 1951 LST Home Port web site
    La Moure County 22k USS LST-883 beached, at Taeyanpyong, Korea, circa 1953. LST Home Port web site
    La Moure County
    1016088306    		 391k USS LST-883 underway, date and location unknown.
    US National Archives photo # USN 1045992, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Smolinski
    USS LST-883 / La Moure County (LST-883)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Cook, Winfield H., USNR23 January 1945 - December 1945
    02LT. Hager Jr., Harry G., USNRDecember 1945 - March 1946
    03LTjg. Kovach Jr., John., USNRMarch 1946 - 20 April 1946
     Decommissioned20 April 1946 - 26 August 1950
    04LT. Miller, Charles Mentor, USN26 August 1950 - ?
    05LT. Gant, Ralph Warren, USN1952
    06LCDR. Schmuckal, Kurt Henry, USN1955 - 14 June 1956
    07LT/LCDR. Lund, Howard Roy, USN14 June 1956 - 10 April 1958
    08LT Ruecker, Kenneth Henry, USN10 April 1958 - 7 December 1959
    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 1 March 2024