Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-556


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Uniform - November
 NEUN
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) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (2)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 4 February 1944, at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 7 April 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-556, 1 May 1944, LT. Marion S. Moore, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-556 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944     		Manila Bay - Bicol operations
    Zambales-Subic Bay operation, 29 to 30 January 1945
    Leyte operations
    Leyte landings, 18 October to 6 November and 19 to 29 November 1944
    Ormoc Bay landings, 7 to 8 December 1944    		 Okinawa Gunto operations
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 April to 7 May 1945
    Luzon operations
    Mindoro landings, 12 to 18 December 1944    		  

  • For the Okinawa Gunto operation USS LST-556 was assigned to:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-One
     LST Group Nine CDR. S.A. Lief
  • Decommissioned, 14 March 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 12 April 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 26 April 1948, to Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Chester, PA.
  • USS LST-556 earned five 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. (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 Source
    LST-556 29k USS LST-556 moored pierside, date and location unknown. Phil Lobato
    LST-556 828k USS LST-556 beached at Mindoro Island, Philippines while unloading, 30 December 1944. Note the 40mm Bofors battery with crew in the foreground protecting the LSTs while they unload.
    US Army Signal Corps photo # SC 200195 dated 28 February 1945, by Pvt. Ben Gross    		 Dave Kerr
    LST-556 193k USS LST-556 and USS LST-559 nested together, date and location unknown. Deana Eppley
    USS LST-556
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Moore Marion S., USNR1 May 1944 - August 1945
    02LT. Caton, Jack R., USNRAugust 1945 - December 1945
    03LTjg. Sullivan, T. J., USNRDecember 1945 - 14 March 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    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
    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 18 December 2020