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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USNS Wahkiakum County (T-LST-1162)
ex
 USS Wahkiakum County (LST-1162) (1955 - 1972)
 USS LST-1162 (1953 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Papa - Whiskey
 NHPW
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
Navy Expeditionary Medal (1-Thailand (16May62-10Aug-62) - National Defense Service Medal - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Cuba (24Oct62-31Dec62, 1-Dominican Republic (18Apr65-21Sep66)
LST-1156 Terrebonne Parish Class Landing Ship Tank:
  • Laid down, 21 July 1952, at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, MS.
  • Launched, 23 January 1953
  • Commissioned USS LST-1162, 13 August 1953, LCDR. Isthmael W. Matthews in command
  • Named USS Wahkiakum County (LST-1162), 1 July 1955
  • Decommissioned, 16 October 1970
  • Transferred to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) and placed in service as USNS Wahkiakum County (T-LST-1162), 10 April 1972
  • Placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register, 11 November 1973
  • Transferred to the Maritime Administration, 29 July 1992, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, scrapping contract awarded, 22 June 2005, to ESCO Marine, Brownsville, TX., removed from the Suisun Bay National Defense Reserve Fleet, 24 August 2005 and subsequently scrapped
    Specifications:
    Displacement 2,590 t.(lt) 5,800 t.(fl)
    Length 384'
    Beam 55'
    Draft 17'
    Speed 14 kts.
    Complement
    ships company and staff officers 16
    ships company enlisted 189
    Troop Accommodations
    15 officers
    380 enlisted
    Boats
    three LCVPs
    one LCPL
    Armament
    three twin 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    five single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion
    four General Motors 16-278A Diesel engines, 6000 shp
    two controllable pitch propellers
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    LST-1162 85k Wahkiakum County (LST-1162), newly completed, underway off her builder's yard, August 1953. Note the pair of kingposts and the crawler crane on deck. Unlike the late-war steam LSTs, she is armed only for self-defense, with three of the standard post-war twin 3"/50s plus twin 20mm guns. Her boats are an LCPL and three LCVPs.
    US Navy photo from "U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History" by Norman Friedman.    		 Robert Hurst
    LST-1162 98k
    LST-1162 76k USS Wahkiakum County (LST-1162) underway off Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, VA., date unknown. Don Fletcher
    LST-1162 104k USS Wahkiakum County (LST-1162) underway, date and location unknown. Dan Richey EM3, USS Wahkiakum County 1966-67
    LST-1162
    1016116205    		 457k USS Wahkiakum County (LST-1162) underway in 1966, location unknown.
    US National Archives photo # USN 1115958, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Tommy Trampp and
    Mike Smolinski
    USS Wahkiakum County (LST-1162)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Matthews, Isthmael Worth, USN13 August 1953 - 1955
    02LCDR. Manning, Fletcher Austin, USN 1955 - 1957
    03LCDR. Rogers Jr., Benjamin Carroll, USN (USNA 1945)1957 - 27 June 1958
    04LCDR. Myers, Edward Jay, USN27 June 1958 - November 1959
    05CDR. Reich, Charles, Allen, USNNovember 1959 - 4 January 1962
    06LCDR. Vines, Thomas Edward, USN (USNA 1950)4 January 1962 - 1963
    07LCDR. Stern Jr., Harrison Floyd, USN (USNA 1951)1963 - 26 July 1965
    08LCDR. Papio, Emil Michael, USN26 July 1965 - April 1967
    09LCDR. Boyd James, Wilson, USNApril 1967 - 5 December 1968
    10LCDR. Chambers, Thomas Daniel, USN5 December 1968 - 16 October 1970
    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
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    Last Updated 1 March 2024