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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-740

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Echo - Hotel
NGEfH

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 (5)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippine Liberation Medal (2)

LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:

Laid down, 12 February 1944, at Dravo Corp., Neville Island, Pittsburgh, PA.

Launched, 8 April 1944

Commissioned USS LST-740, 15 May 1944, LT. A.C. McMahon, USNR in command

During World War II USS LST-740 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LST Flotilla Eight (CAPT E. Watts, USN), Group 22 (CDR. E.H.Pope, USN), Division 44 and participated in the following campaigns:

**Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Western New Guinea operation Morotai landings, September 1944	Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines Mindanao Island landings, April 1945
Leyte operation Leyte landings, October and November 1944	Borneo operation Balikpapan operation, June and July 1945
Luzon operation Lingayen Gulf landing, 9 January 1945	.

Following World War II USS LST-740 performed occupation duty in the Far East until late October 1945

Decommissioned, 8 March 1946

Struck from the Naval Register, 12 April 1946

Final Disposition, sold 14 June 1948 to Oil Transport Co., New Orleans, LA., for non-self-propelled operation. fate unknown

USS LST-740 earned five battle stars for World War II service

Specifications: (as reported by Office of Naval Intelligence-1945)
Displacement 1,625 t.(lt), 4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
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)
Speed 12 kts. (maximum)
Endurance 24,000 miles @ 9kts. while displacing 3960 tons
Complement

7 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
Propulsion two General Motors 12-567, 900hp diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
149k	USS LST-740 beached at Morotai Island, circa September 1944.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
40k	USS LST-740 beached at Sansapor, Western New Guinea, circa September 1944.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
43k	USS LST-632, USS LST-740 and USS LST-1017 beached at Morotai, Dutch East Indies, 18 September 1944, D+3.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
85k	USS LST-740 (possibly) at the far right beached during the Leyte Gulf landings, D+2, 12 October 1944.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
48k	USS LST-740 and USS LST-614 are in the background of this posed photo of General Mac Arthur and staff wading ashore at Luzon, 9 January 1945.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
28k	USS LST-740 in the background of this photo of General MacArthur coming ashore in an LCVP at Luzon, Lingayen Gulf, 9 January 1945.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
36k	USS LST-740 beached at Lingayen Gulf, 9 January 1945	Hyperwar US Navy in World War II
47k	USS LST-740 and other LSTs beached at Lingayen Gulf, 9 January 1945	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
74k	USS LST-740 crew members; Halstead, Hall, Fluck, Parks, Rau, Drago, Brummer, McElcar, CicCic on the beach at Morotai, Dutch East Indies, 24 February 1945.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
60k	USS LST-740 beached, date and location unknown. Crew members; Derail, Blanchard and Parks.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
126k	USS *LST-740* beached, date and location unknown. Crew members; Letts and Fluck.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
116k	USS LST-740's three Signalmen; Godin, Parks, Derail, date and location unknown.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
42k	USS LST-740 crew members QM2/c Fluck and SM1/c Parks one the bridge, date and location unknown.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
71k	USS LST-740 crew members QM2/c Fluck and SM1/c Parks with locals at Sansapor, New Guinea, 10 April 1945.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
34k	USS *LST-740* and USS LST-679 at Mindanao Island, April 1945.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
82k	USS LST-740 at anchor off Tacloban, Leyte Island with *LCT-732* and several native outrigger canoes alongside, date unknown.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
80k	USS LST-740 beached at Saidor, New Guinea, 10 May 1945. while taking on cargo, (Clark E. Parks is at right at bottom of ramp).	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
49k	USS LST-740 beached at Saidor, New Guinea, 10 May 1945. while taking on cargo,	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
42k	USS LST-740 and USS LST-1016 beached at Balikpapan, Borneo, 14 July 1945.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740
43k	USS LST-740 crew members hold a Japanese flag, date and location unknown. Clark E. Parks is fourth from left.	Clark E. Parks SM1/c USS LST-740