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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST(H)-205
ex
 USS LST-205 (1943 - 1945)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Quebec - Bravo
 NZQB
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (1)

USS LST-205 was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 5 August 1942 at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, Ill.
  • Launched, 13 April 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST 205, 15 May 1943, LT. R. J. Buchar, USCG in command
  • During World War II, USS LST-205 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Thirteen;
     LST Group Thirty-Nine;
     LST Division Seventy-Eight
     LST Flotilla Five, CAPT. G.B. Carter, USN;
     LST Group Fifteen, CDR. V. K. Busck, USN;
     LST Division Thirty
     LST Flotilla Fourteen, CAPT. E. E Seay USN (24);
     LST Group Forty-Two, CDR. G. E. Artz USN (34);
     LST Division Eighty-Four and participated in the following campaigns

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Gilbert Islands operation
    Tarawa, 21 November to 8 December 1943     		Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 17 June to 3 July 1944
    Western New Guinea operations
    Biak Island operation, 9 to 13 June 1944     		Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 20 October and 19 to 29 November 1944

  • USS LST-205 was redesignated Tank Landing Ship (Hospital), LST(H)-205, 15 September 1945;
  • Following World War II LST(H)-205 performed occupation duty in the Far East 2 September to 14 December 1945
  • Decommissioned, 2 April 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 June 1946
  • USS LST-205 earned four battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold, 4 June 1948, to Hughes Bros., Inc., New York City, N.Y., for scrapping
    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 Contributed
    By
    LST-205 33k USS LST-205 at Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, circa 21 November to 11 December 1943. Peter Hansen in honor of his father CPO Harold Hansen USS LST-205
    LST-205 32k USS LST-205 at Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, circa 21 November to 11 December 1943. Peter Hansen in honor of his father CPO Harold Hansen USS LST-205
    LST-205 35k USS LST-205 at Apamama, Gilbert Island, circa 4 January to 12 February 1944 Peter Hansen in honor of his father CPO Harold Hansen USS LST-205
    LST-205 111k USS LST-205 and USS LST-274 beached at Saipan, circa 17 June to 3 July 1944. Tommy Trampp
    LST-205 21k USS LST-205 at Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, circa 14 to 17 November 1944 Peter Hansen in honor of his father CPO Harold Hansen USS LST-205
    LST-205 44k USS LST-205 at Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, circa 14 to 17 November 1944 Peter Hansen in honor of his father CPO Harold Hansen USS LST-205
    LST-205 34k USS LST-205 at Tacloban, Leyte, PI, circa October 1944 to January 1945 Peter Hansen in honor of his father CPO Harold Hansen USS LST-205
    LST-205 24k USS LST-205 at Leyte in 1944 LST Home Port, courtesy Chris Wilkins
    LST-205 19k USS LST-205 and six unidentified LSTs on the beach at Leyte in 1944 LST Home Port courtesy Chris Wilkins
    LST-205 221k USS LST-205 takes on Chinese Nationalist refugees fleeing the revolutionary war in China, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, February 1960.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    USS LST-205
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Buchar, Raymond J. USCG15 May 1943 - 1944
    02LTjg. Bean, Phillip L. USCGR1944 - 1945
    03LT. Regard, S. F. USCGR1945 - 2 April 1946
    Courtesy US Coast Guard Historian's Office
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Home Port
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
    Crew Images and Voyage Journal
    U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office - USS LST-205
    The Disaster at West Loch, Pearl Harbor, T.H., 21 May 1944
    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 and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 23 May 2014