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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Lost to enemy action, 15 December 1944

USS LST-738


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Delta - Tango
 NGDT
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbons (retroactive, 15 December 1944) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 20 February 1944 at Dravo Corp., Neville Island, Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Launched, 1 April 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-738, 9 May 1944, LT. John T. Barnett, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-738 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Leyte Operation
    Leyte landings, 20 October 1944     		Luzon Operation
    Mindoro landings, 12 to 18 December 1944
  • USS LST-738 was lost due to enemy action, 15 December 1944, by Japanese aerial attack off Mindoro, Philippines
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 19 January 1945
  • USS LST-738 earned two battle stars for World War II service
    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-738 97 USS LST-738 burning after she was hit by a Kamikaze off the Mindoro landing beaches, 15 December 1944. USS Moale (DD-693) is nearby. Note the hole in LST-738's starboard side, just forward of the large "738" painted there. Smoke in the left distance may be from USS LST-472, which was also hit by the Kamikaze attack.
    US Navy photo # NH 97259, from the collection of Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, USN    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    LST-738
    1016073803    		 245 USS LST-738 burning after she was hit by a Kamikaze off the Mindoro landing beaches, 15 December 1944. Note the hole in LST-738's starboard side, just forward of the large "738" painted there.
    Photos by Y2c Dan Murphy (danbmurphy.com)    		 Daniel Pratt
    LST-738 82 USS LST-738 burning after she was hit by a Kamikaze off the Mindoro landing beaches, 15 December 1944. USS Moale (DD-693) is nearby.
    NARA photo # 80-G-294593, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Gerd Metthes
    USS LST-738
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Barnett, John T., USNR9 May 1944 - 15 December 1944
    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 Homeport
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 15 July 2022