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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Harbor Utility Craft - YFU-18
ex
 Landing Craft Utility - LCU-869 (1952 - 1958)
 Landing Ship Utility - LSU-869 (1949 - 1952)
 Landing Craft Tank - LCT(6)-869 (1944 - 1949)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal (8) - Vietnam Service Medal (1)
Fourth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)
Landing Craft Tank (Mark 6) / YFU-1 Class Harbor Utility Craft:
  • Laid Down, 19 February 1944, at Derby Products of Steel Plate Corp., Kansas City, KS.
  • Launched, 21 March 1944
  • Delivered, 30 March 1944
  • Placed in service, date unknown
  • During World War II LCT(6)-869 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LCT Flotilla Twenty-Four, LCDR F. Carmondy
     LCT Group Seventy, at New Guinea, the Philippines and Okinawa
  • Following World War II LCT(6)-869 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 20 December 1945 to 18 March 1946
  • Reclassified Landing Ship Utility LSU-869 in 1949
  • During the Korean War LSU-869 participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    North Korean Aggression
    18 September to 2 November 1950    		 Communist China Spring Offensive
    22 April to 8 July 1951
    Communist China Aggression
    3 November to 20 December 1950    		 UN Summer Fall Offensive
    9 to 23 July 1951
    Inchon Landing
    13 to 17 September 1950    		 Second Korean Winter 10 to 30 April 1952
    First UN Counter Offensive
    1 to 23 February 1951    		 Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
    1 to 20 May 1952

  • Reclassified Landing Craft Utility LCU-869, 15 April 1952
  • Reclassified as Harbor Utility Craft (YFU-18), 18 May 1958
  • Existing records at NavSource indicate YFU-18 was assigned to the Naval Support Activity, Danang, South Vietnam during the Vietnam War and participated in the following campaigns:

    Vietnam War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VI
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III Tet/69 Counteroffensive
    Tet Counteroffensive Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V  

  • Placed out of service, date unknown
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 July 1972
  • LCT(6)-869 earned eight battle stars as LSU-869 during the Korean War and nine campaign star as YFU-18 during the Vietnam War
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 3 March 1973, by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service
    LCT / LSU / LCU Specifications:
    Displacement 143 to 160 t.(lt), 309 to 320 t.(fl)
    Length 119' 1" (ovl.)
    Beam 32' 8"
    Draft
    limiting 3' 9"
    maximum navigation 5'
    Speed 10 kts.
    Range 700 nautical miles at 7 kts.
    Complement
    1 officer
    12 enlisted
    Cargo Capacity 150 short tons
    Armament
    two single 20mm AA gun mounts
    four .50 cal. machine guns
    Armor
    wheelhouse 20lbs
    gun shields 10lbs
    Fuel Capacity Diesel 80 Bbls
    Propulsion
    three Grey Marine 6-71 Diesel engines
    two Diesel-drive 10Kw 120V. D.C. Ships' Service Generators
    three propellers, 675shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    LSU-869
    LCT-869 20k LSU-869 off loading troops, date and place unknown. Andy Jackson
    LCT-869 47k LSU-869 off loading bombs at Inchon, Korea, 1951. Andy Jackson
    LCT-869 18 LSU-869 with a tank gun barrel through her well deck. The tank was dropped from a merchant ship while unloading. Its turret gun went all the way through the well deck, 1951 Andy Jackson
    LCT-869 27k LSU-869 transporting 250 lb. bombs, That's Andy Jackson standing on the pile of bombs, 1951 Andy Jackson
    LCT-869 37k LSU-869 moored, South Korea, 1951 Andy Jackson
    LCT-869 145k LSU-869 with North Korean or Chinese Communist Prisoners-of-War aboard. LSU-869 was transporting the prisoners either to or from USS Chara (AKA-58) from or to Koje-do Island prison, circa 1951-1952. Photo courtesy Wilbur "Casey" Karsten USS Chara David Kusel
    YFU-18
    LCT-869 8k YFU-18 beached in South Vietnam at the Chu Li supply ramp, circa 1968-69. Tom Dudek EN2 USN YFU-18
    LCT-869 7k YFU-18 beached in South Vietnam at the Chu Li supply ramp, circa 1968-69. Tom Dudek EN2 USN YFU-18
    LCT-869 8k YFU-18 beached in South Vietnam at the Chu Li supply ramp, circa 1968-69. Tom Dudek EN2 USN YFU-18
    YFU-74 82k Lighterage Division craft at the Division Headquarters in the harbor at Da Nang, South Vietnam, from left to right; unidentified YFU, YFU-4, YFU-18, YFU-7, YFU-74 and an unidentified YFU, circa January 1968 to February, 1970. Steven Wetzler
    There is no history for LCT(6)-869 / LSU-869 / LCU-869 / YFU-18 available at NavSource
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information Web Sites
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    World War II LCT Flotillas
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Landing Craft Tank (LCT) Photo Index Back To The Yard and District Craft Type Index Back To The Harbor Utility Craft (YFU) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 13 September 2019