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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

LST-163


LST-163 was transferred to the United Kingdom for the duration of World War II
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 10 August 1942, at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 4 February 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST-163, 24 March 1943
  • Decommissioned, 29 March 1943, and transferred to the Royal Navy
  • Royal Navy History
  • Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-163, 1 April 1943
  • Sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, for Liverpool in convoy SC 131, 18 May 1943
  • HM LST-163 participated in the following campaigns:
    Sicilian occupation
    Salerno landings
    West Coast of Italy operations-1944--Anzio-Nettuno advanced landings
    Invasion of Normandy
    Malaya
  • Paid off, 15 February 1946, possibly at Singapore
  • Returned to United States Navy custody, 29 November 1946
  • Sold for conversion to merchant service, 29 July 1947, to Tung Hwa Trading Co., Singapore
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 August 1947
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    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 4 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
    1 - 12 Pounder anti-aircraft multi-barrel mount
    6 - 20MM mounts
    4 - Fast Aerial Mine (FAM) mounts
    Propulsion two General Motors 12-567, 900hp diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
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    View the LST-163
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) web site
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    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
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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 27 October 2006