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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-559


/International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Uniform - Tango
 NEUT
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (2)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 14 February 1944, at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 18 April 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-559, 9 May 1944, LT. Richard T. Smith, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-559 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944     		Luzon operation Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 18 January 1945
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 18 October to 4 November and 19 to 29 November 1944     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 9 April 1945

  • For the Okinawa Gunto operation USS LST-559 was assigned to:
    LST Flotilla Fourteen, CAPT. E. A. Seay USN (24);
     LST Group Forty-Two, CDR. G. E. Artz USN (34);
     LST Division Eighty-Three
  • Following World War II USS LST-559 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    8 September to 20 November 1945 
    21 November 1945 to 13 May 194621 November 1945 to 13 May 1946

  • Decommissioned, 1 June 1946, at Naval Station Subic Bay Republic of the Philippines
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 19 June 1946
  • Sold, 5 December 1947, to Bosey, Philippines
  • USS LST-559 earned four battle stars for World War II service.
  • Final Disposition, sunk in Subic Bay to form an extension to the bay's breakwater
    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-559
    1016055901    		 198k LT. Richard T. Smith, CO of USS LST-559, firing a 20mm anti-aircraft gun attempting to shoot down a Japanese Aichi D3As, (Val) dive-bomber off White Beach, Leyte Island, Philippine Islands, 25 October 1944.
    US National Archives Identifier 80664694, page 65, a US Army Signal Corps photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 David Upton
    LST-556 193k USS LST-559 and USS LST-556 nested together, date and location unknown. Deana Eppley
    USS LST-559
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Smith, Richard T., USNR9 May 1944 - November 1945
    02LTjg. Reynolds, Daniel Edward, USNNovember 1945 - 1 June 1946
    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
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    This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 14 May 2021