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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USNS LST T-456
ex
USS LST-456 (1943 - 1946)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Juliet - Papa
NFJP

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (Cape Gloucester, New Britain, Dec 1943) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (8) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
Individual Awards

Six Silver Star's for bravery at Cape Gloucester, New Britain, Dec 1943

LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship

Laid down, 10 July 1942, at Kaiser, Inc., Vancouver, WA.

Launched, 20 October 1942

Commissioned USS LST-456, 3 February 1943, LT. Asa L. Perdue, USNR, in command

During World War II USS LST-456 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

**Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Eastern New Guinea operation Lae occupation-September 1943 Saidor occupation-January and February 1944	Leyte operation Leyte landings, October 1944
Bismarck Archipelago operation Cape Gloucester, New Britain, December 1943, February and March 1944 Admiralty Islands landings, March 1944	Luzon operation Lingayen Gulf landing, January 1945
Hollandia operation, April 1944	Consolidation and capture of the southern Philippines Mindanao Island landings, April 1945
Western New Guinea operations Toem-Wakde-Sarmi area operation-May 1944 Biak Island operation-May and June 1944 Cape Sansapor operation-July and August 1944 Morotai landing-September 1944	Borneo operations Balikpapan operation, June and July 1945

Decommissioned, date unknown

Transferred, 31 March 1952 to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS Command

Placed in service as USNS T-LST-456

Struck from the Naval Register, 15 June 1973

Sold, 27 September 1973 to the Maritime Co., Ltd., Khorramshahr, Iran

Fate unknown

USS LST-456 earned eight battle stars for World War II service

Specifications: (as reported by Office of Naval Intelligence-1945)
Displacement 1,625 t.(lt), 4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
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)
Speed 12 kts. (maximum)
Endurance 24,000 miles @ 9kts. while displacing 3960 tons
Complement

7 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
Propulsion two General Motors 12-567, 900hp diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
29k	USS LST-456 beached with bow doors open, South Pacific, circa 1942-1945	Paul Harmon in honor of his Father-In-Law, LTjg. Arra Kechijian, Executive Officer and Supply Officer USS LST-456
39k	Troops and equipment the main deck of USS LST-456 prior to landing in the South Pacific, circa 1942-1945	Paul Harmon in honor of his Father-In-Law, LTjg. Arra Kechijian, Executive Officer and Supply Officer USS LST-456
34k	USS LST-456 beached with bow doors open, South Pacific, circa 1942-1945	Paul Harmon in honor of his Father-In-Law, LTjg. Arra Kechijian, Executive Officer and Supply Officer USS LST-456
31k	USS LST-456 South Pacific, circa 1942-1945	Paul Harmon in honor of his Father-In-Law, LTjg. Arra Kechijian, Executive Officer and Supply Officer USS LST-456
35k	Church services aboard USS LST-456 being conducted by missionaries sent to New Guinea. Note the priest under the tarp. South Pacific, circa 1943-1944	Paul Harmon in honor of his Father-In-Law, LTjg. Arra Kechijian, Executive Officer and Supply Officer USS LST-456
65k	USS LST-456 in convoy with Army troops and equipment on her main deck. Note the pontoon causeways secured to both sides of ship. South Pacific, circa 1942-1945	Paul Harmon in honor of his Father-In-Law, LTjg. Arra Kechijian, Executive Officer and Supply Officer USS LST-456
35k	As a results of a Japanese air attack, three bombs hit USS LST-456, all duds, Cape Gloucester, New Britain, December 1943.	Paul Harmon in honor of his Father-In-Law, LTjg. Arra Kechijian, Executive Officer and Supply Officer USS LST-456
44k	USS LST-456 crew members awarded the Silver Star for disposing of unexploded Japanese bombs dropped on the ship at Cape Gloucester.	Paul Harmon in honor of his Father-In-Law, LTjg. Arra Kechijian, Executive Officer and Supply Officer USS LST-456
2248k	Six LSTs including USS LST-221, USS LST-456 and USS LST-452 loading men and equipment during a practice landing near Lae, New Guinea, 10 April 1944. US Army Signal Corps photo # SWPA-C-44-12328 by Cpl. Claude Carnay.	Dave Kerr
1334k	USS LST-456 (closest to camara) and USS LST-466 load Amphibious tanks of the 6th Div. Recon. Troops at Mafflin Bay, New Guinea, 26 July 1944, in preparation for the invasion of Cape Sansapor during the Western New Guinea operation. US Army Signal Corps photo # SC 267881 by PVT Martin, originally Southwest Pacific Area Signal Corps photo # SWPA-SIGC-44-2142	Dave Kerr
117k	USS LST-456 discharging US Army Engineers wading ashore at Toem, on the Coast of Dutch New Guinea, May 1944.	Submitted by Adrain K 'for educational purposes' Source-"Pictorial History of Australia at War 39-45", 5 Volumes. 1959
74k	USS LST-456 beached, date and location unknown.	Gerd Matthes