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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-627


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Golf - Kilo
 NFGK
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 (2) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (1)

USS LST-627 was sold to The Netherlands East Indies, named HNLMS LST-2
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 8 April 1944, at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL.
  • Launched, 1 July 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-627, 20 July 1944, LT. Steward R. Parker, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-627 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, 9 January 1945     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 14 April 1945

  • For the Okinawa Gunto operation USS LST-627 was assigned to:
    LST Flotilla Six, Capt. Laidlaw, USN (24);
     LST Group Sixteen, LCDR. Brugger, J. T. Jr. USNR;
     LST Division Thirty-One
  • Following World War II USS LST-627 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    5 December 1945 to 18 May 19465 December 1945 to 18 May 1946

  • Decommissioned, 6 June 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 June 1946
  • USS LST-627 earned two battle stars for World War II service
  • Sold to the Netherlands East Indies, circa October 1946, Commissioned LST-2
  • Named LST Pelikaan, date unknown
  • Pelikaan was used by the Dutch in the Netherlands East Indies in attempts to suppress the anti-kolonial uprisings (Indonesian independence occurred, 27 December 27, 1949.)
  • Decommisssioned and struck off charge, date unknown
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    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
    USS LST-627
    LST-747 93k Right to left; USS LST-747, USS LST-627 and USS LST-660 beached, at Okinawa, probably after the island was secured, circa 1945-46. Jerry Lem Lem for his father Chung Wong Lem USS LST-747
    HNLMS LST-2 / HNLMS Pelikaan
    LST-627
    1016062715    		 49k Unloading HNLMS LST-2 after arriving in Palembang, 1946.
    Object number 2002-371-9    		  
    LST-1034
    1016103427
    2174-0824    		 108k During the 1st Police Action in Operation Product, HNLMS LST-5 and HNLMS LST-5 brought the heavy equipment to the beach of Pasir Poetih (East Java), 27 July 1947.
    Photo by G. Ottengraf, Marine Brigade - Netherlands Institute for Military History, Object number 2174-0824, 2174-0823, 2174-1152, 2174-0536, 2174-0532, 2174-1462    		  
    LST-627
    1016062708
    2174-0823    		 101k
    LST-627
    1016062710
    2174-1152    		 85k
    LST-627
    1016062711
    2174-0536    		 123k
    LST-627
    1016062712
    2174-0532    		 131k
    LST-627
    1016062713
    2174-1462    		 156k
    LST-627
    1016062704
    2174-0554    		 74k HNLMS LST-2 landing troops, equipment and vehicles at Maurits Bay near Tjilatjap, Netherlands East INdies, 23 October 1947. The landing did not go smoothly, a dry landing of the equipment proved impossible, the loading ramp could not support the weight of the Bailey bug. Finally, the vehicles were pulled through the water to the beach, an operation from which the equipment suffered greatly. This photo shows soldiers pulling a cable tow to the beach. In the background the HNLMS Tidore
    Netherlands Institute for Military History, Object numbers 2174-0554, 2174-0552, 2174-0551, 2174-0553    		  
    LST-627
    1016062703
    2174-0552    		 38k
    LST-627
    1016062707
    2174-0551    		 71k
    LST-627
    1016062709
    2174-0553    		 93k
    LST-627
    1016062706    		 125k Landing at Maurits Bay, on the south coast of Java near Tjillatjap the vehicles were pulled through the water to the beach. The soldiers dragged mats from HNLMS LST 2 to the beach and a bulldozer smoothes the landing zone, 23 October 1947.
    Photo by G. Ottengraf, Marine Brigade - Netherlands Institute for Military History, Object number 2174-0550    		  
    LST-627
    1016062714    		 94k HNLMS LST-2 / Pelikaan moored in 1948 at the quay in Surabaya, was used during police actions in the Netherlands East Indies for the transport of equipment and personnel.
    Netherlands Army Film and Photo Service (LFFD), Object number 2001_N0000310-01    		  
    LST-627 61k HNLMS LST-2 beached in the Netherlands East Indies, circa 1947, location unknown.  
    USS LST-627
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Parker, Steward R., USNR20 July 1944 - 25 March 1945
    02LTjg. Beal, Alexander Simpson, USNR25 March 1945 - 1 April 1945
    03LT. Boley, Allen Dale, USNR1 April 1945 - 13 December 1945
    04LTjg. Hawley, Richard Wendell, USNR13 December 1945 - 27 December 1945
    05LTjg. Granger, Donald Edward, USNR27 December 1945 - 29 April 1946
    06LTjg. Brown, Leonard Z., USNR29 April 1946 - 6 June 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 Home Port
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
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    This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 10 November 2023