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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Ship's Patch contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USNS De Kalb County (T-LST-715)
ex
 USS De Kalb County (LST-715) (1955 - 1965)
 USAT LST-715 (1946 - 1950)
 USS LST-715 (1944 - 1946 - 1960 1955)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Sierra - Kilo
 NFSK
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Iwo Jima operation)
Second Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2)
Third Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal
Fourth Row - Korean Service Medal (6) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 7 June 1944 at Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 20 July 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-715, 15 August 1944, ENS. Robert I. Trapp USN in command
  • During World War II USS LST-715 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-One, CAPT. W. H. Brereton USN (24);
     LST Group Sixty-One, CAPT. R.M. MacKinnon USN (25);
     LST Division One Hundred Twenty-Two and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 3 March 1945     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 May to 7 June 1945

  • USS LST-715 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    9 to 12 September 19458 to 12 February 1955

  • Decommissioned, 17 April 1946 at Manicani Island, Republic of the Philippines
  • Transferred to the US Army, 28 June 1946
  • Commissioned USAT LST-715, 29 June 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 29 September 1947
  • Reacquired by the Navy, 25 July 1950
  • Reinstated on the Naval Register, 10 August 1950
  • Recommissioned USS LST-715, 30 August 1950
  • During the Korean War USS LST-715 participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    North Korean Aggression
    18 September to 2 November 1950     		UN Counter Offensive
    1 to 14 March 1951
    Communist China Aggression
    3 November 1950 to 14 January 1951     		Second Korean Winter
    11 January to 30 April 1952
    Inchon Landing
    13 to 17 September 1950     		Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
    1 May to 6 August 1952

  • Named USS De Kalb County (LST-715), 1 July 1955
  • USS De Kalb County (LST-715) was assigned to China service from 8 to 12 February 1955
  • Decommissioned, date unknown
  • Assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) in December 1965 and placed in service as USNS De Kalb County (T-LST-715)
  • Placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register, 1 November 1973
  • Custody transferred to MARAD for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay CA.
  • USS De Kalb County (LST-715) earned two battle stars for World War II service and six battle stars for Korean War Service
  • Final Disposition, disposed by the Maritime Administration, 30 April 1984, to Jon M. Associates, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA,, for scrapping
    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 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/
    Contributed By
    LST-809
    1016080901    		 401k USS LST-809 and USS LST-715 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, between 8 December 1944 and 22 January 1945, training for Operation Detachment, the invasion of Iwo Jima.
    TimeLife. TimeLife Image 115948822, by W. Eugene Smith. For personal non-commercial use only.    		 David Upton
    USS LST-715
    De Kalb County 87k USS LST-715 laying off the beach at Iwo Jima, Green Beach, Volcano Islands. She is off the port bow of USS LST-399. In the background an LSM(R) is laying a barrage of rockets onto the slopes of Mount Suribachi, 19 February 1945. Photo by William E. Jayne USS LST-399
    De Kalb County 78k USS LST-715 at Iwo Jima, Green Beach, Volcano Islands, 25 February 1945.
    US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 LST-715 De Kalb County web site
    LCT-1154
    1018115401    		 8636k LCT(6)-1154, USS LSM-140 and USS LST-715 unloading supplies on the beach of embattled Iwo Jima among the wreckage left by the furious fighting, February 1945.
    US National Archives Identifier 205585179, a US Navy now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 David Upton
    LSM-140 63k USS LSM-140 and USS LST-715 beached at Iwo Jima, circa 9 February to 16 March 1945. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-242 121k Aerial view of the Iwo Jima beachhead, circa February 1945. Ships that can be identified include;
    USS LST-715,
    USS LST-790,
    USS LST-724,
    USS LST-224,
    USS LST-784 and
    USS LST-779.
    LSM's include;
    USS LSM-242,
    USS LSM-140,
    USS LSM-47, and
    USS LSM-43.
    LCTs include;
    LCT-892, and
    LCT-1029,
    The one lone LCI that is identifiable is USS LCI(L)-1077.
    USMC photo # 110582    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LST-819 327k Ten LSTs moored at the Yonabaru Pier, Okinawa, 23 July 1945. From right to left:

