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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

LST-118 / LST(H)-118

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 (3)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippine Liberation Medal (1)

LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 21 April 1943, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.

Launched, 21 July 1943

Commissioned USS LST-118, 6 September 1943

During World War II LST-118 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater LST Flotilla Five (Capt. G.B. Carter, USN), Group Fifteen (Cdr. V. K. Busck, USN) and participated in the:

**Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Hollandia operation April 1844	Leyte operation Leyte landings, October 1944
Marianas operation Capture and occupation of Guam, July 1944	.

Following World War II LST-118 was redesignated Tank Landing Ship (Hospital) LST(H)-118, 15 September 1945 LST(H)-118 performed occupation duty in the Far East until early February 1946, including occupation duty landings in the Wakayama area, Japan, (K plus 2), 27 September 1945 and at Sasebo, Kyushu, Japan, (A plus 40), 2 November 1945

Decommissioned, 8 February 1946

Struck from the Naval Register, 29 September 1947

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 28 April 1948, to Dulien Steel Products, Inc., Seattle, WA.

LST-118 earned three 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
	31k	*LSTH-118* underway off the coast of Japan in November 1945		Mark Strange for his father Carl D. Strange S1/c USS LST-118

View the LST-118
DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center web site

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
LST Home Port
State LST Chapters
United States LST Association

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Last Updated 31 March 2006