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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-66

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - Delta - Sierra
NPDS

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (2) - 26DEC43, 12NOV44, - Navy Unit Commendation - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (9) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippine Liberation Medal (2)
Personnel Awards

Bronze Star with "V" (Peter Chase PHM2/c) - Purple Hearts - (7-KIA 13-WIA)

During World War II USS LST-66 was manned by the US Coast Guard

LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 14 August 1942, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.

Launched, 16 January 1943

Commissioned USS LST-66, 12 April 1943, LT. Howard A. White, USCG, in command

During World War II LST-66 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

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

Decommissioned, 26 March 1946

Struck from the Naval Register, 1 May 1946

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 7 April 1948, to Kaiser Co., Inc., Seattle, WA.

USS LST-66 earned nine battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation 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	Source
104k	USS LST-66 disembarks troops during the invasion of Cape Gloucester, circa December 1943-February 1944. US Coast Guard photo # 3406 from the collections of the US Coast Guard's Historians Office.	Mike Green
104k	USS LST-66 disembarking troops near Hollandia, circa April-May 1944. US Coast Guard photo # 2184 from the collections of the US Coast Guard's Historians Office.	Mike Green
87k	USS LST-66, far right and USS LST-67 disembark M4 Sherman tanks and other vehicles during the Western New Guinea operation, Invasion of Noemfoor Island in July 1944. US Coast Guard photo No. 2642 from the US Coast Guard Historian's Office.	Don Leal USS LST 67 & USS LST 19
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
17k	USS LST-66 on the beach during the invasion of Leyte	Peter M. Chase PHM 2/c USCGR USS LST-66
19k	USS LST-66 on the beach at Leyte loading battle casualties	Peter M. Chase Phm 2/c USCGR USS LST-66
19k	USS LST-66 approaching the beach during the invasion of Zamboanga	Peter M. Chase Phm 2/c USCGR USS LST-66
43k	Water color of USS LST-66 beached artist, location and date unknown.	Peter M. Chase Phm 2/c USCGR USS LST-66
88k	USS LST-66 at anchor in San Francisco Bay, circa 1945-46. US Navy photo # NH 82165-A from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy of J.A. Casoly.	Mike Green