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

USS LST-683


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Mike - Kilo
 NFMK
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal Bottom Row
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia clasp)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 29 November 1943, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 7 February 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-683, 28 March 1944, LT. Richard T. Paynter, USNR, in command
  • During World War II LST-683 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven, CAPT. Riley;
    LST Group One Hundred Eleven LCDR. A. H. Tutt;
    LST Division Two Hundred Twenty-One
  • Following World War II USS LST-683 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 to 18 November 1945 
    3 January to 23 February 19463 January to 23 February 1946

  • Decommissioned, 29 May 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 3 July 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 26 May 1948, to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, PA.
    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-683/LCT-1396 145k USS LST-683 in San Francisco Bay with LCT(6)-1396 loaded on her main deck, circa early 1946.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # 79090, caption courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974    		 Tommy Trampp
    LST-683/LCT-1006 109k USS LST-683 with the 1909th Engineers Aviation Battalion (Negro) and LCT(6)-1006, 15 August 1945.
    A National Archives photo from the Still Picture Records LICON, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives, College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001     		Dave Martin
    LST-1085 42k USS LST-683, USS LST-1085 and USS LST-131, on the LST ramp at Yokohama between, circa September to November 1945. Patrick D. Dolan in honor of Charles Houston Harris SM3/c USS LST-1085
    USS LST-683
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Paynter, Richard Travers, USNR28 March 1944 - 22 November 1945
    02LTjg. Lehrling, George Edmund, USNR22 November 1945 - 29 May 1946 1945
    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
    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 29 March 2019