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
Lost to enemy action, 8 June 1944, at Normandy

USS LST-499


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - Lima - Juliet
 NPLJ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive,8 June 1944)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
LST-491 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 3 September 1943, at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 5 November 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST-499, 10 January 1944, LT, Elmer F. Witte USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-499 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates
    Invasion of Normandy, June 1944
  • Sunk as a result of enemy action, 8 June 1944
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 22 August 1944
  • USS LST-499 earned one battle star 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-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-380
    1016038001    		 472k From right to left; USS LST-380, USS LST-284, USS LST-499, and USS LST-382 at Brixham Harbour, England, 1 June 1944, loading up with equipment ready for the cross channel invasion.
    US Army Signal Corps photo # SC206438 (colorized Royston Leonard) by Nehez    		 Wolfgang Hechler
    LST-499 109k USS LST-499 and other landing ships and craft off "Utah" Beach on 6 June 1944, with barrage balloons overhead. The British monitor HMS Erebus is in the right distance, painted in pattern camouflage.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-231960, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command Center
    USS LST-499
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Witte, Elmer F., USNR10 January 1944 - 8 June 1944
    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
    Historic England -American Landing Ships Involved in D-Day Rehearsals
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Home Port
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
    USS LST 499 Schedule
    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 9 July 2021