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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Ship's Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Caroline County (LST-525)
ex
 USS LST-525 (1944 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Delta - Zulu - Tango
 NDZT
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (24 February 1968)
Second Row - Navy Unit Commendation - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - American Campaign Medal
Third Row - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Fourth Row - Vietnam Service Medal (5) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (5) - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
LST-491 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 18 October 1943, at Jeffersonville, IN. by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.
  • Launched, 20 December 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST-525, 14 February 1944, ENS. James R. Stevens, USN, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-525 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Convoy UGS-36, 1 April 1944 Invasion of Southern France, 15 August to 25 September 1944
  • Decommissioned, 25 June 1946
  • Laid up in the Reserve Fleet
  • Recommissioned, 20 October 1950 for service with the Atlantic Fleet Amphibious Forces, LT. Austin N. Volk in command
  • Decommissioned, 15 September 1954
  • Named USS Caroline County (LST-525), 1 July 1955
  • Recommissioned, 9 June 1966, to provide support and resupply for riverine forces in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968, LCDR. A. E. Holzhaeuser in command
  • During the Vietnam War USS Caroline County (LST-525) served continuously in country and in contiguous waters, with the exception of overhaul periods, from late 1967 to early 1969 participating in the following campaigns. (Dates listed do not include underway transit times within the contiguous waters along the Vietnam coast as defined by the US Navy and so specified by the Vietnam Service Medal.)

    Vietnam War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II
    1 to 10 January 1967
    21 February to 24 March 1967
    8 to 31 May 1967     		Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V
    8 August to 8 September 1968
    19 September to 1 November 1968
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III
    1 to 13 June 1967
    8 August to 29 November 1967
    20 to 29 January-1968     		Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VI
    2 to 15 November 1958
    3 to 20 February 1969
    Tet Counteroffensive
    30 January to 9 March 1968     		 

  • Decommissioned early 1970 at Orange, TX.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 September 1974
  • USS LST-525 earned two battle stars for World War II service and as USS Caroline County (LST-525) earned five campaign stars for Vietnam War service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS), 1 August 1975
    Specifications:
    Displacement
    1,625 t.(lt)
    4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
    2,366 t. (beaching displacement)
    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 Contributed
    By
    USS LST-525
    LST-525
    1016052513    		 56k Launching of LST-525, 20 December 1943, at Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
    Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co. photo    		 Tommy Trampp
    LST-525 58k USS LST-525 underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Lloyd King
    LST-525 79k USS LST-525 off an unknown beachhead with bow doors open and ramp down.
    US Navy photo from "Allied Landing Craft and Ships of World War Two" by the US Division of Naval Intelligence.    		 Robert Hurst
    LST-525 52k USS LST-525 moored, date and location unknown. Larry Noble (XO PT-306, CO PT-313) and Joe Brannon (PT-305)
    LST-525 40k USS LST-525 moored at Oran, Algeria with two unidentified LSTs plus various other craft, date unknown. LST 525 piggy backed the PT boats to Oran, Algeria. Larry Noble (XO PT-306, CO PT-313) and Joe Brannon (PT-305)
    LST-525
    1016052514    		 202k USS ST-525 moored pierside, possibly at Oran, Algeria, date unknown. The LST on the right is one of these four LSTs, 60,601,602 or 603)
    Luke Karolchyk LST-907 photo collection    		 Mary Ann Karolchyk and Cheryl Brozovic on behalf of their father Luke Karolchyk LST-907
    LST-525 114k USS LST-525 moored at St. Tropez, France during the Invasion of Southern France, 15 August 1944. Photo taken from PT-304. Motor Machinist Mate Sam Pavlos with back to camera. Debbie Pavlos
    LST-525
    1016052512    		 125k USS LST-525 moored at NAB Little Creek, VA. while loading US Marine Corps vehicles in preparation for conducting amphibious exercises, date unknown. David Upton
    LST-525 319k Highline transfer between USS LST-525 and USS LST-1081 while underway enroute to Vieques Island, Puerto Rico in March 1954. Photo by Harold J. Leeper. Tom Leeper for his father Harold J. Leeper ET3 USS LST-1081
    USS Caroline County (LST-525)
    LST-525 241k USS Caroline County(LST-525) in North Star Bay, Greenland with LCU-654 loaded on her main deck, date unknown.
    US National Archives Photo # 80-G-482996, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Smolinski
    LST-525 728k USS Caroline County (LST-525) underway on the Cua Viet River, South Vietnam, 15 March 1967. The ship is loaded with cargo trucks. Caroline County was the first LST to dock at Cua Viet. The Cua Viet River Base was a center of American and ARVN defense of Northern I Corps, near the DMZ.
    Defense Imagery photo # DM-ST-85-09353 CUA VIET RIVER, South Vietnam (15 March 1967) a USMC photo by PFC Kenneth L. Fuller now in the collections of Defense Imagery.mil.    		 Robert M. Cieri
    LST-525 705k USS Caroline County (LST-525) landing at Cua Viet with a load of cargo trucks, 15 March 1967. Carolina County was the first LST to dock at Cua Viet. LCU 1498 is visible in the background.
    Defense Imagery photo # DM-ST-85-09354 CUA VIET, South Vietnam (15 March 1967) a USMC photo by PFC Kenneth L. Fuller now in the collections of Defense Imagery.mil.    		 Tom Leeper for his father Harold J. Leeper ET3 USS LST-1081
    LST-525 870k USS Caroline County (LST-525) with her bow doors open while docked at Cua Viet, 15 March 1967. The ship brought ice cream to the Marines at Cua Viet to commemorate her visit.
    Defense Imagery photo # DM-ST-85-09355 CUA VIET, South Vietnam (15 March 1967) a USMC photo by PFC Kenneth L. Fuller now in the collections of Defense Imagery.mil.    		 Robert M. Cieri
    LST-525 117k USS Caroline County (LST-525) moored outboard of USS Meeker County (LST-980) at Naval Station Guam in 1968. Photo by Larry Roszkowiak
    USS Caroline County (LST-525)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    History of USS Caroline County (LST-525) - Mobile Riverine Force Association
    Commanding Officers
    01. Stevens, James Rutledge, USN14 January 1944 - 12 August 1945
    02LTjg. Shea, John J., USNR12 August 1945 - 12 February 1946
    03LTjg. Smith, David P. USNR12 February 1946 - 2 June 1946
    04LTjg. Garner, Bruce L., USNR2 June 1946 - 25 June 1946
     Decommissioned25 June 1946 - 20 October 1950
    05LT. Volk, Austin N., USNR20 October 1950 - 26 November 1951
    06LCDR. Plummer, Herbert A., USNR26 November 1951 - 24 December 1952
    07LT. Moul III, Cornelius Ferris, USN (USNA 1945)24 December 1952 - 15 September 1954
     Decommissioned15 September 1954 - 9 June 1966
    08LCDR. Holzhaeuser, Arthur Emil, USN9 June 1966 - 10 February 1968
    09LT. Ryan, Kevin Thomas, USN (USNA 1960)10 February 1968 - 21 March 1969, Hull swap with USS LST-1126
    10LT. Wilson Jr., James Alexander, USN21 March 1969 - 25 June 1969
    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 Brodie System - Runway On A Rope
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    Mobile Riverine Force Association
    LST Homeport
    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
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 22 March 2024