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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST(H)-121
ex
 USS LST-121 (1943 - 1945)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - Lima - Charlie
 NPLC
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 (5) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 23 May 1943, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 16 August 1943
  • Accepted by the US Navy and placed in reduced commission for ferrying to New Orleans, LT. Marshall, USCG (Ferry Command) in command
  • Placed in full commission as USS LST-121, 29 September 1943, LT. John P. Devaney, USNR, in command
  • During World War II LST-121 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Three, CDR USN (22);
     LST Group Nine, CDR. S. A. Leif USNR;
     LST Division Seventeen and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Marshall Islands operation
    Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 31 January to February 1944     		Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 June to 28 July 1944     		Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 to 28 February 1945
    Tinian capture and occupation, 24 to 28 July 1944  

  • USS LST-121 was redesignated Landing Ship Tank (Hospital) LST(H)-121, 15 September 1945
  • Following World War II USS LST(H)-121 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 23 September to 20 November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 21 March 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 May 1946
  • USS LST-121 earned five battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 14 April 1946, to Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Chester, PA.
    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 Source
    LST-121
    1016012102    		 177k USS LST-121 loading troops at Guadalcanal, 27 August 1944, during exercises prepairng for the invasion of the Palau Islands.
    Frame from a short film called " Marines on Maneuvers At Guadalcanal in Preparation for Palau Invasion", National Archives ID 77567, Local ID 428-NPC-5572. Photographed by Cpl. J. A. Thompson, 1st Marine Div. Photo Sec. Dept. of the Navy.    		 David Upton
    LST-121 42k USS LST-121 aground in the Cooper River, near Charleston, SC. She had been driven aground by a severe storm. circa 1945-46. Photo by Leroy Roland Jim Fine

    For more photos and information about USS LST-121 see;
  • Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
  • Western Caroline Islands Attack Landing Order
  • Beach White Peleliu - CTF 32 Operation Plan A501-44 Appendix 4 to Annex "D"
  • The USS LST Ship Memorial
  • LST Home Port
  • State LST Chapters
  • United States LST Association
    • Commanding Officers
     LT. Marshall USCG (Ferry Command)21 September 1943 - 29 September 1943
    01LT. Devaney, John Parker, USNR29 September 1943 - 27 July 1944
    02LT. Godfrey, Evan D., USNR27 July 1944 - 18 November 1945
    03LTjg. Swillim, Earl N., USNR18 November 1945 - 21 March 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    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 is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 12 August 2022