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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Lost to enemy action, 1 October 1943

USS LST-448

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (1 October 1943) - Navy Unit Commendation
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 10 July 1942, at Kaiser, Inc., Vancouver, WA.
  • Launched, 26 September 1942
  • Commissioned USS LST-448, 23 December 1942
  • During World War II USS LST-448 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Consolidation of the southern Solomons, June 1943 New Georgia Group operation
    Vella Lavella occupation, 1 October 1943

  • USS LST-448 was bombed, 1 October off Vella Lavella and sunk, 5 October 1943, off the Solomon Islands while under tow by USS Bobolink (AT-131).
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 26 October 1943
  • USS LST-448 earned the Navy Unit Commendation and two battle stars for World War II service
    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-448
    1016044803    		 261k USS LST-448 and other LSTs beached at Kissing Point, Townsville, Australia. May - July 1943.
    Photo from the Log of the 20th Naval Construction Battalion 1942-44 First Cruise page 30. Date reference from the War Diary of LST-334, 1943 series National Archives.    		 David Upton
    LST-448
    1016044804    		 169k USS LST-448 and USS LST-334 beached at Kissing Point, Townsville, Australia. May - July 1943.
    Photo from the Log of the 20th Naval Construction Battalion 1942-44 First Cruise page 34. Date reference from the War Diary of LST-334, 1943 series National Archives.    		 David Upton
    LST-448
    1016044805    		 332k
    LST-448
    1016044802    		 325k USS LST-448, Navy Dept. BuShips. 94721 "LST Report of Torpedo, Projectile, Bomb and Fire Damage Including Losses in Action" of 7 December, 1943. Page 63.
    US National Archives Identifier 78672524.    		 David Upton
    LST-448
    1016044801    		 85k Memorial plaque erected at Maravari, Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands, in memory of the New Zealand soldiers lost in the bombing of USS LST-448, 1 October 1943.LST-448 sunk 5 October 1943. The plaque was returned to New Zealand by CAPT. John Southworth ED, RNZIR in 2010. A new plaque was re-dedicated in 2011 by the crew of HMNZS Resolution (A14) Rod Addison
    LST-448
    1016044806    		 166k Memorial plaque placed at Maravari, Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands, in memory of the crew members lost in the bombing of USS LST-448, 1 October 1943. This plaque may have been placed with the memorial to the 15 New Zealand soldiers lost in the bombing of the ship. Des Spillane
    USS LST-448
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    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
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    This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 29 September 2023