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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Proton (AKS-28)
ex
 USS Proton (AG-147) (1949 - 1951)
 USS LST-1078 (1945 - 1949)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Juliet - Quebec
 NAJQ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 27 March 1945, at Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, MA.
  • Launched, 25 April 1945
  • Commissioned USS LST-1078, 15 May 1945, LT. George W. Miller USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-1078 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Following World War II USS LST-1078 was assigned to Occupation and China Service in the Far East for the following period:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    18 October to 5 November 194518 January to 9 October 1947

  • Decommissioned and laid up, 29 April 1948 , in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group
  • Named Proton (AG-147) in January 1949
  • Recommissioned, 7 April 1951, at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA., as USS Proton (AKS-28)
  • Decommissioned, 22 April 1958, at Naval Supply Center, Oakland, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 January 1959
  • Final Disposition, 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
    USS Proton (AG-147)
    Proton 215k USS Proton (AG-147) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from the collections of the US Naval Memorial.    		 Stan Svec
    USS Proton (AKS-28)
    Proton
    09162805    		 219k Proton (AKS-28) moored at San Francisco Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point, 6 April 1951 the day before being commissioned as the navy's second Electronics Supply and Repair Ship.
    US Navy photo    		 Darryl Baker
    Proton 53k USS Proton (AKS-28) moored to a buoy, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from the collections of the US Naval Memorial.    		 Stan Svec
    Proton 124k USS Proton (AKS-28) under way in San Francisco Bay after completing a Pacific deployment, December 1957. Note the "Homeward Bound pennant.
    Photo by ©Allied Photographers of San Francisco.    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Proton 154k USS Proton (AKS-28) moored pierside, circa 1955-56, location unknown. Mary A Wells for her father LTjg. Edward A. Lyon USS Proton
    USS LST-1078 / USS Proton (AKS-28)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Miller, George W., USNR15 May 1945 - 8 December 1945LST-1078
    02LT. Tolchinsky, Samuel, USNR8 December 1945 - 29 March 1946LST-1078
    03LTjg. Heinz, Randal E., USNR29 March 1946 - July 1946LST-1078
    04LT. Ray, James McCoy, USNJuly 1946 - 29 April 1948LST-1078
     Decommissioned24 April 1948 - 7 April 1951 
    05LCDR. Henderson, Paul Edwin, USN 1953 - ?USS Proton (AKS-28)
    06LCDR. Higgins, Arthur Eugene, USN 1957 - 1957USS Proton (AKS-28)
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    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 8 July 2022