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-69

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - Papa - Victor
NPPV

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal

USS LST-69 was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II

LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 7 September 1942, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.

Launched, 20 February 1943

Commissioned USS LST-69, 20 May 1943, LT. Robert T. Leary, USCGR in command, 20 May 1943 - May 1944

During World War II, USS LST-69 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LST Flotilla Thirteen;
LST Group Thirty-Seven;
LST Division Seventy-Three and
LST Flotilla Five, CAPT. G.B. Carter, USN;
LST Group Fifteen, CDR. V. K. Busck, USN;
LST Division Thirty and participated in the following campaign:

Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Gilbert Islands operation, 13 November to 8 December 1943

While moored in the West Loch at Pearl Harbor USS LST-69 was destroyed by an ordnance explosion, and sank, 21 May 1944

Struck from the Naval Register, 18 July 1944

USS LST-69 earned one battle star for World War II service

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

13 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

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
	135k	USS LST-69 and USS LST-23 beached at Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands, Territory of Alaska, during Operation Cottage August 1943. 101606904 - US Coast Guard Identifier # 924435 101502331 - US Nation Archives Identifier # 205585342, Local ID 26-G-09-24-43(4), US Coast Guard Identifier 0924434.	1016006902-Mike Green 1016002331-David Upton
1016002331	511k		1016006902-Mike Green 1016002331-David Upton
1016006907	358k	USS LST-69 disembarking medical crews and follow-up forces at Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands during Operation Cottage in August 1943 US National Archives Identifier 205585330, Local Identifier 26-G-09-23-43(2), Coast Guard photo # 92343-2	David Upton
	64k	USS LST-69 beached while unloading equipment, date and location unknown. US Coast Guard photo # 3237 from the collections of the US Coast Guard Historian's Office.	Mike Green
	66k	USS LST-69 underway, 4 October 1943, location unknown. US National Archives photo # 80-G-26706 A US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Daniel Dunham
1016006904	238k	USS LST-69 being loaded with 7th USAAF trucks at Funafuti Atoll, Ellice Islands to be transferred to Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, 24 December 1943. US National Archives ID 193850962	David Upton
1016006905	274k	Army and Navy personnel fasten equipment securely in place on the main deck of USS LST-69 in preparation for the voyage from Funafuti Atoll, Ellice Islands to Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, 24 December 1943. US National Archives ID 193850965	David Upton
1016006906	205k	Because of low tide it was necessary to unload USS LST-69 quite some distance from the shore. Here, a photo trailer is pulled though the shallow water to the beachhead at Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, 31 December 1943. US National Archives Identifier 193851523, US Army Air Corps photo # 63319A.C.	David Upton
1016006910	373k	A USS LST-69 crew member applies the final touches to the ships' camouflage paint with a flit gun while the LST is preparing for the assault upon Tarawa, the Japanese stronghold in the Gilbert Islands, in November 1943. A US Coast Guard Photo now in the collections of the US National Archives	David Upton

USS LST-69
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
The USS LST Ship Memorial
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 by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 27 August 2021