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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-537

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Alpha - Xray
NEAX

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1)
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

USS LST-537 was transferred to the Republic of China and named ROCS Chung Ting (LST-203)

LST-491 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 27 October 1943, at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN.

Launched, 31 December 1943

Commissioned USS LST-537, 2 February 1944, LT. Raymond A. Teasley USN in command

During World War II USS LST-537 was assigned to both the Europe-Africa-Middle East and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters and participated in the following campaign:

Campaign and Dates
European-Africa-Middle East Campaigns
Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944

While assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater USS LST-537 came under the command of;
LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven, CAPT. Riley;
LST Group One Hundred Nine, CDR. E. W. Wilson USNR;
LST Division Two Hundred-Seventeen

Following World War II USS LST-537 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
2 September 1945 to 22 January 1946	2 September 1945 to 22 January 1946

Decommissioned, 29 May 1946

Transferred to the Republic of China, 30 May 1946, and named ROCS Chung Ting (LST-203)

Struck from the Naval Register, 12 March 1948

USS LST-537 earned one battle star for World War II service

Reported as owned and operated by Crowley Marine Services from about 1972 to 1982, used in the Pacific Northwest as a deck Cargo Barge

Final Disposition, probably scrapped, circa 1985

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
USS LST-537
	903k	USS LST-537 beached at Normandy, date unknown.	John McGowan USS LST-537
1016069507	202k	USS LST-537 underway while in company with USS LST-695, date and location unknown.	Craig Freeman for his father Deane Freeman Jr. LST-695
*ROCS Chung Ting* (LST-203)**
	415k	Ex-USS LST-537 in the Republic of China service, as *ROCS Chung Ting* (LST-203)**, beached at Quemoy, 4 December 1958, as Chinese Nationalist soldiers carry bags of concrete to reinforce fortifications on the island. Communist China artillery on the main land pounded island installations in October of 1958.	Tommy Trampp
	52k	*ROCS Chung Ting* (LST-203)** and Ex-USS LST-1050 in the Republic of China service as *ROCS Chung Lien* (LST 209)**, moored at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 2 October 1989.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
1016053704	140k	A model of *ROCS Chung Ting* (LST-203)** at The Keelung Weihai Camp, Republic of China Navy, East Coast Pier of Keelung, Taiwan, 28 September 2019. Photo courtesy of Solomon203, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.	Robert Hurst

USS LST-537
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LT. Teasley, Raymond Alfred, USN	2 February 1944 - 29 May 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

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This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 28 February 2025