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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-168

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - Bravo - Sierra
NPBS

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 (8) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (2)

USS LST-168 was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II

LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 26 September 1942, at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., Evansville, IN.

Launched, 25 February 1943

Commissioned USS LST 168, 3 May 1943, LT. Arthur S. Moreau, USCGR in command

During World War II USS LST-168 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LST Flotilla Seven;
LST Group Twenty-One;
LST Division Forty-Two and participated in the following campaigns:

Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Eastern New Guinea operation Finschhafen occupation, 22 to 24 September 1943 Saidor occupation, 2 to 4 and 5 to 7 January 1944	Leyte operations Leyte landings, 13 to 28 October and 5 to 18 November 1944
Bismarck Archipelago operation Cape Gloucester, New Britain, 26 to 28 December 1943, 28 January to 1 February 1944 Admiralty Islands landings, 14 to 18 March 1944	Luzon operations Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 18 January 1945
Hollandia operation, 21 to 28 April 1944	Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines; Mindanao Island landings, 17 to 23 April 1945
Western New Guinea operations Morotai landings, 15 September 1944	Borneo operations; Balikpapan operation, 26 June to 10 July 1945

Following World War II USS LST-168 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 6 September to 25 October 1945

Decommissioned, 14 March 1946

Struck from the Naval Register, 12 April 1946

USS LST-168 earned eight battle stars for World War II service

Final Disposition, sold, 9 April 1948 to the Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, PA for scrapping

Specifications:

Displacement

1,625 t.(lt)

4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)

2,366 t.

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	Contributed By
	234k	USS LST-168 beached at Cape Gloucester, 26 December 1943, Note the downed Japanese bomber in the background.	David LaPell
	1332k	LSTs, including USS LST-181, USS LST-168, USS LST-206 and USS LST-245 beached at the loading area at Cape Sudest, New Guinea, 12 March 1944. US National Archives photo # III-SC 271518, Box 504, a US Army Signal Corps photo, by LT E. Commings, now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Dave Kerr
1016016810	204k	A Coast Guard lookout keeps vigilant watch under an anti-aircraft gun aboard USS LST-168 moving in a mighty American armada as dawn breaks over the South China Sea in January 1945. The destination is Luzon. Sunrise makes this procession of sea power a picture of beauty, but it is beauty fraught with peril of attack from the skies. US National Archives Identifier 205585678. Local Identifier 26-G-3992, US Coast Guard Photo # 26-G-3992	David Upton
	53k	USS LST-168 beached in the Philippines, date and location unknown.	LST Home Port web site
	97k	From left to right USS LST-245, USS LST-170 and USS LST-168 beached at Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands after the city had been secured. US Coast Guard photo # 4334 from the collections of the US Coast Guard Historian's Office.	Mike Green
	91k	USS LST-168 beached in the Philippines while unloading construction equipment, date and location unknown. US Coast Guard photo from the collections of th US Coast Guard Historian's Office.	Mike Green
	59k	USS LST-168 and USS LST-470 beached, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	US Coast Guard Historian's Office
	142k	USS LST-168 beached while unloading a bulldozer at Tawi Tawi, Sulu Archipelago, date unknown.	Nick Schafer
	183k	USS LST-168's LCVP-1 taking first assault wave of Australian troops ashore at Balikpapan. Notice cameraman at left; & chalk ID 'LCVP 131'.	Submitted by Adrain K 'for educational purposes' Source-"Pictorial History of Australia at War 39-45", 5 Volumes. 1959
	309k	USS LST-168 drydocked at Leyte, Philippine Islands in June 1945.	Brian Miller
	123k	USS LST-168 at anchor, date and location unknown. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 83628. Courtesy of D. M. McPherson, 1975.	US Naval History and Heritage Command
1016016811	588k	USS LST-168 underway in July 1945 in a column of the Borneo invasion convoy passing through the Makassar straits enroute to Balikpapan, Borneo. Australian troops line the deck in what might well be their last day of rest and relaxation in the sun for many days to come. US LST's carried not only the "Down Under" fighting men but also equipment they would need to put Balikpapan's rich oil fields in working order as soon after the assault as possible. Note the LST's towing LCTs. US National Archives Identifier 205584151 local ID 26-G-4720, US Coast Guard Photo # 4720	David Upton
1016016812	386k	USS LST-168 underway, circa 26 June to 1 July 1945 with Australian troops on deck prior to the assault on oil-rich Balikpapan, Borneo. US National Archives Identifier 205584133 local ID 26-G-4719, US Coast Guard Photo # 4719	David Upton

USS LST-168
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LT. Moreau, Arthur S. USCGR	3 April 1943 - 4 April 1944
02	LT. Twiford, H. USCG	4 April 1944 - 14 March 1946


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
History of LST Flotilla Seven
The USS LST Ship Memorial
LST Home Port
State LST Chapters
United States LST Association

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 13 August 2021