Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.


NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-817


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Echo - Delta
NHED
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 Service Medal (with Asia clasp)


LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 4 September 1944, at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 14 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-817, 7 November 1944, LT. Robert K. McInnes, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-817 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-Five, CAPT. H.E. Richter USN (24);
    LST Group Seventy-Four, CDR. J.G. Farnsworth;
    LST Division One Hundred Forty-Seven and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 2 April to 18 June 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-817 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    20 September to 10 October 1945
    25 October to 5 November 1945

  • USS LST-817 was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.3.1 Transportation Group (Transportation Division (TRANSDIV 31) for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946
  • Decommissioned, 31 January 1947
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 7 February 1947
  • USS LST-817 earned one battle star for World War II service.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 25 May 1948, to Basalt Rock Co., Inc., Napa, CA.
    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-817 66k USS LST-817 loading out at Navy Base Seattle, circa 3 February 1945, prior to departing for the upcoming invasion of Okinawa.
    US Army Signal Corps photos now in the collections of the Seattle NARA.
    Tracy White
    LST-817 63k
    LST-817 64k
    LST-817 89k
    LST-817 29k USS LST-817 prior to the invasion at Okinawa Maynard A. Altizer for his father
    David H. Altizer S1/c USS LST-817
    LST-817 38k USS LST-817's crew watching gunnery practice, date and location unknown. Maynard A. Altizer for his father David H. Altizer S1/c USS LST-817
    LST-817 39k USS LST-817 approaching Okinawa the evening before D-Day, looking forward over the main deck loaded with equipment for the invasion forces. Maynard A. Altizer for his father David H. Altizer S1/c USS LST-817
    LST-817 25k USS LST-817 and USS LST-811 on the beach at Okinawa, date unknown. Maynard A. Altizer for his father David H. Altizer S1/c USS LST-817
    LST-817 27k USS LST-817 on the beach at Okinawa on D-Day+2. Maynard A. Altizer for his father David H. Altizer S1/c USS LST-817
    LST-817 27k USS LST-817 on the beach at Okinawa on D-Day+5, during an enemy air attack. Maynard A. Altizer for his father David H. Altizer S1/c USS LST-817
    LST-817 29k Army troops on the main deck of USS LST-817 while in transit from Iwo Jima to Okinawa, date unknown. Maynard A. Altizer for his father David H. Altizer S1/c USS LST-817
    LST-817 27k USS LST-817 engine room, date unknown. Maynard A. Altizer for his father David H. Altizer S1/c USS LST-817
    LST-817 32k One of USS LST-817's LCVP's in the davits, date and location unknown. Maynard A. Altizer for his father David H. Altizer S1/c USS LST-817
    LST-817 25k USS LST-817 after the war, date and location unknown. Maynard A. Altizer for his father David H. Altizer S1/c USS LST-817
    YG-33 190k YG-33 taking on rubbish from USS LST-817 and USS LST-726 at Apra Harbor, Guam, 1945.
    US National Archives photo 80-G-353157 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    Mike Green

    USS LST-817
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. McInnes, Robert K., USNR7 November 1944 - March 1946
    02LTjg. Degges Jr., James E., USNRMarch 1946 - June 1946
    03LTjg. Scott, J. A., USNRJune 1946 - August 1946
    04LTjg. Earl, Howard Douglas, USN (USNA 1945)August 1946 - 31 January 1947
    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
    Action Report - Landing of Occupation Forces, Nagasaki Japan, September 1945
    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

    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 15 February 2019