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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Lost to enemy action, 20 December 1944

USS LST-359

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Foxtrot - Alpha
NZFA

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Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (20 December 1944) - Navy Unit Commendation
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (5) - World War II Victory Medal

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During World War II USS LST-359 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and participated in the following operation/campaigns:

Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Sicilian occupation, 9 to 15 July and 28 July to 17 August 1943	Anzio-Nettuno advanced landings, 22 January 1 March 1944
Salerno landings, 9 to 21 September 1943	Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944
Convoy KMS-31, 11 November 1943

USS LST-359 earned five battle stars for World War II service

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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

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Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Source
	72k	USS LST-359 launching at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C., 11 January 1943. Charleston Navy Yard photo # 135-43		Robert Hall USS Tidewater
	1683k	USS LST-359 maneuvering in the harbor at Termini-Imerese, Sicily, 13 September 1943 in support of the Salerno landings. USS LST-350 is moored pierside in the background. US National Archives photo # III-SC 182818, Box 187, a US Army Signal Corps. photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.		Dave Kerr
	1964k	USS LST-358 maneuvering in the harbor at Termini-Imerese, Sicily, 13 September 1943 in support of the Salerno landings. USS LST-347, USS LST-359 and USS LST-350 (broadside view background) are also moored in the harbor. American troops are preparing to board LCI’s to reinforce the 5th Army on the Italian mainland. US National Archives photo # III-SC 182815, Box 187, a US Army Signal Corps. photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.		Dave Kerr
	1411k	Left to right; USS LST-358 (invasion loading ID number 24) USS LST-347 (invasion loading ID number 23), USS LST-359 (invasion loading ID number 22) and USS LST-350 (invasion loading ID number 25) moored in the harbor at Termini-Imerese, Sicily, 13 September 1943, while loading supplies to reinforce the 5th Army at Salerno. US National Archives photos Box 187, # III-SC 182826, a US Army Signal Corps. photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.		Dave Kerr
	42k	USS LST-359, with her barrage balloon hovering overhead, steams in formation as part of the Allied invasion fleet headed toward beachheads in the vicinity of Nettuno and Anzio for the drive on Rome, to the right in the background is a column of LCI's, circa 3 February 1944. ACME Photo by Bert Brandt for the War Picture Pool, from the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History		Bill Gonyo
	1423k	USS LST-359 beached at Paestum, Italy during the invasion of Salerno in September 1943. The "Spitfire" from the 307th Fighter Squadron of the 31st Fighter Group in the foreground apparently was forced to make an emergency landing on the beach. US Coast Guard photo # 26-G-1992 from the collections of the US National Archives.		Dave Kerr
	575k	USS LST-359 unloading across a pontoon causeway while beached at Paestum, Italy during the invasion of Salerno in September 1943. US Coast Guard photo # 218-19.		Raymond Cvetovich, Ph.D.

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USS LST-359
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Commanding Officers
01	LT. Ferreola, James A., USN	9 February 1943 - February 1944
02	LT. Palmer Jr., Howard V. R., USNR	February 1944 - August 1944
03	LT. Masterson, Charles R., USNR	August 1944 - 20 December 1944

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
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

Last Updated 24 December 2020