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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-289


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Mike - Delta
 NGMD
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (28 April 1944)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal

USS LST-289 transferred to the Royal Navy in November 1944 for the duration of World War II
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 14 September 1943, at the American Bridge Co., Ambridge, MA.
  • Launched, 21 November 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST 289, 31 December 1943, LT. Harry A. Mettler, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-289 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater
  • Severely damaged by a German E-Boat torpedo attack off Slapton Sands, England, 28 April 1944, during Operation Tiger, the rehearsal for the Normandy invasion
  • Decommissioned and transferred to the United Kingdom, 9 December 1944
  • Royal Navy History
  • Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-289, 30 November 1944
    De-equipped and mudberthed at Sandacre Bay, 30 July 1946
    Paid off and returned to US Navy custody, 12 October 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 October 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold, 30 January 1947 to the Netherlands as MV Fendracht
    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
    LST-289
    1016028908    		 99k USS LST-289 underway crossing the Atlantic Ocean with an LCT(5) loaded on her main deck, circa early 1943.
    US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Tommy Trampp
    LST-507
    1016050705    		 104k Chart of Convoy T4, showing positions of LSTs and E-Boats off Slapton Sands England the night of 27-28 April 1944.
    dday.overload.com    		 Tommy Trampp
    LST-289
    1016028909    		 164k USS LST-289 entering Dartmouth Harbor, England, after being torpedoed in the stern by German E-Boats during an invasion rehearsal off Slapton Sands, England, on 28 April 1944.
    US National Archives Photo # 80-G-K-2054, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    LST-289 190k Close-up side view of USS LST-289 arriving in Dartmouth Harbor, England, after being torpedoed in the stern by German E-Boats during an invasion rehearsal off Slapton Sands, England, on 28 April 1944.
    US National Archives Photo # 80-G-K-2055, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    LST-289
    1016028907    		 235k USS LST-289 docking at Dartmouth, England after being torpedoed by German MTB's during invasion rehearsal operations off Slapton Sands, England, on 28 April 1944.
    US National Archives Photo # 80-G-257909    		 Rick Davis
    LST-289 261k USS LST-289 enters Dartmouth Harbor, England, after being torpedoed by German MTBs during invasion rehearsal operations off Slapton Sands, England, 28 April 1944. Note LCVPs.
    US National Archives, Photo # 80-G-283501, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    LST-289 66k USS LST-289 moored in Dartmouth Harbor, England, showing damage to her stern from being torpedoed by a German E-Boat during "Operation Tiger", April 28, 1944 against Slapton Sands, England Robert Hurst
    LST-289 196k USS LST-289 in Dartmouth harbor, showing her badly damaged stern. She has been torpedoed by German MTB's during invasion rehearsal operations off Slapton Sands, England, on 28 April 1944.
    US National Archives Photo # 80-G-257908    		 Mike Green
    LST-289 274k Close up view of the damage to LST-289 caused by the German E-Boat attack, 28 April 1944 off Slapton Sands. Russ Padden
    LST-289 103k USS LST-289 beached at Normandy in summer 1944. Russ Padden
    USS LST-289
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Mettler, Harry A., USNR31 December 1943 - 10 September 1944
    02LT. Wilkes, Johnie Jackson, USN10 September 1944 - March 1945
    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
    Exercise Tiger: Disaster at Slapton Sands 28 April 1944
    Exercise Tiger - The Quiet Sacrifice
    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 is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 17 September 2021