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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-552


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Uniform - Foxtrot
 NEUF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, San Pedro Bay, 25OCT44)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
 Individual Awards

Silver Star (LT. Ralph E. Sandvigen USNR CO. Action at San Pedro Bay, Leyte landings, October 1944)
Purple Heart (5-KIA, 20-WIA San Pedro Bay, 25 October 1944)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 19 January 1944, at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 14 March 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-552, 19 April 1944, LT. Ralph E. Sandvigen USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-552 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Fourteen, CAPT. E. A. Seay USN (24);
     LST Group Forty-Two, CDR. G. E. Artz USN (34);
     LST Division Eighty-Three and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 9 April 1945
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 18 October to 6 November 1944     		Manila Bay - Bicol operation
    Zambales - Subic Bay, 29 to 30 January 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-552 performed occupation duty in the Far East from 12 to 17 October 1945
  • Decommissioned, 19 April 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 May 1946
  • USS LST-552 earned four battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 3 November 1947, to Dulien Steel Products, Inc., Seattle, WA.
    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-552 37k USS LST-552 beached in the Philippines, 1944. John B. C. Golini to honor is father Lt. Benjamin H. Golini USNR (Supply and Gunnery Officer) USS LST-552
    LST-552 118k USS LST-552 beached, date and location unknown while off loading a tank. John B. C. Golini to honor is father Lt. Benjamin H. Golini USNR (Supply and Gunnery Officer) USS LST-552
    LST-552 146k USS LST-552 beached, date and location unknown while off loading heavy construction equipment. John B. C. Golini to honor is father Lt. Benjamin H. Golini USNR (Supply and Gunnery Officer) USS LST-552
    LST-552 50k USS LST-552 beached at White Beach Leyte after landing on Oct 25,1944. Wally Boerger to honor his father-in-law Ignacio Josue.
    LST-552 466k USS LST-552 main deck showing bomb damage from enemy air attack at Leyte Gulf on 24 October 1944. Daniel Delp for his father Chalmer Delp S1/c USS LST-552
    LST-552 214k USS LST-552 sailors gather on the conning tower following the Leyte campaign to show off the three Rising Sun flags representing the three enemy aircraft downed by the ship's gunners. Chalmer Delp is directly beneath the center flag Daniel Delp for his father Chalmer Delp S1/c USS LST-552
    LST-552 77k USS LST-552 at anchor while one of her LCVPs passes across her bow, date and location unknown. John B. C. Golini to honor is father Lt. Benjamin H. Golini USNR (Supply and Gunnery Officer) USS LST-552
    LST-552
    1016055214    		 1245k USS LST-552 beaching at Luzon, Philippine.Islands., 9 January 1945.
    Life Magazine photo # TimeLife_image_612991 by Carl Mydans. For personal non-commercial use only.    		 David Upton
    LST-552 69k USS LST-552, USS LST-462 and two unidentified LSTs beached on White Beach, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 21 January 1945. John B. C. Golini to honor is father Lt. Benjamin H. Golini USNR (Supply and Gunnery Officer) USS LST-552
    LST-552 963k Medium tanks splash off USS LST-552, while beached on White Beach, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 21 January 1945. In the background is USS LST-462.
    US Army Signal Corps photo # SC 200015, from the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Dave Kerr
    LST-552 96k USS LST-552 ceremony on deck, date and location unknown. John B. C. Golini to honor is father Lt. Benjamin H. Golini USNR (Supply and Gunnery Officer) USS LST-552
    Crew photos submitted by Daniel Delp for his father Chalmer Delp S1/c USS LST-552
    LST-552 LST-552 LST-552
    USS LST-552
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Sandvigen, Ralph Edward, USNR19 April 1944 - 23 September 1945
    02LT. McKenna, Robert Jack, USNR23 September 1945 - March 1946
    03LTjg. Haller, Jack G., USNRMarch 1946 - 19 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
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    This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 22 November 2024