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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-798


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Zulu - Tango
 NGZT
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 17 August 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 26 September 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-798, 26 October 1944, LT. Ronald E. Hurt, USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-798 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-Five, CAPT. H. E. Richter USN (24);
    LST Group Seventy-Three CDR. L D. York USNR;
     LST Division One Hundred Forty-Five
  • Following World War II USS LST-798 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    6 to 23 September 1945
    10 to 21 March 1946

  • Decommissioned, 16 July 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 August 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 17 September 1947, to Consolidated Builders, Inc., Morris Heights, N.Y.
    Specifications:
    Displacement
    1,625 t.(lt)
    4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
    2,366 t.
    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-798 275k USS LST-798 at anchor looking forward from the bridge area toward the bow., date and location unknown. Ronald B. Wessel for his grandfather Fred Wessel USS LST-798
    LST-798 258k USS LST-798 beached with bow doors open, disembarking troops into a landing craft, date and location unknown. Ronald B. Wessel for his grandfather Fred Wessel USS LST-798
    LST-798 322k Fred Wessel (left in white t-shirt) with shipmates aboard USS LST-798, date and location unknown. Ronald B. Wessel for his grandfather Fred Wessel USS LST-798
    LST-798 189k USS LST-798 crossing the line ceremony, date unknown. William Doberstein for his father Bill Doberstein GM3/c USS LST-798
    LST-798 205k
    LST-798 253k
    LST-798 189k
    LST-798 246k USS LST-798 crow's nest, date and location unknown. William Doberstein for his father Bill Doberstein GM3/c USS LST-798
    LST-798 235k USS LST-798 crew working from an LCVP, possibly at Iwo Jima, date unknown. William Doberstein for his father Bill Doberstein GM3/c USS LST-798
    LST-798 156k USS LST-798 bow 40mm gun mounts, date and location unknown. William Doberstein for his father Bill Doberstein GM3/c USS LST-798
    LST-798 137k Shell fire as seen from USS LST-798, date and location unknown. William Doberstein for his father Bill Doberstein GM3/c USS LST-798
    LST-798 180k USS LST-798 shipmates, GM3/c Bill Doberstein in front. William Doberstein for his father Bill Doberstein GM3/c USS LST-798
    LST-798
    1016079801    		 97k USS LST-798 beached on a coral reef during the invasion of Okinawa, circa 17 March to 30 June 1945. John Spivey
    LST-798
    1016079814    		 354k Certificate issued to F1/c Charles N. Udell for crossing the Equator on 2 May 1945 aboard USS LST-798. Chuck Udell for his father Charles N. Udell USS LST-798
    USS LST-798
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Hurt, Ronald E., USNR26 October 1944 - 30 October 1945
    02LT. Emmons, Clarence S., USNR30 October 1945 - 15 December 1945
    03LT. Kerchen, Robert James, USNR15 December 1945 - 21 May 1946
    04LT. Heim, Fritz William, USN21 May 1946 - 16 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 16 August 2024