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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski, Shoulder tab by Al Grazevich

USS Churchill County (LST-583)
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 USS LST-583 (1944 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Yankee - Echo
 NEYE
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 18 May 1944, at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 5 July 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-583, 2 August 1944, LT. Philip E. Acker, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-583 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 18 January 1945     		Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines
    Mindanao Island landings, 10 to 11 March and 17 to 23 April 1945
    Manila Bay-Bicol operation
    Zambales-Subic Bay, 29 to 30 January 1945     		 

  • Following World War II USS LST-583 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    23 September to 14 October 1945
    10 to 20 December 1945

  • Decommissioned, 13 September 1946
  • Laid up in the Reserve Fleet
  • Named Churchill County (LST-583), 1 July 1955
  • Recommissioned, 1 November 1960, and assigned to Commander, Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet
    Personal Recollection of LT. Robert Burris, Executive Officer USS Churchill (LST-583)
    "Summer 1965 - In the Aero Jet General yards in Jacksonville FL.
    Fall 1965 - Cruise to Panama through Christmas. Liberty in Puerto Lemon, Costa Rico and Santa Marta, Columbia
    Also went to the San Blas Islands to deliver aid material to the San Blas Indians. The last time any ship was there was 1790’s and that was the Spanish, all the soundings on the chart are mine. We followed a US Army Q boat which was following an Indian canoe though the reefs where we anchored in a small bay where we had about 15 feet of spare room on each end of the ship Rex [Commanding Officer LCDR Carpenter] was a great ship driver, and had lots of guts.
    Spring 1966 - to Panama stopping in Kingston Jamaica where we took on a 50 ft boat on the main deck, and delivered it to Panama, LT. Michael H.V. Nolan relieved LCDR. Carpenter in Panama. We went to the back country south of the canal to support prep for a new canal. Big tide range and on the way home, we stopped in the Dominican Republic and evacuated the last US Army troops from the 1964 invasion. I was in USS Monrovia (APA-31) which sent in the first wave there in 1964.
    Summer 1966 - We went to the head of the Chesapeake Bay to Havre De Grace Maryland to act as the judges stand for a hydra plane race, followed by a cruise to Argentia, Newfoundland Ireland and Iceland. I am pretty sure that this is the time frame when we hit the Chesapeake Bay bridge tunnel.
    Spring 1967 - Back to Panama, sailed to Lima Peru but had to turn around and return... This is when we had the “crossing” shellback celebration. We went to support the second canal again, and broached on the beach but with major effort and a hell of a lot of luck, we got off with no problem. We went to the San Blas Islands again, and that is where we hit a reef and ripped a hole in the bottom big enough to drive a Volkswagen through. Back to Little Creek and I left the ship...All of these things happened and I think I have the dates pretty close Many thanks Bob"
  • Decommissioned, 11 December 1968
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 September 1974
  • USS LST-583 earned three battle stars for World War II service
  • Sold for scrapping by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS), 1 August 1975
  • Acquired by Minerve Shipping & Trading Corp. S.A., Panama and renamed Petrola 131, circa 1976-1977.
    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
    9 officers, 120 enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    14 officers, 131 enlisted
    Boats 6 LCVPs
    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-583
    LCT-737 250k USS LST 583 under way with LCT-737 secured to her main deck.
    US Navy photo from "Allied Landing Craft of World war Two".    		 Robert Hurst
    LST-583 237k USS LST 583, and USS LST-379 with LCT(6)-707 on her main deck, beached, probably in Philippines sometime in 1945. James H Murphy standing on far right. Kathleen Golden for her father James H. Murphy USS LST-623
    USS Churchill County (LST-583)
    LST-583 57k USS Churchill County (LST 583) beached, date and location unknown. Francis Hilliker
    LST-583 372k USS Churchill County (LST 583) underway in 1963, location unknown.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Catalog # L45-51.09.01    		 Mike Smolinski
    LST-584 133k USS Churchill County (LST 583) under way at Naval Station Coco Solo, Panama in 1963. Francis Hilliker
    LST-584 77k USS Churchill County (LST 583) moored pierside at Naval Station Rodman, Panama in 1964. Francis Hilliker
    LST-584 185k USS Churchill County (LST 583) beached at Turbo, Columbia in 1964. Drums contains a chemical defoliant. Francis Hilliker
    LST-583 19k USS Churchill County (LST 583) follows USS Walworth County (LST 1164) while transiting the Panama Canal, circa 1968. USS Walworth County (LST-1164) web site
    USS LST-583 / USS Churchill County (LST-583)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Acker, Philip E., USNR2 August 1944 - November 1945
    02LTjg/LT. Stockton, Ralph Howell, USNRNovember 1945 - 13 September 1946
     Decommissioned13 September 1946 - 1 November 1960
    03LT. Miale, Robert Eugene, USN1 November 1960 - 20 June 1962
    04LT. McClenahan, Richard Myrl, USN20 June 1962 - 20 December 1962
    05LT. Rowsey Jr., James Melvin, USN20 December 1962 - 5 June 1964
    06LT. Carpenter, Rex Norman, USN5 June 1964 - 31 March 1966
    07LT. Nolan, Michael Howard Vance, USN31 March 1966 - 2 April 1968
    08LT. Bishop, William Richard, USN2 April 1968 - 11 December 1968
    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 Homeport
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 22 March 2024