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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-475


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - November - November
 NPNN
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (7)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 10 July 1942, at Kaiser, Inc., Vancouver, WA.
  • Launched, 16 November 1942
  • Commissioned USS LST-475, 20 March 1943, LCDR. T. D. Blake, USNR, in command
  • During WWII USS LST-475 was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Eastern New Guinea operation
    Lae occupation, September 1943
    Saidor occupation, January 1944     		Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, October and November 1944
    Bismarck Archipelago operation
    Cape Gloucester, New Britain, December 1943     		Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, January 1945
    Hollandia operation, April 1944 Borneo operation
    Balikpapan operation, June-July 1945
    Western New Guinea operation
    Noemfoor Island operation, July 1944
    Cape Sansapor operation, July and August 1944
    Morotai landings, September 1944     		.

  • Following World War II USS LST-475 performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-October 1945
  • Decommissioned, 24 April 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 June 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold, 31 October 1946, to Suwannee Fruit and Steamship Co., Barber, N.J., fate unknown
  • USS LST-475 earned seven battle stars for World War II service
    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 (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
    Propulsion two General Motors 12-567, 900hp diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    LST-475 115k USS LST-475 while under construction at Kaiser, Inc., Vancouver, WA. She was built in record time, 71 hours and 50 minutes from keel laying to launching. LCDR. Robert D. Shaner, USNR Ret. USS LST-475
    LST-475 92k
    LST-475 77k
    LST-475 56k USS LST-475, USS LST-474, USS LST-594 and other amphibious vessels beached in the Philippines, August 1945. Note crew members swimming in the surf near the bow of USS LST-474. Thomas Clevenger 1SG (ret), US Army for his father-in-law LT. Vasco Luchi USNR, USS LST-582, courtesy Ed Novak Electricians Mate USS LST-582
    LST-475 165k USS LST-475 beached at Yokohama while off-loading an Army airfield support unit, 13 September 1945. The first LST landing after the surrender was signed on 2 September 1945. LCDR. Robert D. Shaner, USNR Ret. USS LST-475
    LST-475 66k USS LST-475 beached on Pier 3 in Manila Harbor taking on army troops returning to the West Coast in late 1945. Skip Premo for his brother-in-law LCDR. Robert D. Shaner, USNR Ret. USS LST-475
    LST-475 238k USS LST-475 leaving San Francisco behind in February 1946 while outbound to New Orleans for decommissioning LCDR. Robert D. Shaner, USNR Ret. USS LST-475
    View the USS LST-475
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    LST Home Port
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
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    This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History, All rights reserved.
    Last Updated 11 April 2008