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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-697

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Oscar - Tango
NFOT

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Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)

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During World War II USS LST-697 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LST Flotilla Eight, CAPT E. Watts, USN;
LST Group Twenty-Three, CDR. T.C. Linthicum, USN;
LST Division Forty-Six and participated in the following campaigns:

Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Western New Guinea operations Morotai landings, 15 September 1944	Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines Visayan Island landings, 28 March to 1 April 1945
Leyte operations Leyte landings, Tacloban, San Pedro Bay, 19 to 29 November 1944	Borneo operations Tarakan Island operation, 27 April to 5 May 1945
Luzon operation Lingayen Gulf landing, San Fabian, 4 to 18 January 1945

Following World War II USS LST-697 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
23 September to 25 October 1945	12 November to 15 December 1945
16 December 1945 to 10 April 1946

Final Disposition, sold, 14 October 1947, to William E. Skinner for scrapping

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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

9 officers, 120 enlisted

Troop Accommodations

14 officers, 131 enlisted

Boats 6 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		Contributed By
USS LST-697
1015069714	269k	Troops wait in the tank deck of USS LST-697 while a cat pushes a ramp out to the ship at Getaison Point, (White Beach) Leyte, Philippine Islands, 22 October 1944. US National Archives Identifier # 80664214 - US Army Signal Corps photo # 339350		David Upton
1015102702	297k	USS LST-623, USS LST 1027 and USS LST-697 unload across White Beach, Leyte, Philippine Islands, 22 October 1944. LST-1027 is waiting for the cat to finish building a ramp on the beach so that she can unload. US National Archives Identifier # 80662621 - US Army Signal Corps photo # 260576		David Upton
	69k	USS LST-697 beached at Halmahera Islands, Netherlands East Indies, 16 November 1944, while members of the Royal Australian Air Force No. 3 Airfield Construction Squadron board as part of invasion force for the Leyte operation in the Philippines. Australian War Memorial photo # OG1818.		Australian War Memorial
	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
1016017108	740k	USS LST-171, USS LST-584, USS LST-697 and USS LST-585 loading at Morotai in April, 1945. Note USS LCI(L)-625 between LST-171 and LST-584. She arrived later to assist in the effort to move LST-684 out of the mud and into deeper water. The following was recorded in the "USS LST-584 Rep. of Opers. in the invasion of Tarakan Island, Borneo, 5/1-2/45 page 2". World War II War Diaries US National Archives Identifier 296592936 "At 0730 on Peter + One moved causeway from ramp of LST 584 to LST 171. At 0740 began pumping water and fuel overboard. At 0801 LCI-625 came alongside to port to assist ship off beach. At 0815 started backing full on engines. At 0820 stopped all engines. LCI-626 came alongside to starboard to assist. At 0829 backing full, LCIs also backing to pull ship off beach. At 0840 stopped pumping water and fuel. Total of 40,064 gallons (146 tons) of fuel and 3,280 gallons (13 tons) of water pumped overboard. At 0900 LCI 625 reversed position by backing alongside to port. Commenced backing to no avail. At 1055 secured to the effect that no attempt would be made to retract until next spring tide on 11 May 1945." (11 May 1945 may be miss typed in the War Diaries as the ship appears to be at Tarakan on the 1st or 2nd of May.) LIFE Magazine Archives, Carl Mydans Photographer, shared by Peter DeForest.		David Upton and Mike Green
	314k
	389k
	267k	USS LST-697 and USS LST-585 loading supplies at Morotai, in April, 1945. The Battle of Tarakan Island was the first campaign in the recapture of Borneo from the Japanese. LIFE Magazine Archives, Carl Mydans Photographer, shared by Peter DeForest		Mike Green
	234k
	317k
	40k	US LST-697 and USS LST-584 beached at Tarakan, Borneo, circa April-June 1945.		LST Home Port web site
	25k	USS LST-697 and USS LST-1025 beached on Blue Beach at Morotai, 17 May 1945. USS LST-1025 is unloading wounded from Tarakan Island. Members of the Australian Army 2/12 Field Ambulance Transferred them to the 2/5 General Hospital.		Australian War Memorial
	79k	USS LST-697 and USS LST-626 beached at Morotai, 1 June 1945, while members of the 2/3RD Anti Aircraft Regiment wait on the beach to board the LSTs in preparation for "Operation Oboe 6". Australian War Memorial photo # 108691.		Australian War Memorial
	81k	USS LST-697 beached at Morotai, 1 June 1945, while members of B Troop 6th Battery, 2/3rd Anti Aircraft Regiment embark in preparation for "Operation Oboe 6". Australian War Memorial photo # 108695.		Australian War Memorial
	76k	USS LST-697 beached at Morotai, 1 June 1945, while a 150cm searchlight of 2/3rd Anti Aircraft Regiment is loaded aboard in preparation for "Operation Oboe 6". Australian War Memorial photo # 108696.		Australian War Memorial
	57k	USS LST-697 beached at Morotai, 1 June 1945, while a 150cm searchlight of 2/3rd Anti Aircraft Regiment is loaded aboard in preparation for "Operation Oboe 6". Australian War Memorial photo # 108697.		Australian War Memorial
	66k	USS LST-697 beached at Morotai, 1 June 1945, while a line of trucks and heavy equipment belonging to the Australian Army's 2/4th Pioneer Battalion waits to be loaded in preparation for "Operation Oboe 6". Australian War Memorial photo # 108410.		Australian War Memorial
	26k	USS LST-697 beached at Lingayen Gulf, P.I. unloading trucks, November 1945		LST Home Port web site
	24k	USS LST-697 entering San Francisco Bay while carrying 10 Kamikaze warheads which had started leaking necessitating that she sail 3 miles astern of the rest of the homeward bound Flotilla.		LST Home Port web site

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USS LST-697
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Commanding Officers
01	ENS. Lopresti, Vincenzo USN	30 May 1944 - 27 June 1944
02	ENS. Tanner James E. USNR	27 June 1944 - March 1946
03	LTjg. Desonia, William L., USNR	March 1946 - 30 June 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
USS LST-697 Newsletter
The USS LST Ship Memorial
LST Homeport
State LST Chapters
United States LST Association

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 30 July 2021