Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-392


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Charlie - India - Sierra
 NCIS
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (4) - World War II Victory Medal
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 14 July 1942, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, VA.
  • Launched, 28 October 1942
  • Commissioned USS LST-392, 7 December 1942, LT. Louis R. Lemaire, Jr., USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-392 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Tunisian occupations, 6 May to 9 July 1943 Salerno landings, 12 to 21 September 1943
    Sicilian occupation, 9 to 15 July 1943 Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944
  • Decommissioned, 12 April 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 19 June 1946
  • USS LST-392 earned four battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 8 October 1947, to H. H. Buncher Co., Pittsburgh, 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-392 166k LST-392 launching, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, VA., launched, 28 October 1942. Dale Hargrave
    LST-392 484k USS LST-392 and USS LST-393 moored pierside at Oran, Algeria, date unknown. Eugene Coughenour SM/1c USNR V6, USS LST-7
    LST-392
    1016039207    		 113k Noted newspaper reporter Ernie Pyle with soldiers and sailors aboard USS LST-392 date and location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    LST-392
    III-SC 182816. Box 187    		 1560k USS LST-392 and HM LST-160 with other LSTs beached on the beach side of the breakwater at Termini-Imerese, Sicily, 13 September 1943 while loading reinforcements for the American 5th Army during the Salerno landing campaign.
    US National Archives photos # III-SC 182816, Box 187 and III-SC 182819, Box 187, US Army Signal Corps. photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Dave Kerr
    LST-392
    III-SC 182819. Box 187    		 1089k
    LST-392 423k USS LST-392 hooked up to a specially constructed ramp in Cherbourg Harbor, before unloading 31 railway flatbed cars. 1 August 1944. This was attempted for the first time by the Army Transportation Corps.
    US National Archives photo # SC 197143 a US Army Signal Corps photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Dave Kerr
    LST-392 997k In the first such attempt, using a specially constructed ramp, the Army Transportation Corps, unloads freight cars from USS LST-392 in Cherbourg Harbor, 1 August 1944.
    US National Archives photo # III-SC 192961 a US Army Signal Corps photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Bill Gonyo and Dave Kerr
    LST-392 45k USS LST-392 unloading troops on the bank of the Rhine River in early 1945 after unloading elements of the 8th Armored Division. Pete Harlem, Courtesy Charlie McDonnell of 8th Armored Division Assn
    USS LST-392
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Lemaire Jr., Louis R., USNR7 December 1942 - December 1943
    02LT. Walker, John D., USNRDecember 1943 - May 1945
    03LT. Blalock, Samuel G., USNRMay 1945 - December 1945
    04LT. Watkins, James C., USNDecember 1945 - 12 April 1946
    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
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Home Port
    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
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 6 November 2020