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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-723


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Whiskey - Oscar
 NFWO
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive - Iwo Jima 19 to 28 February 1945)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 11 July 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 25 August 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-723, 16 September 1944, LT. B. H. Wallace USN, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-723 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-One, CAPT. W. H. Brereton USN (24);
     LST Group Sixty-Two, CDR. W. M. Gullett USN (27);
     LST Division One Hundred Twenty-Three and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 17 to 28 February 1945     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 2 April to 9 June 1945
  • Decommissioned, 20 July 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 10 June 1947
  • USS LST-723 earned two battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold to the Bethlehem Steel Co., of Bethlehem, PA., 12 May 1948, and subsequently scrapped
    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 Contributed
    By
    LST-723
    1016072302    		 80k USS LST-723 at anchor, circa September 1944, location unknown.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 84696    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    LST-716
    1016071603    		 3890k As seen from USS LST-789 during bombardment of Mt. Suribachi, during the invasion of Iwo Jima, 19 February 1945. From left to right;
    USS LST-716 with LCT-1354 on deck,
    USS LST-723,
    USS LST-642,
    unknown LST,
    USS LST-756 with LCT-632 on deck.
    US National Archives Identifier 205585242, Local Identifier 26-G-4475, US Coast Guard photo # 4475.     		David Upton
    LST-723
    1016072303    		 270k USS LST-723 beached at Iwo Jima alongside LCT-1055, circa February-March 1945. In the foreground a bulldozer is building a sand ramp so that LSTs can land and unload.
    US National Archives photo Identifier 32607098, US Marin Corps Headquarters photo # 111,952    		 David Upton
    LST-723 43k USS LST-723 at anchor, date and location unknown. John Goodale for his father Dale Goodale USS LST-723
    LST-723
    1016072304    		 34k USS LST-723 beached, date and location unknown. Alben Shockley
    USS LST-723
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Wallace, B. H., USN16 September 1944 - 1945
    02LT. Gilbert, Glen Willbern, USN1945 - 20 July 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
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Tank Landing Ship (LST) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 13 January 2023