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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USNS T-LST-626
ex
 USS LST-626 (1944 - 1952)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Golf - Hotel
 NFGH
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 - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 31 March 1944, at Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, IL.
  • Launched, 27 June 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-626, 15 July 1944, LT. Manuel J. Codoner Jr. USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-626 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 5 to 18 November 1944     		Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines
    Mindanao Island landings, 10 to 11 March 1945
    Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 18 January 1945     		Borneo operation
    Tarakan Island operation, 27 April to 5 May 1945
    Brunei Bay operation, 11 to 14 June and 28 June to 2 July 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-626 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following period: ÿnter>

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    17 September 1945 to 2 March 194617 September 1945 to 2 March 1946

  • Decommissioned, 2 March 1946 and assigned to Commander Naval Forces Far East (COMNAVFE) Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), redesignated Q081
  • Transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), 31 March 1952, and placed in service as USNS T-LST-626
  • Placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register, 1 June 1972
  • Final Disposition, sold to the Dongkuk Steel Co. of America, Inc., Los Angeles, CA., for scrapping, 25 May 1973
  • USS LST-626 earned four 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 Contributed
    By
    USS LST-626
    LST-626
    1016062606    		 76k USS LST-626 beached at Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines loading for support of the Mindoro operation. LST-626 was so far up on the beach that she could not retract of be pulled off. The soldiers of the 71st Photo Group watched their assigned convoy sail for Mindoro, then camped on San Pedro Beach, and began to unload the ship
    Eastern Oregon University - Hill, Fred, "Leyte, LST 626 1," EOU Digital Archives.    		 Vincent M. Solinap
    LST-626
    1016062607    		 60k
    LST-626
    1016062608    		 56k
    LST-626 63k USS LST-626 beached at Tarakan Island, Borneo, circa 4 May 1945, while unloading Royal Australian Air Force heavy equipment across a pontoon causeway to the beachhead.
    Australian War Memorial photo # OG2541.    		 Australian War Memorial
    LST-626 168k USS LST-626 beached in the background of this photo of Australian troops on the beach at Tarakan, Borneo, circa May 1945. Submitted by Adrain K 'for educational purposes'
    Source-"Pictorial History of Australia at War 39-45",
    5 Volumes. 1959
    LST-697 79k USS LST-626 and USS LST-697 beached at Morotai, 1 June 1945, while members of the 2/3RD Anti Aircraft Regiment wait on the beach to board the LSTs in preparation for "Operation Oboe 6".
    Australian War Memorial photo # 108691.    		 Australian War Memorial
    SCAJAP Q081
    LST-281 176k Ex-USS LST-281 as the Shipping Control Authority, Japan (SCAJAP) LST Q092, beached on Yellow Beach, Inchon 16 September 1950. In the background is Shipping Control Authority, Japan (SCAJAP) LST Q081 (ex USS LST-626). James Swank
    USNS T-LST-626
    LST-626 219k USNS T-LST-626 loading at Qui Nhon, South Vietnam, circa April, 1967 moving elements of the 2nd Battalion 9th Artillery to LZ Guadalcanal near LZ Montezuma, Duc Pho Robert Wilson Sr.
    LST-626 163k
    LST-626 152k
    USS LST-626 / USNS T-LST-626
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Codoner Jr., Manuel J., USNR15 July 1944 - 24 October 1945
    02LT. Gordon, J. E., USNR24 October 1945 - February 1946
    03LTjg. Tangue Jr., Albert O., USNRFebruary 1946 - 2 March 1946
    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
    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
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 25 February 2022