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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

LST-425


LST-425 was transferred to the United Kingdom for the duration of World War II
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 16 November 1942, at Bethlehem Fairfield Co., Baltimore, MD.
  • Launched, 12 December 1942
  • LST-425 saw no active service with the US Navy
  • Transferred to the Royal Navy, 10 February 1943 under terms of the Lend Lease Program and Commissioned HM LST-425 the same day
  • Participated in the Sicily, Reggio, Salerno, Anzio and Normandy operations (MacDermott Ships Without Names)
  • Returned to US Navy custody, 30 August 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 10 June 1947
  • Final Disposition, sold, 8 October 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 - US Varied with availability when each vessel was outfitted. Retro-fitting was accomplished throughout WWII. The ultimate armament design for United States vessels was
    two - Twin 40MM gun mounts /Mk. 51 directors
    four - Single 40MM gun mounts
    twelve single 20MM gun mounts
    Armament - UK Lend Lease built vessels were to be outfitted with armament after convoying across Atlantic and included
    one - 12 Pounder anti-aircraft multi-barrel mount
    six - 20MM single gun mounts
    four - Fast Aerial Mine (FAM) 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

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    Size Image Description Source
    LST-425 374k HM LST-425 unloading on Pacino Beach, during Operation Husky, the Sicilian occupation campaign, 10 July 1943. Ed Storey
    LST-425 831k HM LST-425 loading trucks and troops of the 45th Division, 4 September 1943, at Palermo, Sicily for the Salerno landings, second wave, on 9 September 1943. USS LCI(L)-235 is moored to the left of HM LST-425.
    US National Archives photo # III-SC 181096, Box 181, a US Army Signal Corps photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    Dave Kerr
    LST-425 1361k From left to right HM LST-425 loading trucks and troops while LCIs USS LCI(L)-235, USS LCI(L)-95, USS LCI(L)-220 and an unidentified LCI load troops of the 45th Division, 4 September 1943, at Palermo, Sicily for the Salerno landings, second wave, on 9 September 1943.
    US National Archives photos # III-SC 181098, Box 181, a US Army Signal Corps. photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    Dave Kerr
    LST-425 1108k HM LST-425 loading trucks and troops of the 45th Division, 14 September 1943, at Palermo, Sicily for the Salerno landings
    US National Archives photos # III-SC 182838, Box 187, a US Army Signal Corps. photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    Dave Kerr
    LST-425 77k Members of 1st Polish Armoured Division holding a church service on board HM LST-425 while crossing the English Channel over to Normandy, June 1944. The division's troops played a key role in preventing German forces escaping encirclement in the Falaise pocket on 19-21 August 1944.
    Photo taken by LT. Trevor Wilson, RNVR via Martin Wilson. Photos and text scanned from "D-Day In Photographs by Portsmouth City Council", The History Press. ISBN 978 7524 7479 3.
    Robert Hurst

    LST-425
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 23 February 2018