Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-52


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Delta - Tango - Charlie
 NDTC
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1)
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 16 September 1943 at Dravo Corp., Neville Island, PA.
  • Launched, 20 October 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST-52, 15 December 1943, LTjg. Robert H. Freeman, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS USS LST-52 was first assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and later to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign:

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944,

  • While assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater USS LST-52 came under the command of
    LST Flotilla Thirty-Five, CAPT. D. H. Johnston USN (22);
    LST Group One Hundred Four, CDR. D. Stubbs USN (25);
    LST Division Two Hundred Five
  • Following World War II USS LST-52 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    16 September to 3 November 1945
    28 December 1945 to 5 January 1946

  • USS LST-52 was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.2.5 (Target Vessels - Landing Craft Units - LST Group 9 (LST GRU 9) for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946
  • Decommissioned at Bikini Atoll, 1 August 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 30 April 1948
  • USS LST-52 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sunk as a target, 19 April 1948, at Bikini Atoll
    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
    9 officers
    120 enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    14 officers
    131 enlisted
    Boats 6 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-52 66k USS LST-52 under way with troops and vehicles on her deck, during the Normandy operation, June 1944.
    US Navy photo # NH 84843 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, Courtesy of William H. Davis, 1976.    		 Gerd Metthes
    LST-52 324k USS LST-52 sits empty and high and dry on the beach at Normandy, circa June 1944. She has unloaded and is waiting for a high tide to extract herself off the beach.
    Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum Photo # LST 52 91456, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum.    		 Darryl Baker
    LST-52 11k USS LST-52 under way with LCT-414 cradled on her deck, sometime after the end of World War II in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, date and location unknown. Jim Walker
    Gasconade 254k View of the wharf area Pearl Harbor Navy Yard from over the submarine base, 27 February 1946. Among ships present are:
    USS Barrow (APA-61),
    USS Brule (APA-66),
    USS Gasconade (APA-85), and
    USS Appling (APA-58);
    USS LST 219,
    USS LST 285,
    USS LST 388 and
    USS LST 52 with
    LCT 812 and
    LCT 414 embarked;
    USS Briscoe (APA-65) and
    USS Bladen (APA-63).
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-361747, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Navy History and Heritage Command
    Gasconade 182k Pearl Harbor Navy Yard amphibious ships alongside the wharf, 27 February 1946. Some are being prepared for target service at Bikini. Ships are (1st group):
    USS Briscoe (APA-65) and
    USS Bladen (APA-63)
    (second group):
    USS LST 52 with
    LCT 812 and
    LCT 414 embarked;
    USS LST 388 and
    USS LST 285,
    USS LST 219,
    third group):
    USS Appling (APA-58),
    USS Gasconade (APA-85),
    USS Barrow (APA-61), and
    USS Brule (APA-66).
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-361731, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Navy History and Heritage Command
    Gasconade 250k Aerial view of Pearl Harbor Navy Yard looking toward the drydock area from over the submarine base, 27 February 1946. Among the ships present are: seven Sims, McCall, Gridley, and Mahan class destroyers;
    USS Barrow (APA-61),
    USS Brule (APA-66),
    USS Gasconade (APA-85), and
    USS Appling (APA-58);
    USS LST 219,
    USS LST 285,
    USS LST 388 and
    USS LST 52 with
    LCT 812 and
    LCT 414 embarked;
    USS Briscoe (APA-65) and
    USS Bladen (APA-63).
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-361740, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Navy History and Heritage Command
    USS LST-52
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LTjg. Freeman, Robert H., USNR15 December 1943 - November 1945
    02LTjg. Boggs, Carl E., USNNovember 1945 - 1 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 Homeport
    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
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page created by and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 27 Apil 2018