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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

LST-563

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal

LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 4 March 1944, at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., Evansville, IN.

Launched, 1 May 1944

Commissioned USS LST-563, 20 May 1944, Lt. J. B. Hockswender, USNR, in command

During World War II LST-563 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater

Grounded on Clipperton Island in the eastern Pacific, 670 miles southwest of Mexico, 21 December 1944

Final Disposition, stripped and abandoned, 9 February 1945

Struck from the Naval Register, 23 February 1945

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

(2-boat davits) 7 officers, 104 enlisted

(6-boat davits) 9 officers, 120 enlisted
Troop Accommodations

(2-boat davits) 16 officers, 147 enlisted

(6-boat davits) 14 officers, 131 enlisted
Boats 2 or 6 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

Lend Lease built vessels were to be outfitted with armament after convoying across Atlantic and included

1 - 12 Pounder anti-aircraft multi-barrel mount

6 - 20MM mounts

4 - Fast Aerial Mine (FAM) mounts
Propulsion two General Motors 12-567, 900hp diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
31k	*LST 563* broached on Clipperton Island, 22 December 1944. US Navy photo from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.	Todd Cabral
21k	*LST 563* on the reef at Clipperton Island, December 1944. Photo taken from Argus (PY-14).	Photo by Warren Cabral RDM/2c USS Argusvia Todd Cabral
31k	*LST 563* on the reef at Clipperton Island, December 1944. Photo taken from Argus (PY-14).	Photo by Warren Cabral RDM/2c USS Argus via Todd Cabral
36k	*LST 563* on the reef at Clipperton Island, December 1944. Photo taken from Argus (PY-14).	Photo by Warren Cabral RDM/2c USS Argus via Todd Cabral

View the LST-563
DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center web site

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
LST Home Port
State LST Chapters
United States LST Association

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Last Updated 18 March 2005