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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST(H)-268
ex
 USS LST-268 (1943 - 1945)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Charlie - Alpha
 NHCA
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (6) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia Clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (1)
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 26 November 1942, at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA.
  • Launched, 18 June 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST-268, 19 August 1943, LT. W. T. Brooks USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-268 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Thirteen, CAPT. J.G. Sampson USN (22);
     LST Group Thirty-Eight, LCDR. M.F. Stiling USNR;
     LST Division Seventy-Six and participated in the following campaigns;

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Marshall Islands operation
    Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 2 to 8 February 1944     		Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944
    Marianas Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 to 25 June1944     		Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landing, 9 January 1945
    Tinian capture and occupation, 24 to 28 July 1944 Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 10 April 1945

  • Redesignated Landing Ship Tank (Hospital) LST(H)-268, 15 September 1945
  • Following World War II USS LST(H)-268 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 13 October 1945 to 16 February 1946
  • Decommissioned, 16 February 1946 and assigned to Commander Naval Forces Far East (COMNAVFE) Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP) redesignated Q062
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 31 October 1947
  • USS LST-268 earned six battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 24 March 1948, to Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp., Morris Heights, N.Y.
    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 332k USS LST-268 launching , 18 June 1943, at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA. Darin Goodman in honor of his father John W. Goodman USS LST-268
    LST-121 304k
    LST-121
    1016026803    		 277k USS LST-268 entering the drydock USS ABSD-1 at Espirito Santo in the New Hebrides Island, circa 15 October 1944.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-314195, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Rick Davis and
    Darin Goodman in honor of his father John W. Goodman USS LST-268
    LST-121 281k USS LST-268 and USS LST-271 drydocked in either USS ABSD-1 or USS ABSD-2 at Espirito Santo in the New Hebrides Island, circa October - November 1944. Darin Goodman in honor of his father John W. Goodman USS LST-268
    LST-268 126k USS LST-268, USS LST-724 and USS LSM-440 on the beach at Okinawa after the Invasion of Okinawa Gunto campaign has ended, circa second half of 1945.
    Photos by Frederick C. Keller.    		 Donn Cuson
    LST-268 158k
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Brooks, W. T., USNR19 August 1943 - ?
    02LT. Nollen, J. H. USNRMay 1945 - ?
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

    For more photos and information about USS LST-268 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
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    This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 23 October 2020