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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-120


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - Hotel - Quebec
 NPHQ
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 (2) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

USS LST-120 was transferred to the Republic of Korean and named ROKS Munsan
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 5 May 1943, at Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 7 August 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST-120, 22 September 1943, LT. James F. Conlan Jr., USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-120 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Five, CAPT. G.B. Carter, USN;
    Group Fifteen, CDR. V. K. Busck, USN;
    LST Division Twenty-Nine and
    LST Flotilla Thirteen, CAPT. J.G. Sampson USN (23);
    LST Group Thirty-Seven, CDR. R. D. Higgins USNR;
    LST Division Seventy-Four and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 June to 28 July 1944     		Tinian capture and occupation, 24 to 28 July 1944

  • Following World War II USS LST-120 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    15 to 25 October 1945
    18 November 1945 to 13 February 1946

  • Decommissioned, 7 January 1946 and transferred to Commander Naval Forces Far East (COMNAVFE), Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q004
  • Transferred to the State Department for disposal
  • Sold to the Military Government of Korea February 1947, named ROKS Munsan
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 March 1947
  • USS LST-120 earned two battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, ROKS Munsan, lost by stranding in September 1950
    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 LST-120
    LST-120 20k USS LST-120 underway, date and location unknown. Jim Walker
    LST-120 150k USS LST-120 astern of USS Antelope (IX-109) in Floating Drydock USS ABSD-1 at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 8 January 1945.
    US National Archives photo 80-G-324233, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Naval Historical Center
    ROKS Munsan
    LST-120 123k Ex-USS LST-120 in Republic of Korea service as ROKS Munsan broached on the beach during the Changsadong Raid, 15 to 19 September 1950, while attempting to insert South Korean Guerilla forces behind enemy lines north of Pohang. A second ROK LST is in the background.
    US National Archives photo 80-G-420861, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    LST-120 86k ROKS Munsan visible in the middle distance at center, lies broached in the surf after an attempt to insert South Korean guerrillas behind enemy lines during the Changsadong Raid, 15-19 September 1950.
    US National Archives. Photo #: 80-G-420856, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS LST-120
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Conlan Jr., James F., USNR22 September 1943 - 6 June 1945
    02LCDR. Long, Ralph W., USNR6 June 1945 - 7 January 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
    LST Flotilla Five War Diary May 1944
    LST Flotilla Five War Diary July 1944
    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
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    This page created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 9 June 2023