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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-820


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - India - Xray
 NHIX
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 (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 14 September 1944, at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., Evansville IN.
  • Launched, 25 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-820, 16 November 1944, LT. Addison R. Brown, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-820 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-Three CAPT. W. W. Weeden Jr., USN;
     LST Group Sixty-Seven, CDR V. A. King USN;
     LST Division One Hundred Thirty-Four and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 14 May to 30 June 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-820 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 20 September to 5 October 1945
  • Decommissioned, 16 January 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 7 February 1946
  • Final Disposition, turned over to Occupation authorities for use by Japan
  • USS LST-820 earned one battle star for World War II service
    Specifications: (as reported by Office of Naval Intelligence-1945)
    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-820 29k USS LST-820 beached, date and location unknown. Mike Howard in honor of his grandfather Harold L. Hoover USS LST-820
    LST-820 102k USS LST-820 aground, 17 September 1945, at Kagoshima, Kuyushu, Japan after Typhoon Ida brushed the southern tip of Japan. This was during the ship's second trip to Japan to deploy Marines as part of the occupation forces. Ronald Fardell in honor of his father James Fardell LCT(A)-2008 and USS LST-820
    LST-820 83k
    LST-820 29k USS LST-820 aground, 17 September 1945, at Kagoshima, Kuyushu, Japan after Typhoon Ida brushed the southern tip of Japan. This was during the ship's second trip to Japan to deploy Marines as part of the occupation forces. Mike Howard in honor of his grandfather Harold L. Hoover USS LST-820
    LST-820 32k
    LST-820 30k
    LST-820 41k
    LST-820 31k
    LST-820 169k USS LST-820 partial crew photo, date and location unknown. In this photo Harold L. Hoover (not Hooper) is in the back row, second from the left. Mike Howard in honor of his grandfather Harold L. Hoover USS LST-820 and Ray Mahoney USS LST-820
    LST-820 24k USS LST-820 along with four others LSTs beached at a sand ramp, date and location unknown. Mike Howard in honor of his grandfather Harold L. Hoover USS LST-820
    LST-820 25k USS LST-820 wheelhouse. date and location unknown. Mike Howard in honor of his grandfather Harold L. Hoover USS LST-820
    LST-820
    1016082012    		 98k Nine LSTs including (from left to right) USS LST-820, USS LST-926, USS LST-944 and USS LST-931 moored at Okinawa in 1945.
    FLICKR photoliberian    		 John Spivey
    USS LST-820
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Brown, Addison Reid, USNR16 November 1944 - 17 December 1945
    02ENS. Evans, William Robert, USNR17 December 1945 - 2 January 1946
    03LTjg. Pickens, Robert Stanley, USNR2 January 1946 - 16 January 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 5 May 2024