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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
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Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Hunterdon County (AGP-838)
ex
 USS Hunterdon County (LST-838) (1955 - 1970)
 USS LST-838 (1944 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Tango - Oscar
 NHTO
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (3) - Presidential Unit Citation (2)
Second Row - Navy Unit Commendation - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1)
Third Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2)
Fourth Row - Vietnam Service Medal (10) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (10) - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

USS Hunterdon County (AGP-838) was transferred to Malaysia and renamed Sri Langkawi (A-1500)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 20 September 1944, at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA.
  • Launched, 8 November 1944
  • Commissioned as USS LST-838, 4 December 1944, ENS. Allen T. Larkins, Jr., USN, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-838 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater;
    LST Flotilla Twenty-Five, CAPT. H.E. Richter USN (24);
    LST Group Seventy-Four, CDR. J.G. Farnsworth;
    LST Division One Hundred Forty-Eight and participated in the following campaign following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 3 April 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-838 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    6 to 23 September 1945
    29 October to 9 November 1945

  • Decommissioned 7 August 1946, at Vancouver, WA.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet
  • Named USS Hunterdon County (LST-838), 1 July 1955
  • Recommissioned, 10 September 1966, at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA.
  • Reclassified Patrol Craft Tender (AGP-838), date unknown
  • During the Vietnam War USS Hunterdon County participated in the following campaign:
  • During the Vietnam War USS Hunterdon County (LST-838 / AGP-838) served continuously in country and in contiguous waters, with the exception of overhaul periods, from late 1967 to early 1971 participating in the following campaigns. (Dates listed do not include underway transit times within the contiguous waters along the Vietnam coast as defined by the US Navy and so specified by the Vietnam Service Medal.)

    Vietnam War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III
    5 July to 7 December 1967     		Tet\69 Counteroffensive
    23 February to 11 April 1969
    10 May to 8 June 1969
    Tet Counteroffensive
    15 February to 1 April 1968     		Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969
    9 June to 20 October 1969
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV
    2 April to 30 June 1968     		Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970
    11 January to 30 April 1979
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V
    1 July to 1 November 1968     		Sanctuary Counteroffensive
    1 May to 17 June 1970
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VI
    2 November 1968 to 22 February 1969     		Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VII
    14 July to 24 December 1970
    27 January to 31 March 1971

  • Decommission, Struck from the Naval Register and transferred to Malaysia, 1 August 1971, under the Security Assistance Program, renamed Sri Langkawi (A-1500)
  • USS LST-838 earned one battle star for World War II service and ten campaign stars as Hunterdon County for Vietnam War service
  • Final Disposition, scrapped in the 1980s
    LST 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
    USS LST-838
    Hunterdon County 149k USS LST-838 launching, 8 November 1944, at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA. Darryl Baker
    Hunterdon County 16k USS LST-838 beached, date and location unknown. LST Home Port web site
    Hunterdon County 230k USS LST-838 under way date and location unknown.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 89242    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    USS Hunterdon County (LST-838)
    Hunterdon County
    LST 838 74535-9-66    		 387k USS Hunterdon County (LST-838) recommissioning ceremony, 10 September 1966, at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA.
    US Navy photos from the collections of the Vallejo Naval and History Museum
    File names:LST 838 74535-9-66 and LST 838 74536-9-66    		 Darryl Baker
    Hunterdon County
    LST 838 74536-9-66    		 320k
    Hunterdon County 105k USS Hunterdon County (LST-838) underway in San Francisco Bay in 1966, just prior to our just after recommissioning. Note the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in the background. Darryl Baker
    USS Hunterdon County (AGP-838)
    Hunterdon County 45k USS Hunterdon County (AGP-838) anchored at Ham Loung, River South Vietnam, 1967 Photo taken Bill Burch PBR River Division 512 submitted by Anthony Mongi
    Hunterdon County 92k USS Hunterdon County (AGP-838) anchored at Ham Loung, River South Vietnam in late 1967. Larry See EN2 USS Hunterdon County 1966-1970
    Hunterdon County 67k
    Hunterdon County 249k USS AGP-838 at anchor in South Vietnamese waters in 1967. Photo taken from one of the three Australian LSMs; Clive Steele (AV-1356), Vernon Sturdee (AV-1355) or Harry Chauvel (AV-1353) David Perham
    Hunterdon County 385k USS Hunterdon County (AGP-838) drydocked at Naval Base Subic Bay, Philippine Islands in 1968 for repair of battle damage from B 40 rocket attack on the Ham Loung River. Anthony Mongi
    Hunterdon County
    1016083815     		197k A U.S. Navy Bell UH-1E Huey helicopter of Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) 3 "Seawolves is guided into a landing aboard USS Hunterdon County (AGP-838) for a refueling and rearming stop in May 1970.
    From the article, "Spotlight, USS Hunterdon County, A PX for Combat Essentials," printed in official U.S. Navy paper, "The Jackstaff News: U.S. Naval Forces II, III, IV Corps Vietnam", published 15 July 1970. Photo courtesy of PH3 Dennis Selm, USN.    		 Robert Hurst
    Hunterdon County 52k USS Hunterdon County (AGP-838) anchored at Ham Loung, My Tho River split, South Vietnam, March 1971 Anthony Mongi
    Hunterdon County 167k USS Hunterdon County (AGP-838) tending patrol craft, date unknown, probably in South Vietnamese waters.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, August 1971.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    USS Hunterdon County (LST-838 / AGP-838)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    History of USS Hunterdon County (LST-838 / AGP-838) - Mobile Riverine Forces Association
    Commanding Officers
    01ENS. Larkins Jr., Allan Thomas, USN4 December 1944 - June 1946
    02ENS. Stocks, M. E., USNRJune 1946 - 7 August 1946
     Decommissioned7 August 1946 - 10 September 1966
    03LT. Jaye Jr., James Monroe USN10 September 1966 - 20 December 1967
    04LT. Fred, Robert Henry20 December 1967 - 6 August 1968
    05LCDR. Cox, Robert Leroy, USN6 August 1968 - 29 October 1969
    06LCDR. Fischer, Warren Howard, USN29 October 1969 - 18 November 1970
    07LCDR. Wells, Elwood Gordon, USN18 November 1970 - 1 August 1971
    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
    Mobile Riverine Force Association
    LST Homeport
    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 Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Tank Landing Ship (LST) Photo Index Back To The Patrol Craft Tender (AGP) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 12 January 2024