Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.


NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

HM LSE-(LC)-51
ex
HM LST-215 (1943 - 1944)


LST-215 was transferred to the United Kingdom for the duration of World War II
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 8 January 1943, at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL.
  • Launched, 26 June 1943
  • LST-215 never saw active service with the United States Navy
  • Transferred to the United Kingdom, 19 July 1943
  • Royal Navy History
  • Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-215, 20 July 1943
    Sailed from Norfolk, VA., 16 August 1943 as part of the 9th Flotilla bound for the invasion of the Andaman Islands, which was subsequently canceled
    Took part in the Invasion of Normandy
    Operated in the shuttle service between Tilbury, Ostend and Antwerp
    Collided with a block ship at Ostend, 24 October 1944
    Converted to a Landing Ship Emergency Repair (Landing Craft) at Amos & Smith, Hull, November 1944 to June 1945, redesignated HM LSE (LC)-51
    Paid off and returned to US Navy custody, 27 July 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 29 October 1946
  • Sold for conversion to merchant service, 11 September 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 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
    1 - 12 Pounder anti-aircraft multi-barrel mount
    6 - 20MM mounts
    4 - Fast Aerial Mine (FAM) mounts

    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Source
    LST-215 82k HM LST-215 at anchor, date and place unknown. Roger Smoothy for his father C/MX 107794 Leading Writer Peter Smoothy RN 9th LST Flotilla
    LST-215 96k HM LST-215 crew members Charlie Newman, left and Harry Birch, right, on liberty in Calcutta India, December 1943. Roger Smoothy for his father C/MX 107794 Leading Writer Peter Smoothy RN 9th LST Flotilla
    LST-215 205k General Eisenhower's proclamation to the Allied troops on the eve of the Normandy Invasion, dated stamped, 5 June 1944 with HM LST-215 ships stamp. Roger Smoothy for his father C/MX 107794 Leading Writer Peter Smoothy RN 9th LST Flotilla
    LST-215 86k HM LST-215 conducting loading exercises at Gosport, United Kingdom in May 1944 in preparation for the D-Day invasion of France. Roger Smoothy for his father C/MX 107794 Leading Writer Peter Smoothy RN 9th LST Flotilla
    LST-215 181k HM LST-215 on the beach at Normandy in June 1944. Roger Smoothy for his father C/MX 107794 Leading Writer Peter Smoothy RN 9th LST Flotilla
    LST-215 68k HM LSE (LC)-51 underway, date and location unknown. Robert Hurst

    View the LST-215
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) web site
    Operation "Neptune" : Report of Proceedings Submitted by Roger Smoothy
    Back to the Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Tank Landing Ship (LST) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 10 July 2009