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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-716

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Sierra - Tango NFST

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

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

USS LST-716 was transferred to the Republic of China and named ROCS Chung Chien (LST-205)

LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 16 June 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.

Launched, 24 July 1944

Commissioned USS LST-716, 18 August 1944, LT. Richard H. Perry USNR, in command

During World War II USS LST-716 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:

Campaigns and Dates	Campaigns and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Iwo Jima operation Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 to 26 February 1945	Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 2 May to 30 June 1945

Following World War II USS LST-716 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
20 September to 2 October 1945
18 October to 5 November 1945
26 December 1945 to 12 June 1946	26 December 1945 to 12 June 1946

Decommissioned, 12 June 1946

Transferred, 7 February 1948, to the Republic of China under terms of the Lend-Lease Act, named ROCS Chung Chien (LST-205)

Struck from the Naval Register, 12 March 1948

USS LST-716 earned two battle stars for World War II service

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	Contributed By
USS LST-716
1016071603	3890k	As seen from USS LST-789, the bombardment of Mt. Suribachi, during the invasion of Iwo Jima, 19 February 1945. From left to right; USS LST-716 with *LCT-1354* on deck, USS LST-723, USS LST-642, unknown LST, USS LST-756 with *LCT-632* on deck. US National Archives Identifier 205585242, Local Identifier 26-G-4475, US Coast Guard photo # 4475.	David Upton
1016071605	52k	Shipping off Iwo Jima, 20 February 1945, as seen from *USS Hamlin* (AV-15)*. USS LST-716* is in center, and *LCI(6)-994* is at right. A PBM Mariner is in the near distance. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Photo # 80-G-0311363, a U.S. Navy photo from the collections of the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command.	Robert Hurst
	212k	A 6X6 of the 6th Reconnaissance Group coming off USS LST-716, Okinawa, 26 July 1945. US National Archives photo, courtesy fold3.com.	George Lane
ROCS Chung Chien (LST-205)
	27k	Ex-USS LST-716 under way, circa 1947, location unknown, while in service as the Republic of China landing ship *ROCS Chung Chien* (LST-205)**.	Robert Hurst
1016071604	221k	*ROCS Chung Chien* (LST-205)** takes on Chinese Nationalist refugees fleeing the revolutionary war in China, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, February 1960.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret. and Chin Yu Chu
1016071606	118k	*ROCS Chung Chien* (LST-205)** at Xinbin Barracks, 17 May 2013. Courtesy of Solomon203. licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported	Robert Hurst
1016071607	134k	*ROCS Chung Chien* (LST-205)** underway, date and location unknown. Photo courtesy of The Republic of China Navy	Robert Hurst

USS LST-716
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LT. Perry, Richard H. USNR	18 August 1944 - 28 November 1944
02	LT. Shea, Patrick Henry, USNR	28 November 1944 - December 1945
03	LTjg. McDermott, James J. USNR	December 1945 - 12 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 and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 17 November 2023