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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

HM FDT-13
ex
 HM LST-13


LST-13 was transferred to the United Kingdom for the duration of World War II
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 1 September 1942, at Dravo Corp., Neville Island, PA.
  • Launched, 5 January 1943
  • Transferred to the Royal Navy 3 April 1943
  • Royal Navy History
  • Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-13, 3 April 1943
  • Sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, in convoy SC 131, 18 May 1943 carrying general cargo
  • Returned to Halifax with defects and sailed with convoy SC 132, 26 May 1943 arriving Liverpool 11 June 1943
  • Sailed to Clyde area and remained there until November 1943 when she sailed for Southampton
  • Returned to Clyde area arriving 31 December 1943 and taken in hand at Messrs John Brown for conversion to Fighter Direction Tender
  • Converted to a Fighter Direction Tender at John Brown Shipbuilding & Engineering Shipyards, Clydebank, Scotland
  • Redesignated Fighter Direction Tender HM FDT-13 in January 1944
  • HM FDT-13 participated in the:
  • Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 13 June 1944, providing aircraft control for US and British fighters in the main shipping route from the United Kingdom to the French beaches
  • Returned to US Naval custody, 27 February 1946, at Norfolk,VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 June 1946
  • Final Disposition: sold for scrapping, 11 October 1947, to Luria Brothers, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
    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
    7 officers, 104 enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    16 officers, 147 enlisted
    Boats 6 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
    LST-13 82k Ex-LST-13 in Royal Navy Service as Fighter Direction Tender HM FDT-13 during trials off the John Brown Shipbuilding & Engineering Shipyards, Clydebank, Scotland, circa January-February 1944.
    Royal Navy photo.    		 A Report on the Role and Operation of British Headquarters Ships and Fighter Direction Tenders in the Assault on the Continent of Europe, June 1944 OPERATION "NEPTUNE".
    LST-13 59k HM FDT-13 off Greenock, Scotland, 23 March 1944.
    Imperial War Museum Admiralty Official Collection, by Beadell, S.J (Lt), Photo No. © IWM (A 22529)    		 Mike Green
    LST-13 199k HM FDT-13 undergoing conversion at the John Brown Shipbuilding & Engineering Shipyards, Clydebank, Scotland. View looking aft from the foc'sle. Note, the radar antenna on the main deck.
    Royal Navy photo.    		 A Report on the Role and Operation of British Headquarters Ships and Fighter Direction Tenders in the Assault on the Continent of Europe, June 1944 OPERATION "NEPTUNE".
    LST-13 123k HM FDT-13 schematic of the "operations flat."
    Royal Navy photo.    		 A Report on the Role and Operation of British Headquarters Ships and Fighter Direction Tenders in the Assault on the Continent of Europe, June 1944 OPERATION "NEPTUNE".
    LST-13 109k HM FDT-13 off the Normandy Beachhead during Operation 'Neptune' in June 1944. Robert Hurst
    LST-13
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Combined Operations - Fighter Direction Tenders
    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 by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 11 August 2017