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-463

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Papa - Mike
NFPM

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - American Campaign Medal -Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (9)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)

LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 6 October 1942, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 983) at Kaiser, Inc., Vancouver, WA.

Launched, 9 November 1942

Commissioned USS LST 463, 23 February 1943, LT. A. W. McWhorter, USNR, in command

During World War II USS LST-463 was assigned to the Asiatic- Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Bismarck Archipelago operation Cape Gloucester, New Britain, 28 to 31 December 1943, 3 to 7, 11 to 14, 23 to 25 January, 7 to 10, 18 to 21 February, 25 February to 1 March 1944	Luzon operation Lingayen Gulf landing, 4 to 15 January 1945
Eastern New Guinea operation Saidor occupation, 15 to 17 and 19 to 22, 28 to 30 January, 12 to 14 February 1944	Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 12 to 30 June 1945
Hollandia operation, 21 to 25 April 1944	Manila Bay-Bicol operation Zambales-Subic Bay, 29 to 30 January 1945
Western New Guinea operations Biak Island operation, 27 to 29 May, 31 May to 4 June, 12 to 16, 18 to 20 June 1944 Noemfoor Island operation, 3 to 10, 12 to 17 July 1944 Cape Sansapor operation, 30 July, 4, 6 to 12, 14 to 20, 22 to 28 August 1944 Morotai landings, 15 September 1944	Consolidation of the Southern Philippines Mindanao Island landings, 17 to 23 April 1945,
Leyte operations Leyte landings, 13 to 28 October, 5 to 18 November 1944

Decommissioned, 6 June 1946

Struck from the Naval Register, 19 June 1946

USS LST-463 earned nine battle stars for World War II service

Sold, 3 November 1947 to Dulien Steel Products, Inc., Seattle, WA. for commercial service

Final Disposition, fate unknown

Specifications:

Displacement

1,625 t.(lt)

4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)

2,366 t.

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

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
242k	Battle of Cape Gloucester, New Britain, December 1943-January 1944. USS LST-18 and USS LST-463, beached on a Cape Glousester beach. US National Archives photo # 80-G-57464, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives	US Naval History and Heritage Command
67k	USS LST-463 at anchor, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
90k	USS LST 463 and USS LSM-63 at Lingayen Gulf, P.I. along and numerous other ships on D-Day, 9 January 1945. In the foreground is a downed Japanese aircraft brought down by anti-aircraft fire from the invasion fleet. US photo # NH 91270 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.	USS LSM / LSMR Association
15k	USS LST-463 beached after being hit by a Japanese Kamikaze attack, circa late 1944 early-1945.	LST Home Port web site
27k	USS LST-463 heavily damaged by Kamikaze attack in late 1944 or early 1945	LST Home Port web site

USS LST-463
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LT. McWhorter, A. W., USNR	23 February 1943 - May 1944
02	LTjg. Grounds, Arthur E., USNR	May 1944 - September 1945
03	LT. Heeth, Nathaniel S., USNR	September 1945 - December 1945
04	LT. Caldwell, H. J., USNR	December 1945 - March 1946
05	LTjg. Millett, Robert M., USNR	March 1946 - 6 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
History of LST Flotilla Seven
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

Last Updated 25 June 2021