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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST(H)-23
ex
 USS LST-23 (1943 - 1945)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Yankee - Papa - Delta
 NYPD
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 (6)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippine Liberation Medal (1)

USS LST-23 was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 27 October 1942, at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Launched, 13 March 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST-23, 22 May 1943, LTjg. Maynard C. Darnall, Jr., USCGR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-23 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LST Flotilla 13, Group 37, Division 73 and LST Flotilla Five (CAPT. G.B. Carter, USN), Group Fifteen (CDR. V. K. Busck, USN), Division 30 and participated in the following campaigns:
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Gilbert Islands operation
    November and December 1943     		Tinian capture and occupation
    July 1944
    Marshall Islands operation
    Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, February 1944     		Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, September and October 1944
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, June and July 1944     		Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 9 January 1945

  • Redesignated Tank Landing Ship (Hospital) LST(H)-23, 15 September 1945
  • USS LST(H)-23 performed occupation duty in the Far East until early December 1945
  • Decommissioned, 24 May 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 3 July 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 6 April 1948, to Kaiser Co., Inc., Seattle, WA.
  • USS LST-23 earned six 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 Source
    LST-23 178k USS LST-23 launching, 13 March 1943, at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA. David Fuller for Albert Bailey USCG USS LST-23
    LST-69 135k USS LST-69 and USS LST-23 beached, probably at Kuluk Harbor, Adak, during unloading operations in the Aleutians, August 1943.
    US Coast Guard photo # 924435 from the collections of the US Coast Guard Historian's Office.    		 Mike Green
    LST-23 101k USS LST-23 beached while unloading, date and location unknown. US Coast Guard Historian's Office
    LST-910 87k USS LST-23 and USS LST-910 beached in the Philippines, circa 1944. Photo by Millard Hathaway USS LST-910
    LST-23 108k USS LST-23 crew members, date and location unknown. David Fuller for Albert Bailey USCG USS LST-23
    LST-23 286k USS LST-23 officers, date and location unknown. Left to right: H.C. Sortevik, G.M. Miller, J.K. Shynovec and G.E. Collinson. David Fuller for his father ENS Ernest E Fuller USS LST-23
    LST-23 242k USS LST-23 beached, date and location unknown. David Fuller for his father ENS Ernest E Fuller USS LST-23
    LST-23 198k USS LST-23 and USS LST-222 beached, date and location unknown. David Fuller for Albert Bailey USCG USS LST-23
    LST-23 78k USS LST-23 entering San Francisco Bay, date unknown. David Fuller for Albert Bailey USCG USS LST-23
    LST-23 48k USS LST-23 underway in San Francisco, Bay, circa May 1945. John H.S. Scott, USCG, 1942-1946

    For more photos and information about USS LST-23, see;
  • Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
  • USS LST-23 Voyage Record
  • Deck Log entries for 9 January 1945, Lingayen Gulf landings
  • The USS LST Ship Memorial
  • LST Home Port
  • State LST Chapters
  • United States LST Association
  • US Coast Guard Historian's Office - USS LST-23
    • Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
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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 8 October 2010