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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-696


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Oscar - Quebec>
NFOQ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)


LST-511 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 25 February 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 25 April 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-696, 26 May 1944, Lt. George A. Hayward USNR, in command
  • During World War II LST-696 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Eight, CAPT E. Watts, USN;
    LST Group Twenty-Three, CDR. T.C. Linthicum, USN;
    LST Division Forty-Six and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Western New Guinea operations
    Morotai landings, 15 September 1944
    Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 18 January 1945
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 5 to 18 November 1944
     

  • Following World War II USS LST-696 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    23 September to 25 November 1945
    25 January to 14 February 1946
    4 to 11 March 1946 1946
    26 March to 23 April 1946
  • Decommissioned, 16 July 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 28 August 1946
  • USS LST-696 earned three battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 19 May 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-696 203k USS LST-696 officers, 1 September 1945, location unknown.
    Photo courtesy of John Hendrickson.
    Robert Hurst
    LST-696 317k USS LST-696 beached alongside USS LST-751, date and location unknown.
    Photo by George Calvert, S1/c LST-696, courtesy of R P Calvert.
    Robert Hurst
    LST-696 93k USS LST-696 under way, circa 1945, location unknown.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 84865. Courtesy of William H. Davis, 1976.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command

    USS LST-696
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Hayward, George Amos, USNR26 May 1944 - 15 December 1945
    02LT. Wertheimer, Joel L., USNR15 December 1945 - 11 February 1946
    03LTjg. Hollingsworth Jr., Louis Robert, USNR11 February 1946 - 3 May 1946
    04LTjg. Hendrickson Jr., John Hunt, USNR3 May 1946 - 21 May 1946
    05LTjg. Berman, Max, USNR21 May 1946 - June 1946
    06LTjg. Meredith, Gordon D., USNRJune 1946 - 16 July 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
    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 by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 24 December 2020