< Tank Landing Ship LST

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USS LST-783

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Xray - India
NGXI

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Iwo Jima) China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 14 May 1944, at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.

Launched, 11 July 1944

Commissioned USS LST-783, 14 August 1944, LT. Jack F. McAllister, USNR, in command

During World Way II USS LST-783 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LST Flotilla Thirteen, CAPT. J.G. Sampson USN (22);
LST Group Thirty-Nine, CDR. B. T. Zelenka USN (24);
LST Division Seventy-Eight and participated in the following campaign:

Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Iwo Jima operation Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima 5 to 16 March 1945

Following World War II USS LST-783 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
13 September 1945 to 16 March 1946	13 September 1945 to 16 March 1946

Decommissioned, 22 August 1946

Laid up in Reserve

Struck from the Naval Register, 16 June 1950

USS LST-783 earned one battle star for World War II service

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 27 June 1950, to Northern Metal Co., Philadelphia, 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

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
64k	USS LST-783 beached at Guam, Summer 1945	Gaylord Humble, crew member S/2c/2c, 20 Apr. 44 to 23 Jan. 46
77k	From right to left: the port side of USS LST-783 the remains of *LCT-1414, LCT-560, LCT-891* and *LCT-785* on the beach at Gushikawa, Chimu Wan, Okinawa, after the fire and explosion aboard *LCT-560* on 2 January 1946. See below National Archive documents for explanation.	Joey Kelly
155k	Scene on a Gushikawa beach, shortly after a large ammunition explosion wrecked *LCT-560* and damaged several other ships, on January 2, 1946. Ships landing on beach are (from left to right): USS LST-355, USS LST-783, *LCT(5)LCT 141, LCT(6)LCT-560* (destroyed), *LCT(6)LCT-891, and LCT(6)LCT-785. Offshore is USS LST-920, which had been beached between the other two LSTs at the time of the explosion. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 76149*. Courtesy of Lieutenant Commander Frank L. Howard (Ret.)	US Naval History and Heritage Command
289k	Finding of Facts pertinent to the 2 January 1946 fire and explosion at Gushikawa, Chimu Wan, Okinawa of *LCT-1414, LCT-560, LCT-891* and *LCT-785*. US Navy document from the collections of the US National Archives.	Joey Kelly
316k	Causality list pertinent to the 2 January 1946 fire and explosion at Gushikawa, Chimu Wan, Okinawa of *LCT-1414, LCT-560, LCT-891* and *LCT-785. This list also includes casualties from nearby LSTs USS LST-783* and USS LST-926 US Navy letter from Commander NOB Okinawa to CINCPAC, dated 7 January 1946 now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Joey Kelly
23k	The future world famous circus clown Emmett Kelly Jr. standing on the ramp of USS LST-783 while beached, date and location unknown.	Tommy Trampp

USS LST-783
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LT. McAllister, Jack F., USNR	14 August 1944 - November 1945
02	LTjg. Simmons Jr., George H., USNR	November 1945 - March 1946
03	LT. Walker, Robert G., USNR	March 1946 - 22 August 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

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 28 April 2017