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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-502

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Delta - Xray - Delta
NDXD

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon - (Normandy 1944) - American Campaign Medal - European-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (2)
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

LST-491 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 18 June 1943, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.

Launched, 25 September 1943

Commissioned USS LST-502, 8 December 1943, LT J. T. Lytle, USN, in command

During World War II USS LST-502 was assigned to both the Europe-Africa-Middle East and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters and participated in the following campaigns:

Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
Invasion of Normandy, 5 to 25 June 1944	Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 May to 18 June 1945
Invasion of Southern France, 15 August to 25 September 1944

While assigned the Asiatic-Pacific Theater USS LST-502 was under the command of:
LST Flotilla Thirty-Nine, CAPT. D. H. Johnston USN (22);
LST Group One Hundred-Five, CDR. E. P Wilson USN (20);
LST Division Two Hundred-Nine

Following World War II USS LST-502 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal
28 September to 11 November1945
21 November to 13 December 1945
25 December 1945 to 4 February 1946

Decommissioned, 4 February 1946

Transferred, 20 May 1948, by the Maritime Commission to Commander Naval Forces Far East (COMNAVFE) Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q041

Struck from the Naval Register, 23 December 1947

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 20 May 1948, to Consolidated Builders, Inc., Seattle, WA.

USS LST-502 earned three battle stars for World War II service

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

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Source
1016005106 TL 1166887886	364k	USS LST-51 (left) with USS LST-502 (right) at Portland Harbor, Weymouth, Dorset, United Kingdom, preparing for Operation Overlord, the Invasion of Normandy, France. 1-3 June, 1944. The two LSTs are moored to LST Hard #2 while loading Army vehicles and personnel and equipment. TimeLife_image_1166887886 and 1166887917, by Life Magazine photographer David Scherman. For personal non-commercial use only.	David Upton
1016005107 TL 1166887917	345k		David Upton
	135k	USS LST-502 at anchor in the left background off Omaha Beach, circa 10 June 1944. In the foreground "Rhino" ferry *RHF-19* lands vehicles on Omaha Beach. In the right center distance is the sunken hulk of the old British battleship *Centurion, which had been scuttled as part of the Omaha Beach Gooseberry artificial breakwater. US National Archives photo # 80-G-47392*, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	US Naval History and Heritage Command
	58k	USS LST-502 beached on Omaha Beach in June 1944. Note the 13 barrage balloons protecting the immediate area.	Courtesy Skylighters
	160k	USS LST-502 moored pierside at Brooklyn Navy Yard, 15 December 1944. US National Archies photo # DD635 19LCM	John Chiquoine

USS LST-502
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LT. Lytle, J. T., USN	26 November 1943 - 4 February 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
The USS LST Ship Memorial
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

Last Updated 24 September 2021