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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-573

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Whiskey - Sierra
NEWS

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Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia clasp) Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (2)

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During World War II USS LST-573 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the

Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Leyte operations Leyte landings, 18 to 29 October 1944	Consolidation and capture of southern Philippines Mindanao Island landings, 18 March 1945 Visayan Island landings, 29 March to 1 April 1945
Luzon operation Mindoro landings, 12 to 18 December 1944

Following World War II USS LST-573 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal
2 October to 1 November 1945
18 November to 25 December 1945
7 to 24 January 1946

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 26 May 1948, to Bethlehem Steel Corp., Bethlehem, PA.

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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

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Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Source
	133k	Five LSTs beached at San Fabian, Lingayen Gulf while unloading trucks, circa January 1945. Right to left; USS LST-697, USS LST-573, USS LST-1025, USS LST-496 and unidentified.		John De Noma
1016057304	210k	USS LST-573 was the first U.S. ship to enter Manila Bay after the battle to retake Manila from the Japanese. She is shown here beached about 3/4 of a mile north of the Pasig River, 1 March 1945. US Army Signal Corps photo #SWPA-SC-45-13197 now in the collections of the US National Archives		Vincent M. Solinap
1016057305	298k	USS LST-573 and USS LST-637 unloading at Panay, Philippine Islands, across earth ramps built by bulldozers, 18 March 1945 US National Archives Album 111-SCA-Album 2986 - US Army Signal Corps photo #SWPA-SC-45-20696		Vincent M. Solinap
1016060904	137k	USS LST-609, USS LST-612 and USS LST-573 along with numberous other LSTs beached at Mindoro Island disgorging their vital cargoes of men and material, completing the over water movement from Leyte of 600 miles to seize the dominant beaches along the southern coast of Mindoro in and almost unopposed landings, circa March 1945. Photo by Tom Shafer, Acme Newspictures		Vincent M. Solinap
	86k	USS LST-573 and USS LST-619 beached at Morotai, Western New Guinea, 30 May 1945, while trucks of the Australian Army's 2/16 Transport Platoon are being guided up LST-573's ramp. Australian War Memorial photo # 108513.		Australian War Memorial
	107k	USS LST-573 beached at Morotai, Western New Guinea, 30 May 1945, while loading Australian Army troops. Australian War Memorial photo # 108518.		Australian War Memorial
	164k	USS LST-573 beached at Morotai, Halmahera Islands, Netherlands East Indies in May 1945. Preparations for embarkation for the British North Borneo landing are in progress. Hundreds of vehicles and vessels have to be loaded and complete coordination of all loading operations keeps soldiers and ships crews busy round the clock. Troops wait with kit and weapons lined up in piles. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 84859		US Naval History and Heritage Command

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USS LST-573
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Commanding Officers
01	LTjg. Hessemer, George Wayne, USNR	21 June 1944 - November 1945
02	LTjg. Allen Jr., George E., USNR	November 1945 - 24 January 1946

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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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 11 March 2022