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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

LST-482 / LSTH-482 / Branch County

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 (5)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia Clasp) - Philippine Liberation Medal
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 14 September 1942, at Kaiser, Inc., Richmond, CA.
  • Launched, 17 December 1942
  • Commissioned USS LST-482, 20 March 1943, Lt. R. L. Eddy, USNR, in command
  • During World War II LST-482 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the:
  • Redesignated Tank Landing Ship (Hospital) LST(H)-482, 15 September 1945
  • Following World War II LST(H)-482 performed occupation duty in the Far East, November and December 1945
  • Decommissioned, 23 February 1946
  • Laid up in the Reserve Fleet
  • Redesignated LST-482, 11 March 1952
  • Named Branch County (LST-482), 1 July 1955
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 11 August 1955
  • Final Disposition, sunk as a target, March 1956
  • Branch County earned five battle stars for World War II service as LST-482.

    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
    Skipjack 82k Plan view of the Skipjack (SS-184), aft, taken off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 22 March 1943. White outlines mark recent alterations.
    In Berth 12 is LST-482. She was at Mare Island only from the 20th to the 24th of March 1943. It seems that LST's would leave Kaiser at Richmond and come to Mare Island for some type of certification. Note also the barrage balloons in the background.
    US Navy photo # NH 99196 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Darryl Baker
    View the Branch County (LST-482)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center web site
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    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 by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 29 April 2005