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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Mahnomen County (LST-912)
ex
USS LST-912 (1944 - 1955)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Papa - Quebec
NVPQ

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Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 8 January 1945) - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia or Europe clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Vietnam Service Medal (2) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation
Fourth Row - Philippines Liberation Medal (2) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Individual Awards

Purple Heart (4-KIA, 4-WIA - 8 January 1945)

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During World War II USS LST-912 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LST Flotilla Eight, CAPT. E. Watts, USN;
LST Group Twenty-Three, CDR. T.C. Linthicum, USN;
LST Division Forty-Five and participated in the following campaigns:

Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Western New Guinea operations Morotai landings, 15 September 1944	Luzon operations Lingayen Gulf landing, 4 to 17 January 1945
Leyte operations Leyte landings, 5 to 18 November 1944	Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines Palawan Island landings, 28 February to 2 March and 6 to 7 March1945 Mindanao Island landings, 17 to 23 April 1945

Following World War II USS LST-912 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East and in Europe for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal
(Asia) 23 September to 24 October 1945
(Asia) 18 November to 8 December 1945
(Asia) 18 December 1945 to 1 January 1946
(Europe) 23 September 1948 to 22 January 1949

During the Vietnam War USS Mahnomen County (LST-912) participated in the following campaigns:

Vietnam War Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Vietnam Counteroffensive 27 May to 7 June 1966	Vietnam Counteroffensive - Phase II 3 July to 14 July 1966 26 to 29 September1966 11 to 21 October 1966 22 to 24 October 1966 15 to 25 November 1966 6 to 15 December 1966

USS Mahnomen County (LST-912) earned four battle stars for World War II service and two campaign stars for Vietnam service

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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

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Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
USS LST-912
	56k	USS LST-912 underway, date and place unknown.		LST 912 web site
	259k	Among the LSTs beached at Mindoro, Philippines are USS LST-933, USS LST 912, USS LST 639, USS LST 721, USS LST 680. The photo is undated but the handwriting on the back identified the location as Mindoro. Based on hull numbers alone, this was likely taken while this element of CTU 78.7.2 unloaded the 41st Infantry Division at Mangarin Bay from 8-10 February 1945. LST 639 reportedly had an LCT aboard that was launched on 10 February that does not appear here, but everything else matches the reports. CTU 78.7.2 was comprised of LST’s from across a few LST groups, although most pictured here were from LST Group 66 (CTF 76). This convoy was the smaller element of the task unit and consisted of 16 LSTs, six LSMs, and five merchant ships under the command of Navy CAPT H. B. Hudson, CO of LST Flotilla Twenty-Four. The larger convoy of CTU 78.7.2 split off for Lingayen the day before.		Brian Miller
	309k
1016091215	382k	USS LST-912 and USS LST-619 beached at Palawan Island, Philippine Islands, March 1945.		David A. Mucklow for his father Cecil N. Mucklow MoMM/3c USS LST-666
	114k	USS LST-912 beached while discharging vehicles, date and place unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, December 1947		LST 912 web site
1016091216	135k	USS LST-912 participating in US Marine Corps amphibious landing training, date and location unknown.		David Upton
USS Mahnomen County (LST-912)
1016091209	268k	Overhead view of USS Mahnomen County (LST-912) fitted with the LST-1179 class bow ramp for tests, at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 26 April 1965. Note M-48 tank on deck. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 85394.		Mike Smolinski
	220k	USS Mahnomen County (LST-912) under way, circa 1965, location unknown. Mahnomen County is equipped with a test version of the ramp apparatus for the Newport Class Tank Landing Ships.		Nick Lightner and Joseph Williams
1016091210	250k	USS Mahnomen County (LST-912) landing a 155 mm self-propelled gun during tests of the LST-1179 class bow ramp gear, 18 August 1965. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 85393.		Mike Smolinski
1016091211	269k	USS Mahnomen County (LST-912) marrying to a causeway during tests of the LST-1179 class bow ramp gear, 18 August 1965. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 85390.		Mike Smolinski
1016091212	277k	USS Mahnomen County (LST-912) approaches a beach during tests of bow ramp gear for the LST-1179 class, 10 November 1965. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 85389.		Mike Smolinski
NH 86391	171k	USS Mahnomen County (LST-912) married to a causeway during tests of the LST-1179 class bow ramp gear, 1965. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo #'s NH 85391 and NH 85392 .		Mike Smolinski
NH 85392	233k
	57k	USS Mahnomen County (LST-912) impaled on rocks off Chu Lai, South Vietnam. Salvage efforts being unsuccessful her cargo was removed, she was stripped of salvageable materials and demolished by personnel of the US Navy Support Detachment, Chu Lai, circa January 1967. Photo from the collection of the US Naval Institute. Photos of the hulk of ex-USS Mahnomen County (LST-912)		Robert Langill
	483k	USS Mahnomen County (LST-912) plaque		Nick Lightner and Joseph Williams

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USS LST-912 / USS Mahnomen County (LST-912)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Commanding Officers
01	LT. White, Lloyd R.. USN	21 May 1944 - December 1945
02	LTjg. Thomas, Claude Bledsoe. USNR	December 1945 - 1 May 1946
03	LT. Bergeron, Ameda Joseph, USN	1 May 1946 - ?
04	CDR. Adrian, Robert Nelson, USN (USNA 1943)	June 1949 - January 1951
	Decommissioned	25 August 1955 - 27 March 1963
05	LT. Withers, John Henry, USN	27 March 1963 - 2 December 1965
06	LT. Arbuckle, William Spencer, USN	2 December 1965 - 2 February 1967

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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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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Last Updated 24 December 2020