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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-647

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - India - Hotel
NFIH

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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
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia clasp)

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During World War II USS LST-647 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LST Flotilla Twenty-One, CAPT. W. H. Brereton, USN (24);
LST Group Sixty-Three, LCDR. R .E. Farnestock USNR;
LST Division One Hundred Twenty-Six and participated in the following campaign:

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
Campaign and Dates
Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 10 June 1945

Following World War II USS LST-647 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal
8 to 23 September 1945
28 October to 8 November 1945
12 to 27 November 1945
13 December 1945 to 16 May 1946

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 23 June 1948, to Bethlehem Steel Co., 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
	802k	USS LST-647 launching at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL., 28 September 1944.		Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
	1037k	USS LST-647 launching ceremony dignitaries at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL., 28 September 1944. Individuals that can be identified are LT Howard O'Neal, prospective Commanding Officer, (second from left), the ship's sponsor, Mrs. E. L. Johnson (fourth from left), the actor and World War II Coast Guardsman Cesar Romero (center over Mrs. Johnson's left shoulder).		Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
	494k	USS LST-647 at anchor off Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL. after being launched, 28 September 1944.		Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
	666k	USS LST-647 crew photo, at ATB Camp Bradford, at the completion the ship's amphibious training.		Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
	199k	USS LST-647 crew photos		Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
	166k
	194k
	199k	USS LST-647 conning tower and one of the ship's officers. Note nickname given to the ship by her crew. "Jackpot."		Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
	151k	View of USS LST-647 from the forecastle looking aft towards the deck house.		Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
	51k	USS LST-647 crossing the equator, King Neptune and his court.		Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
1016064713	179k	USS LST-647 with LCT(6)-1277 on board, 26 March 1945, during the invasion of Karama Islands, southwest of Okinawa. LCT(6)-1277 was launched here on 27 March 1945. Frames from the short film "Marines Raise American Flag Over Geruma Shima Island". National Archives ID 80229. Local ID 428-NPC-15927.		David Upton
	124k	USS LST-647 at anchor in Kerama Retto Harbor during the Okinawa invasion, March-April 1945. Photographed from USS LST-888. US National Archives photo # 80-G-335583, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.		US Naval History and Heritage Command
	138k	USS LST-647 moves in toward the beach at Kerama Retto. In background is USS LST-885. Photographed from USS West Virginia (BB-48). US National Archives photo # 80-G-K-3821, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.		US Naval History and Heritage Command

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USS LST-647
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Commanding Officers
01	LT. O'Neal, Ruben Howard, USNR	19 October 1944 - November 1945
02	LT. Zoe, Paul C., USNR	November 1945 - 2 February 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 2 September 2022