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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST(H)-950
ex
 USS LST-950 (1944 - 1945)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Victor - Alpha
 NVVA
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, 1 September 1944, at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA.
  • Launched, 4 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-950, 27 October 1944, LT. Fritz W. Heim USN in command
  • During World War II USS LST-950 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-Five, CAPT. H.E. Richter USN (24);
     LST Group Seventy-Five, CDR. G. W. Stringer USN (28);
     LST Division One Hundred Forty-Nine and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 April to 18 June 1945

  • Redesignated Landing Ship Tank (Hospital) LST(H)-950, 15 September 1945
  • Following World War II USS LST(H)-950 performed occupation duty in the Far East from 21 October to 5 November 1945 and helped in the evacuation of Bikini Atoll natives prior to atomic bomb testing at Bikini Atoll
  • Decommissioned, 23 September 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 10 June 1947
  • USS LST-950 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 8 March 1948, to Ships Power & Equipment Corp., Barber, N.J.
    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
    LST-950 61k USS LST(H)-950 at anchor, probably off the beachhead at Okinawa, circa April 1945. LST(H) -950 was used to carry casualties to the hospital ships from the Okinawa beachhead. Note the large "H" painted on her side. The LST and the small boats in the right foreground are also flying an "X" flag to signify their missions.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-318644 from "Hospital Ships of World II: An Illustrated Reference" by Emory A. Massman.    		 Robert Hurst
    LST-950 56k USS LST(H)-950 at anchor off a recaptured island, date and location unknown. Louis Esposito Jr. for his father Louis Esposito USS LST-950
    LST-950 104k USS LST(H)-950, beached, date and location unknown. Louis Esposito Jr. for his father Louis Esposito USS LST-950
    LST-950 93k USS LST(H)-950 LCVPs and crews, date and location unknown. Louis Esposito Jr. for his father Louis Esposito USS LST-950
    LST-950 56k
    LST-950 56k USS LST(H)-950 while beached, probably, at Okinawa, date unknown Louis Esposito Jr. for his father Louis Esposito USS LST-950
    LST-950 17k
    LST-950 40k USS LST(H)-950 while beached, probably, at Okinawa, circa March 1946. Note LCT-1153 loaded on the deck USS LST-682, on port side of, of LST-950 Louis Esposito Jr. for his father Louis Esposito USS LST-950
    LST-950
    1016095010    		 723k USS LST(H)-950 underway in San Francisco Bay returning from service in the Far East, circa 1946. Note the Homeward Bound Pennant. Darryl Baker
    USS LST-950
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Heim, Fritz William, USN27 October 1944 - May 1946
    02LTjg. McCafferty, D. N., USNRMay 1946 - 23 September 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
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    Last Updated 1 November 2024