Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Patches Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS St Clair County (LST-1096)
ex
 USS LST-1096 (1945 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Tango - Juliet
 NATJ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons





Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (2-Vietnam, 23-24 July 1968 and 30 July 1968) - Navy Unit Commendation - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korea Service Medal (5) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Quemoy-Matsu)
Fourth Row - Vietnam Service Medal (2) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (5) - Philippine Liberation Medal
Fifth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 27 November 1944, at Jefferson Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 10 January 1945
  • Commissioned USS LST-1096, 2 February 1945, LT. Lester W. Sperberg, USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-1096 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Thirty-Two, CDR. D. J. Sweeny (23);
     LST Group Ninety-Five, CDR. J. Capponi;
     LST Division One Hundred Ninety and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 8 May to 30 June 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-1096 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    13 to 26 September 1945
    18 October to 1 November 1945
    14 November to 18 December 1945

  • Decommissioned, 24 August 1946, at Astoria, OR.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group
  • Recommissioned, 3 October 1950, at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA.
  • During The Korean War USS LST-1096 participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Communist China Spring Offensive
    20 June to 8 July 1951     		Third Korean Winter
    16 January to 1 March 1953
    13 to 26 April 1953
    UN Summer-Fall Offensive
    8 to 12 July 1951     		Korean Summer-Fall 1953
    7 to 17 May 1953
    27 May to 11 June 1953
    16 to 17 June 1953
    14 to 17 July 1953
    23 to 26 July 1953
    Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
    27 to 29 November 1952     		 

  • Named USS St. Clair County (LST-1096), 1 July 1955
  • During the Vietnam War USS St. Clair County (LST-1096) served continuously in country and in contiguous waters, with the exception of overhaul periods, from early 1966 to late 1968 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
    Vietnam Counteroffensive
    21 to 28 February 1966
    7 June to 11 July 1966     		Vietnam Counteroffensive - Phase V
    25 July to 9 August 1968
    25 November to 11 December 1968

  • Decommissioned, 26 September 1969, at Bremerton, WA.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Bremerton Group
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 April 1975
  • USS St. Clair County earned one battle star for World War II service, five battle stars for Korean War service and two campaign stars for Vietnam War service
  • Sold for scrapping, 1 December 1975, by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) to Max Rouse & Sons, Beverly Hills, CA
  • Taken in hand by Marine Industries, Tacoma, WA. for conversion to commercial service
  • Sold to Landing System Technology Pte. Ltd., Singapore (Lauritz Kloster, Norway) and renamed MV LST 5 in 1976
  • Arrived at Piraeus, Greece having been acquired by Maritime & Commercial Co. Argonaftis S.A., Panama (Greek flag) and renamed MV Petrola 145, 30 June 1978
  • Entered Service, 20 September 1980
  • Sold for demolition in 1988
  • Final Disposition, scrapped
    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
    USS LST-1096
    LST-1096
    1016109611    		 452k LST-1096 moored while fitting out at with other LSTs at her builders yard, Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN., circa January 1945. Bill Glass
    St Clair County 68k USS LST-1096 underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from the 1967-68 edition of "Jane's Fighting Ships"    		 Robert Hurst
    Kent County 67k USS LST-1096 and USS LST-855 beached at Paengnyong-Do, Korea, December 1953 . D. E. Blackmore USS LST-855
    St Clair County 109k USS LST-1096 underway, date and location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    USS St Clair County (LST-1096)
    LCT-1273 463k A small mobile crane is loaded aboard beached LCU-1273 while DUKWs roll through doors of USS St. Clair County (LST 1096) during preparations for joint Navy-Marine amphibious exercises in the Pacific, circa 1956.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, August 1956 issue.    		 Robert Hurst
    St Clair County 71k USS St. Clair County LST-1096 underway, circa 1958, location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "Jane's Fighting Ships" 1958-59 edition.    		 Robert Hurst
    St Clair County 22k USS St. Clair County (LST-1096) underway off Long Beach, CA., fall 1960 E. J. Morris, USS St. Clair County1959-1961
    St Clair County 177k USS St. Clair County (LST-1096) underway, circa 1960, location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, November 1961    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    St Clair County 87k USS St. Clair County (LST-1096) was the ship in "All Hands on Deck" a 1961 feature film musical starring Pat Boone as a naval officer and directed by Norman Taurog. It is based on the novel "Warm Bodies" by Donald R. Morris Tommy Trampp
    Westchester County 259k USS Jerome County (LST-848), USS Summit County (LST-1146) and , USS St. Clair County (LST-1096) beached at Chu Lai, South Vietnam, circa 1966. Photo by Rich Krebs USS USS Washoe County (LST-1165)
    Westchester County 184k USS Jerome County (LST-848), USS Summit County (LST-1146) and USS St. Clair County (LST-1096) beached at Chu Lai, South Vietnam, circa 1966. Rich Krebs USS USS Washoe County (LST-1165)
    St Clair County
    1016109608    		 368k USS St. Clair County (LST-1096) underway off San Diego, CA., 4 March 1968.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # L45-248.04.01    		 Mike Smolinski
    St Clair County
    1016109609    		 67k USS St. Clair County (LST-1096) at sea with bow doors open, date and location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    St Clair County
    1016109610    		 93k USS St. Clair County (LST-1096) underway, date and location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    St Clair County 29k USS St. Clair County (LST-1096) at Tan Me, South Vietnam, July 1968 Walter F Loetell Jr. ETR2 USS St. Clair County1966-1968
    USS LST-1096 / USS St. Clair County (LST-1096)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    History of USS St. Clair County (LST-1096) - Mobile Riverine Force Association
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Sperberg, Lester William, USNR2 February 1945 - 18 January 1946
    02LT. Salatiello, Peter P., USNR18 January 1946 0 June 1946
    03LTjg. Troop, John D., USNRJune 1946 - 24 August 1946
     Decommissioned24 August 1946 - 3 October 1950
    04LT. Fowler, Ralph Edward, USN1953
    05LCDR. La Montagne, John DeGottrau, USNR1950s
    06LCDR. Shultz, Robert Treat, USN (USNA 1950)1957 - 1959
    07LCDR. Lewis, Daniel Austin, USN1959 - 24 April 1961
    08LT/LCDR. Ward, John Ellsworth, USN24 April 1961 - 28 November 1962
    09LT/LCDR. Parker Jr., John Theodore (Ted), USN (USNA 1955) :VADM28 November 1962 - 8 February 1964
    10LT/LCDR. Nider, Kenneth Eugene, USN8 February 1964 - 17 July 1965
    11LT/LCDR. Mabrey, Richard Lee, USN17 July 1965 - 15 September 1967
    12LT. Burris, Richard Earl, USN15 September 1967 - 26 September 1969
    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 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
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 1 March 2024