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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

LST-487

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 Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal (1)

LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down. 2 January 1943, at Kaiser, Inc., Richmond, CA.

Launched, 23 January 1943

Commissioned USS LST-487, 27 April 1943

During World War II LST-487 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater LST Flotilla Five (CAPT. G.B. Carter, USN), Group Fifteen (CDR. V. K. Busck, USN), Division 29 and participated in the following operations:

**Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Marianas operation Capture and occupation of Saipan, June to July 1944	Luzon operation Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 18 January 1945
Capture and occupation of Tinian July 1944	Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, May 1945
Western Caroline Islands operation Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944	.

Following World War II LST-487 performed occupation duty in the Far East until November 1945

Decommissioned, 15 March 1946

Struck from the Naval Register, 1 May 1946

Final Disposition, sold for conversion to merchant service, 20 February 1948, to Brown and Root, Inc., Houston, TX.

LST-487 earned five 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

Size	Image Description	Source
44k	One of *LST-487*'s LCVPs transporting battle casualties from shore to ship, date and location unknown.	Don Hardesty Curator of Artifacts LST 325
74k	*LST-487* underway with a deck load of lumber, date and location unknown.	Don Hardesty Curator of Artifacts LST 325
28k	*LST-487* at Saipan, date unknown.	Don Hardesty Curator of Artifacts LST 325
30k	*LST-487* at Saipan, date unknown.	Don Hardesty Curator of Artifacts LST 325
109k	*LST-487* "Swim Call", date and location unknown.	Don Hardesty Curator of Artifacts LST 325
34k	*LST-487* beached at Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, date unknown.	Don Hardesty Curator of Artifacts LST 325
75k	Aft port quarter view of *LST-487* off Mare Island, 14 August 1945. *LST-487* was under repair at the Navy Yard Mare Island from 23 June to 20 August 1945. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 5950-8-45, 8/14/45.	Darryl Baker
69k	Forward port quarter view of *LST-487* off Mare Island, 14 August 1945. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 5952-8-45, 8/14/45.	Darryl Baker
199k	*LST-487* is aft of *LST-478* at Navy Yard Mare Island, 17 August 1945. Beyond the causeway is *YHB-2* (Port of Stockton) and the never to be completed Destroyer Escorts; Creamer (DE-308), Ely (DE-309) and Delbert W. Halsey (DE-310). Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 6007-8-45 8/17/45.	Darryl Baker
93k	*LST-487* at Pearl Harbor, 7 September 1945.	Courtesy © The Joseph Kundrick Jr. Family
40k	*LST-487* at Pearl Harbor, 8 September 1945.	Courtesy © The Joseph Kundrick Jr. Family
31k	*LST-487* at Pearl Harbor, 9 September 1945.	Courtesy © The Joseph Kundrick Jr. Family
62k	*LST-487* underway, enroute from Eniwetok Atoll to Tokyo, October 1945.	Courtesy © The Joseph Kundrick Jr. Family
32k	*LST-487* underway, enroute from Eniwetok Atoll to Tokyo, October 1945.	Courtesy © The Joseph Kundrick Jr. Family