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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive


Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Stark County (LST-1134)
ex
USS LST-1134 (1945 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Golf - Oscar
NKGO
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
Second Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Korean Service Medal (3) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)



USS Stark County (LST-1134) transferred to Thailand, renamed HTMS Pangan (LST-713)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 18 December 1944, at Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, IL.
  • Launched, 16 March 1945
  • Commissioned USS LST-1134, 7 April 1945, LT. Charles R. Barheght USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-1134 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Thirty-Four, CAPT. H. H. Tiemroth;
    LST Group One Hundred
    LST Division One Hundred Ninety-Nine
  • Following World War II USS LST-1134 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 15 September 1945 to 4 January 1946
  • During the Korean War USS LST-1134 participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Inchon Landing
    13 to 17 September 1950
    Communist China Aggression
    14 to 27 December 1950
    North Korean Aggression
    18 to 24 September 1950
     

  • Named Stark County (LST-1134), 1 July 1955
  • Decommissioned, 16 May 1966, and transferred to Thailand and commissioned into the Royal Thai Navy as HTMS Pangan (LST-13)
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Renumbered by the Thai Navy LST-713 between 1995 and 1997
  • Decommissioned by the Thai Navy, date unknown, to be used as a museum and tourist attraction at Koh Phan-gan, Thailand
    Specifications: (as reported by Office of Naval Intelligence-1945)
    Displacement 1,625 t.(lt), 4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
    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)
    Speed 12 kts. (maximum)
    Endurance 24,000 miles @ 9kts. while displacing 3960 tons
    Complement
    7 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
    Propulsion
    two General Motors 12-567, 900hp Diesel engines
    two propeller shafts
    twin rudders

    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Stark County (LST-1134)
     151k USS LST-1090 and USS LST-1134 (background) beached, circa 1945, location unknown. Duane Gallagher courtesy the collection of Harold Tait USS LST-1090
    LST-1134
    1016113408
    305k USS LST-1134 underway, date and location unknown.
    US National Archives photo # USN 1045662, a US Navy photo from the US Naval History and Heritage Command collection
    Mike Smolinski
    LST-1120 885k Aerial view of ships berthed at Mare Island, 8 February 1946.
    Left (inboard to outboard):
    USS LST-1134,
    USS LST-828,
    USS LST-1088,
    USS LST-1120
    and YOS-1.
    Right (inboard to outboard):
    USS General William Mitchell (AP-114),
    USS General G. M. Randall (AP-115),
    YD-33 and what appears to be
    YC-293.
    Darryl Baker
    Stark County 38k USS LST-1134 beached in South Korea, circa December 1948 - February 1950 Bruce Billig for his father
    CDR. August Billig USN Ret
    (deceased), CO USS LST-1134 Dec48 to Feb50.
    Stark County 73k USS Stark County (LST-1134) The "Hilo Queen" beached at Smugglers Cove, Kahoolawe Island (about 150 miles ESE of Honolulu) in support of a CB operation in October 1964. Ashley Waters ETN3 Stark County 1964 to 1966
    Stark County 131k USS Stark County (LST-1134) at Naval Station Pearl Harbor.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, April 1961.
    Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    HTMS Pangan (LST-713)
    Stark County
    1016113410
    157k HTMS Pangan (LST-713) (ex-USS Stark County (LST-1134) enters the unloading slip in Saigon harbor, 15 July 1967. She has onboard the 521st Engineer Company of the Royal Thai Army (Queen's Cobra).
    U.S. National Archives and Records Administration photo # 111-CCV-535-CC41192 by PFC Richard S. Durrance.
    Robert Hurst
    Lincoln County 202k HTMS Pangan (LST-713) moored pierside outboard of HTMS Lanta (LST-714) (ex-USS Stone County (LST-1141)) at the Royal Thai Navy Dock Yard Phachunlachomklao, 8 January 2005. Photo by Nye Nava
    Stark County 44k HTMS Pangan (LST-713) off the coast of Koh Chang, Thailand, 7 December 2005. Bootsaraporn Boosnampet
    Stark County 202k HTMS Pangan (LST-713) moored pierside at the Royal Thai Navy Dock Yard Phachunlachomklao, 13 January 2007. At this stage of her service life Pangan was used primarily for training. Photo by Nye Nava
    Lincoln County 195k The decommissioned Royal Thai Navy LSTs HTMS Pangan (LST-713) and HTMS Chang (LST-712) (ex-USS Lincoln County (LST-898) moored pierside at the Royal Thai Navy Dock Yard Phachunlachomklao, 14 January 2008. The patrol craft HTMS Pattani (511) is in the foreground. Photo by Nye Nava
    Stark County 430k Ex-HTMS Pangan (LST-713) arriving at the Island Koh Phan-gan, Thailand, 21 January 2011 to become a museum and tourist attraction for the Island. David Baguley
    Stark County
    1016113409
    273k Ex-HTMS Pangan (LST-713) arrived in the Koh Phan-gan district, Surat Thani, Thailand, 21 January 2011, to be converted into a museum ship. Here she sits at sunset at Surat Thani in January 2020. Brian Baird
    Stark County
    1016113411
    207k The Royal Thai Navy museum shipHTMS Pangan (LST-713) near Thong Sala Pier in Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand, 14 June 2018.
    Photo courtesy Christophe95. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
    Robert Hurst

    USS Stark County (LST-1134)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Barheght, Charles R., USNR7 April 1945- 14 April 1945
    02LT. Beebe, Frank D., USNR14 April 1945 - 23 November 1945
    03LTjg. Thomas, Robert Sliggins, USN23 November 1945 - 1946
    04LTjg. Dooge Jr., B. Russell, USN1946 - 1946
    05ENS. Royce, Charles W., USNR1946 - 1947
    06LT. Warring, Leo Bruce. USNR1947 - 1948
    07LT. Crossan, Henry Mitchell, USN1948 - 22 September 1948
    08LT. Hightower Jr., John Newton, USN22 September 1948 - ?
    09LCDR. Bradley, John Rose, USN1955 - 17 March 1956
    10LT. Beaman, Percy Stuart, USN17 March 1956 - 28 June 1958
    11LT/LCDR. Hotes, John Lawrence, USN28 June 1958 - 27 June 1959
    12LT. Johnson, Frederick Charles (Fox), USN (USNA 1952) :RADM27 June 1959 - 2 August 1961
    13LT. Hamel III, Louis Henry, USN (USNA 1954)2 August 1961 - 17 April 1963
    14LT. Karn Jr., Alvin Reuben USN17 April 1963 - 29 June 1965
    15LT. Rice, William Robert USN29 June 1965 - 16 May 1966
    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
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 1 March 2024