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

USS LST-18


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - Juliet - Foxtrot
 NPJF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (7)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia Clasp) - Philippine Liberation Medal

USS LST-18 was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 1 October 1942, at Dravo Corp, Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Launched, 15 February 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST-18, 26 April 1943 with a Coast Guard crew
  • During World War II USS LST-18 served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LST Flotilla 7, Group 21, Division 41 and participated in the following campaigns:
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Eastern New Guinea operation
    Finschhafen occupation, September 1943     		Leyte operation
    leyte landings, October and November 1944
    Bismarck Archipelago operation;
    Cape Gloucester landings, New Britain, December 1943 and January 1944
    Admiralty Islands landings, March and April 1944     		Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, January 1945
    Hollandia operation, April and May 1944 Consolidation and capture of southern Philippines
    Palawan Island landings, March 1945
    Visayan Islands landings-March and April 1945
    Western New Guinea operation
    Toem-Wakde-Sarmi area, May 1944
    Biak Island, June 1944
    Noemfoor Island, July 1944
    Cape Sansapor, July and August 1944
    Morotai landings, September 1944     		.

  • Following World War II USS LST-18 performed occupation duty in the Far East until early November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 3 April 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 17 April 1946
  • Sold for conversion to commercial service, 31 October 1946, to the Suwannee Fruit & Steamship Co., Jacksonville, FL.
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
  • USS LST-18 earned seven 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
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    LST-18/202.245 315k USS LST-18 and other LSTs beached at Cape Gloucester, New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago, date unknown. Photo from "A Photographic History of World War 2", Colliers, 1946 Dan Wilmes
    LST-18/202.245 61k USS LST-18, USS LST-245, and USS LST-202 landing troops and material, on the beach at Leyte, P.I., D-Day 20 October 1944.
    US Navy photo    		 Scott at LBS Products
    LST-18/202 79k From left to right USS LST-67, USS LST-66, USS LST-18, USS LST-245, and USS LST-202 landing troops and material, on the beach at Leyte, P.I., D-Day 20 October 1944.
    from the US Coast Guard Magazine "The Coast Guard and the Pacific War".     		Don Leal USS LST 67 & USS LST 19
    LST-18 27k USS LST-18 with Piper Cub aircraft about to take off from her make-shift flight deck.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, October 1944 issue.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    LST-18 71k USS LST-18 at Wakde Island, Dutch New Guinea, 17 May 1944, loading wounded soldiers. Bill Brinkley
    LST-18 35k USS LST-18 beached at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain, 8 August 1945. Personnel of the Australian 41 Landing Craft Company moving heavy gear onto the ship for movement to Borneo. Australian War Memorial photo # 094836. Australian War Memorial
    View the USS LST-18
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office - USS LST-18
    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
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 15 November 2004