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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-208

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Golf - Oscar
NFGO

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1)
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 7 September 1942, at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL.

Launched, 11 May 1943

Placed in partial commission as USS LST-208, 8 June 1943, LT. Robert W. Emmons, USNR, in command

Placed in full commission as USS LST-208, 17 June 1943, LT. Robert W. Emmons, USNR, in command

The officers and crews of USS LST-208 and USS LST-349 exchanged ships at Bizerte, 25 August 1943

During World War II USS LST-208 was assigned to both the Europe-Africa-Middle East and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters and participating in the following campaigns:

Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944	*Invasion of Borneo (British - Operation Ratchet) Regu Creek, Arakan, Burma landing, 7 December 1943
*Invasion of Italy (British - Operation Slapstick) Taranto landing, 16 to 30 September 1943

When assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater USS LST-208 came under the command of:
LST Flotilla Thirty-Five, CAPT. D. H. Johnston USN (22);
LST Group One Hundred Four, CDR. D. Stubbs USN (25);
LST Division Two Hundred Five

Following World War II USS LST-208 performed occupation duty in the Far East from 2 September to 16 October 1945

Decommissioned, 12 June 1946

Struck from the Naval Register, 3 July 1946

USS LST-208 earned one battle star for World War II service (*No battle stars were authorized for participation in British Operations)

Final Disposition, sold to Bosey, Philippines, 5 December 1947, fate unknown

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
	101k	USS LST-208 officers. This group of officers were originally assigned to USS LST-349 and transferred to USS LST-208 at Bizerte, 25 August 1943. Top row, Left to Right; Kranich, First Lieutenant, Search, Communications, Hughes, Supply, (payroll), unknown, Rittenhouse, Executive Officer. Bottom row, left to right; unknown, Bixler, Engineering, George Wolhuter, Gunnery, Stewart, Supply.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	1010k	USS LST-208 and HM LST-165 high and dry in the background as British troops work to removed several disabled tanks at the Normandy beachhead, circa June 1944.	Dale Osborne for his father Albert John Osborne HM-165
	33k	USS LST-208 underway in the Suez Canal enroute to Calcutta, India to load "General Lee" tanks prior to taking part in Operation Ratchet, the British landing at Regu Creek, Arakan, Burma, circa November 1943.	Charles Hagerty, SM2/c USS LST-208
	56k	USS LST-208 underway in the Suez Canal enroute to Calcutta, India to load "General Lee" tanks prior to taking part in "Operation Ratchet," the British landing at Regu Creek, Arakan, Burma, circa November 1943.	Charles Hagerty, SM2/c USS LST-208
	133k	A group USS LST-208 crew members enjoying R&R in Egypt while on their way back to the Mediterranean area after "Operation Ratchet" in Burma.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	45k	USS LST-208 Deck Force Petty Officers: Top row L to R; Willis Cox., Kovach BM 2/c, Fraser Cox. Bottom row L to R; Ball Cox., Barbara BM 2/c, Freeman Cox., Banks BM 1/c and Div. PO date and location unknown.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	186k	USS LST-208 Deck Force, date and location unknown.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	92k	USS LST-208 forward 40mm AA gun mount - Gunnery practice in the English Channel, May 1944. Crew - top Left to Right - R. Ruff & G. Guyll - bottom Left to Right - R. Ellis & C Barbare.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	67k	USS LST-208 port side wheelhouse deck 20mm AA gun mount and crew. Loader William Fraser, pointer J. Kovach, talker-elevator L. Foster.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	117k	USS LST-208 Gunnery Officer and Gunner's Mates Left to Right - Felix Faderbie, John White, Gunnery Officer Geo. Wolhuter, Lester Hogan, Red Dodge.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	119k	USS LST-208 Port side .50 caliber machine gun. (.50 cal machine guns were not standard armament for LSTs.) Gunnery Officer George Wolhuter procured two at an Army Depot and had them mounted one each port and starboard amidships. He said they couldn’t do much damage to German aircraft during strafing and bombings, but he did feel that with the heavy barrage coming up from the 208 the German pilots would shy away from the ship	William Fraser USS LST-208
	99k	USS LST-208 Starboard side .50 caliber machine gun.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	98k	USS LST-208 weighing anchor in Wales, date unknown.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	184k	CBM Whitfield supervising the loading of the main deck prior to D-Day: note stretchers on the side walls. USS LST-208 took wounded back to England during the early days of the invasion.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	89k	USS LST-208 underway while enroute to the Normandy beachhead with a fully loaded deck, date unknown.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	89k	USS LST-208 approaching the Normandy beachhead , date unknown.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	60k	USS LST-208 putting remnants of the British 8th Army ashore on Gold Beach, during the Invasion of Normandy, 6 June 1944.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	65k	The scene at Omaha Beach when USS LST-208 returned to make her second landing at Normandy, June 1944.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	48k	USS LST-208 off loading British tanks on the beach at Normandy, date unknown.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	52k	USS LST-208 on the beach at Normandy, date unknown.	William Fraser USS LST-208 Dennis Painter for his Father-in-Law John S. White USS LST-208
	61k	USS LST-208 stern view as she sits high and dry on the beach at Normandy, date unknown.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	74k	USS LST-208 beached at Normandy, circa June 1944. From left to right: LTjg. Bixler Engineering Officer.; LTjg. Kranich, First Lieutenant; LT. Strickland, Commanding Officer.	William Fraser USS LST-208
1016020833	106k	USS LST-208 unloading a U.S. Army M10 tank destroyers, 10 July, at Utah Beach, Normandy. Frame from the short film "155MM Howitzer Firing, Cerisy Le Foret, France; Army and Divisional Military Police, Cherbourg to St Lo, France" National Archives ID 15480. Local ID 111-ADC-1673.	David Upton
	35k	USS LST-208 underway, date and location unknown.	LST Home Port web site
	50k	USS LST-208 at anchor, showing damage to her port side after colliding with a Liberty ship in the English Channel during the third week of July 1944. *LST-208* was returning from her fourteenth cross channel voyage when she was hit by the Liberty Ship which struck her empty port side troop compartment requiring the ship to be drydocked for repairs. (See description of the collision and aftermath as told by William Fraser USS LST-208)	Dennis Painter for his Father-in-Law John S. White USS LST-208 and William Fraser USS LST-208 for the photo caption information
	79k	USS LST-208 close-up view of port side damage after collision with a Liberty ship in the English Channel during the third week in July 1944.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	79k	USS LST-208 close-up view of port side damage after collision with a Liberty ship in the English Channel during the third week in July 1944.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	261k	USS LST-208 control group, September 1944.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	269k	USS LST-208 and USS LST-959 moored in the Whangpoo River at Shanghai, China, 29 December 1945.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	147k	USS LST-208 moored in the Whangpoo River at Shanghai, China, 29 December 1945.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	84k	USS LST-208 swim call, date and location unknown.	William Fraser USS LST-208
	457k	USS LST-208 loading horses on the Whangpoo River at Shanghai, 25 February 1946, for transportation up the coast to Chin Whang Tao. Several LSTs under the command of Rear Admiral Bertram J. Rodgers had been converted to carry horses in China. The officer in the overseas cap is LTjg. Robert Crozier. US Navy photo # 80-G-373292, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Photo - National Museum of the US Navy Caption - Bill Fraser

USS LST-208
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LT. Emmons, Robert W.	8 June 1943 - 25 August 1943
02	LT. Strickland, Aubrey	25 August 1943 - 4 March 1945	crew exchange with *LST349*
03	LT. Burke, Edmund H.	4 March 1945 - 12 June 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
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 2 September 2022