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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

HM LST-363


LST-363 was transferred to the United Kingdom in November 1942 for the duration of World War II
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 2 September 1942, at Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, MA.
  • Launched, 26 October 1942
  • LST-363 never saw active service with the US Navy
  • Transferred to the United Kingdom under terms of the Lend-Lease Act, 30 November 1942
  • Royal Navy History
  • Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-363, 30 November 1942
  • Sailed from New York as part of 1st Flotilla, 27 January 1943, for the Mediterranean via Bermuda
  • During World War II HM LST-363 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle Theater and participated in the following campaigns:
    • Sicilian occupation, 9 and 10 July 1943
    • Salerno landings, September 1943
    • West Coast of Italy operations - 1944 - Anzio-Nettuno advanced landing, 22 January 1944
    • Invasion of Normandy, June 1944
  • Operated in the shuttle service between Tilbury, Ostend and Antwerp
  • Underwent various repairs at Portsmouth, Thames and Antwerp
  • Paid off and returned to US Navy custody at Norfolk, VA., 26 January 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 12 April 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 4 December 1947, to N. Block and Co., Norfolk, VA.
    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 - US Varied with availability when each vessel was outfitted. Retro-fitting was accomplished throughout WWII. The ultimate armament design for United States vessels was
    two - Twin 40MM gun mounts w/Mk. 51 directors
    four - Single 40MM gun mounts
    twelve single 20MM gun mounts
    Armament - UK Lend Lease built vessels were to be outfitted with armament after convoying across Atlantic and included
    one - 12 Pounder anti-aircraft multi-barrel mount
    six - 20MM single gun mounts
    four - Fast Aerial Mine (FAM) 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-370
    1016037001     		119k USS LST-370 (left) and HM LST-363 (right) moored on a ramp at Southampton, England while Canadian soldiers wounded at the Normandy beachhead are being carried ashore, 8 June 1944.
    Canada’s Military History    		 Mike Green
    LST-363 96k HM LST-363 approaching the hards in the port of Hamburg to embark British units for Operation Apostle, the Liberation of Norway, May 1945. Photo taken by Sgt. J. Mapham, No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit. Photo No. BU 7046, from the collections of the Imperial War Museums. Part of the War Office Second World War Official Collection. Robert Hurst
    LST-363 64k HM LST-363 moored pierside in Norfolk, VA. prior to return to US Naval custody, circa January 1946. Submitted by Christopher Albright, photo by his father Joseph Albright YN3 USS Adirondack
    LST-363
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    Last Updated 3 July 2020