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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-947


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Uniform - Xray
 NVUX
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 (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 15 August 1944, at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA.
  • Launched, 23 September 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-947, 15 October 1944, LT. Rudolph Siemssen USN in command
  • During World War II USS LST-947 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-One, CAPT. W. H. Brereton, USN (24);
     LST Group Sixty-Three, LCDR. R .E. Farnestock USNR;
     LST Division One Hundred Twenty-Six and participated in the following campaign;

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 9 April 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-947 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 23 September 1945 to 1 July 1946
  • Decommissioned, 16 August 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 October 1946
  • USS LST-947 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold, 5 December 1947, to Bosey, Philippines, 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
    LST-947 279k Starboard bow aerial view of USS LST-947 under way in the Atlantic Ocean, 23 October 1944. Photo taken from an airship assigned to lighter-than-air squadron ZP-12 of NAS Lakehurst, New Jersey. LST-947 is wearing camouflage 31/20L. The vertical colors are probably dull black, brown, navy green, ocean green and haze green.
    US National Archives, Photo No. 80-G-286089, courtesy of C. Lee Johnson, usndazzle.com    		 Mike Green
    LST-947
    1016094702    		 245k USS LST-947 in the background at Pearl Harbor Navy Yard in March 1945. The Naval Officer is unidentified.
    TimeLife_image 115948687, by Eugene Smith, Life Magazine. For personal non-commercial use only.    		 David Upton
    USS LST-947
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Siemssen, Rudolph, USN15 October 1944 - May 1946
    02LTjg. Chesley, Robert Leroy, USNMay 1946 - 16 August 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 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 8 October 2021