    USS LST-819,
    USS LST-879,
    USS LST-681,
    USS LST-926,
    USS LST-944,
    ?
    USS LST-715,
    USS LST-918,
    USS LST-871,
    ?
    ?
    US Navy photo 21st USNCB Neg. No. 204.    		 Donn Cuson
    LST-611/715/845 164k Inchon Invasion, September 1950. Four LSTs unload men and equipment while "high and dry" at low tide on Inchon's Red Beach, 16 September 1950, the day after the initial landings there. USS LST-715 is on the right end of this group, which also includes; USS LST-611 and USS LST-845 along with one other. Another LST is beached on the tidal mud flats at the extreme right. Note bombardment damage to the building in center foreground, many trucks at work, Wolmi-Do island in the left background and the causeway connecting the island to Inchon. Ship in the far distance, just beyond the right end of Wolmi-Do, is USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729).
    US Navy photo # 80-G-420027 now in the collection of the US National Archives.     		US Naval Historical Center
    De Kalb County 188k Bow view of USS LST-715 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, circa August 8, 1951, alongside of USS Askari (ARL-30). LST-715 was under repairs at Mare Island from 5 May to 9 August 1951. Visible just abaft the forward gun tubs is the elevator that transported vehicles carried externally, on the upper deck, to the tank deck so that they could be off loaded over the bow ramp. The structure abaft it is a short ramp leading to the elevator, opened up to reveal stowage between deck and ramp. Landing craft in the davits are LCVPs.
    US Navy photo from "US Amphibious Ships and Craft", by Norman Friedman.    		 Robert Hurst
    De Kalb County 177k Stern view of USS LST-715 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 9 August 1951. Forward of LST-715 is USS Miller (DD-535) and USS Lewis Hancock (DD-675) while USS Askari (ARL-30) is inboard of LST-715. USS LST-715 was under repairs at Mare Island from 5 May to 9 August 1951.
    Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 10068-8-51 8/8/51.    		 Darryl Baker
    De Kalb County 109k Bow on view of USS LST-715 departing Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 9 August 1951.
    Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 10071-8-51 8/8/51.    		 Darryl Baker
    De Kalb County 87k Aft quarter view of USS LST-715 off Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 9 August 1951.
    Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 10074-8-51 8/8/51.    		 Darryl Baker
    De Kalb County 336k USS LST-715 beached, date and location unknown. Dave Kerr
    De Kalb County 64k USS LST-715 underway, date and location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    De Kalb County 353k USS LST-715 underway, date and location unknown.
    US National Archives Photo # USN 1045668 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command    		 Mike Smolinski
    USNS De Kalb County (T-LST-715)
    De Kalb County
    1016071511    		 471k USNS De Kalb County (T-LST-715) beached on a ramp in South Vietnam, date unknown Paul Kopsick NDQSA
    USS LST-715 / USS De Kalb County (LST-715)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01ENS/LT. Trapp, Robert Irving USN15 August 1944 - 12 March 1946
    02LTjg. Duell. Robert C. USNR12 March 1946 - 17 April 1946
     Decommissioned17 April 1946 - 30 August 1950
    03LT. Brimmer, Herbert Hughs USN1954 - 8 September 1956
    04LTLCDR. Highley, Warren Arthur USN8 September 1956 - 23 April 1958
    05LT. Greff Jr., Clarence Henry USN23 April 1958 - 2 October 1959
    06LT. Wright, Ross Wallace, USN2 October 1959 - 17 July 1961
    07LTjg. Beaibe. Ka,es Davod, USN17 July 1961 - 22 August 1961
    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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    Last Updated 22 March 2024