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

USS LST-390


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Charlie - Juliet - Uniform
NCJU
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Iwo Jima) - Navy Unit Commendation - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)


LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 20 June 1942, at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. Newport News, VA.
  • Launched, 15 October 1942
  • Commissioned USS LST-390, 28 November 1942, LT. William J. C. Baker, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-390 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Five, CAPT. J.R. Clark, USN
    LST Group Fourteen, CDR. R.W. Lejeunesse, USN
    LST Division Twenty-Seven and participated in following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Treasury-Bougainville operation
    Occupation and defense of Cape Torokina, 11 November and 3 to 4 December 1943
    Iwo Jima operation
    Capture and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 to 26 February 1945
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 to 22 June 1944
     

  • Following World War II USS LST-390 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    22 October to 14 December 1945
    2 January to 12 March 1946

  • Decommissioned, 12 March 1946 and assigned to Commander Naval Forces Far East (COMNAVFE) Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q096
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 29 September 1947
  • Final Disposition, sold to Consolidated Builders, Inc., of Seattle, WA., 3 April 1948 and subsequently scrapped
  • USS LST-390 earned three battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation for World War II service
    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 Source
    LST-390 41k USS LST-334 (foreground) and USS LST-390 (background) between Piers 4 and 5 at Newport News VA, loading 3/4 ton 4X4 command reconnaissance cars, 1 January 1943 The Library of Virginia US Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection
    LST-337/390 426k USS LST-390 (foreground) and USS LST-343 (background) beached, at (Knockin?) Beach Guadalcanal, date unknown.
    US Marine Corps HQ photo # HQ. Photo No. 68,688
    David Leoncavallo for his grandfather Charles Lovett. USS LST-343 and USS LST-620
    LST-337/390 457k A bulldozer assists in the unloading of USS LST-390 while she is beached at the Green Islands, 16 February 1944, during the invasion of the islands by Allied troops.
    US Army Signal Corps photo # 220037
    Ed Zajkowski
    LCT-1318
    1018131802
    448k LCT-1318 onboard USS LST-390 and beyond USS LST-390 is LCT-1328 onboard USS LST-70 plus an unknown LCT, 23 February 1945, Red Beach, Iwo Jima. LCT-1328 took a Japanese 40mm sized round and was damaged while onboard USS LST-70..
    COMTASKFOR 51 Photographic report of the Iwo Jima, Bonin Is. Operation page 46. NARA catalog ID 4697018
    David Upton
    LST-588 73k USS LST-588, USS LST-399, USS LST-390, LCT-1326 and other amphibious ships and landing craft on the beach at Iwo Jima, February 1945. Note: Mount Suribachi in the background. USS LSM / LSMR Association

    USS LST-390
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Baker, William J. C. USNR29 November 1942 - 1 June 1943
    02LT. Mayer, Robert Jesse, USNR1 June 1943 - 9 August 1943
    03LT. Stormes, F. H., USNR9 August 1943 - 24 August 1943
    04LT. O'Brien Jr., John Joseph Patrick, USNR24 August 1943 - 21 March 1944
    05LTjg. Edinburg, Joseph Mayer, USNR21 march 1944 - September 1944
    06LT. Wessinger, Hall Bradley, USNSeptember 1944 - 1 January 1945
    07LT. Maury, James B., USNR1 January 1945 - June 1945
    08LTjg. Colaizy, Ralph J., USNRJune 1945 - August 1945
    09LT. Van Deusen, Alden J., USNRAugust 1945 - December 1945
    10LTjg. Himovitz, Nathan, USNRDecember 1945 - 12 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
    LST Flotilla Five War Diary May 1944
    LST Flotilla Five War Diary July 1944
    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
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 16 February 2024