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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-647


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - India - Hotel
NFIH
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia clasp)


LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 5 July 1944, at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL.
  • Launched, 28 September 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-647, 19 October 1944, LT. Howard R. O'Neal, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-647 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-One, CAPT. W. H. Brereton, USN (24);
    LST Group Sixty-Three, LCDR. R .E. Farnestock USNR;
    LST Division One Hundred Twenty-Six and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 10 June 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-647 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    8 to 23 September 1945
    28 October to 8 November 1945
    12 to 27 November 1945
    13 December 1945 to 16 May 1946

  • Decommissioned, 16 May 1946
  • Assigned to Commander Naval Forces Far East (COMNAVFE) Shipping Control Authority for Japan (SCAJAP), 16 May 1946, redesignated Q037
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 23 December 1947
  • USS LST-647 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 23 June 1948
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 23 June 1948, to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, PA.
    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-647 802k USS LST-647 launching at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL., 28 September 1944. Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
    LST-647 1037k USS LST-647 launching ceremony dignitaries at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL., 28 September 1944. Individuals that can be identified are LT Howard O'Neal, prospective Commanding Officer, (second from left), the ship's sponsor, Mrs. E. L. Johnson (fourth from left), the actor and World War II Coast Guardsman Cesar Romero (center over Mrs. Johnson's left shoulder). Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
    LST-647 494k USS LST-647 at anchor off Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL. after being launched, 28 September 1944. Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
    LST-647 666k USS LST-647 crew photo, at ATB Camp Bradford, at the completion the ship's amphibious training. Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
    LST-647 199k USS LST-647 crew photos Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
    LST-647 166k
    LST-647 194k
    LST-647 199k USS LST-647 conning tower and one of the ship's officers. Note nickname given to the ship by her crew. "Jackpot." Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
    LST-647 151k View of USS LST-647 from the forecastle looking aft towards the deck house. Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
    LST-647 51k USS LST-647 crossing the equator, King Neptune and his court. Terry Smith for his grandfather LT. Howard O'Neal CO USS LST-647
    LST-647
    1016064713
    179k USS LST-647 with LCT(6)-1277 on board, 26 March 1945, during the invasion of Karama Islands, southwest of Okinawa. LCT(6)-1277 was launched here on 27 March 1945.
    Frames from the short film "Marines Raise American Flag Over Geruma Shima Island". National Archives ID 80229. Local ID 428-NPC-15927.
    David Upton
    LST-647 124k USS LST-647 at anchor in Kerama Retto Harbor during the Okinawa invasion, March-April 1945. Photographed from USS LST-888.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-335583, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    LST-647 138k USS LST-647 moves in toward the beach at Kerama Retto. In background is USS LST-885. Photographed from USS West Virginia (BB-48).
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-K-3821, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command

    USS LST-647
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. O'Neal, Ruben Howard, USNR19 October 1944 - November 1945
    02LT. Zoe, Paul C., USNRNovember 1945 - 2 February 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 2 September 2022