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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS King County (AG-157)
ex
USS King County (LST-857) (1955 - 1957)
USS LST-857 (1944 - 1955)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - November - Lima
NINL

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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 (1)
Second Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Korean Service Medal (7) - United Nations Korean Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

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During World War II USS LST-857 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LST Flotilla Thirty-One, CAPT. H. S. Covington USN (23);
LST Group Ninety-Three CDR. E. R. Sperry USN (23);
LST Division One Hundred Eighty-Four and participated in the following campaign:

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

Following World War II USS LST-857 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal
23 September to 1 November 1945
18 November to 16 December 1945

During the Korean War USS LST-857 participated in the following campaigns:

Korean War Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
North Korean Aggression 18 September to 6 October 1950	Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 1 to 17 May 1952 3 to 5 June 1952 26 June to 1 July 1952 27 August to 2 September 1952 11 to 17 September 1952 8 to 15 November 1952 23 to 30 November 1952
Inchon Landing 13 to 17 September 1950	Third Korean Winter 9 to 15 December 1952 28 to 30 April 1953
UN Summer-Fall Offensive 4 to 10 November 1951	Korean Summer-Fall 1953 1 and 12 to 14 May 1953 29 May to 4 June 1953 15 to 25 June 1953 12 to 14 July 1953
Second Korean Winter 30 November to 9 December 1951 19 December 1951 to 6 January 1952 28 February to 6 March 1952 2 to 6 and 17 to 30 April 1952

Final Disposition, sold, 25 April 1961, to Zidell Explorations, Inc., Portland, OR., for scrapping

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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

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Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
USS LST-857
	192k	USS LST-857 underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.		Jim Kurrasch Battleship Iowa Pacific Battleship Center
	72k	USS LST-857 moored pierside at Pearl Harbor, T.H., circa 1945-47.		Evan Prost for Jack Rudloff USS LST-857
	132k	USS LST-857 loading relief supplies at Pearl Harbor for victims of a tsunami that struck the island of Hilo on the 1st of April 1946.		Mike Wade for his father N.G. Wade, CTC USN Ret
	87k
	126k	USS LST-857 at anchor in San Francisco Bay, CA. in early 1946, with LCT(6)-778 loaded on the LST's main deck. US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo # NH 79572, Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974.		Mike Green
	130k	USS LST-857 beached at Monterey, CA., circa 1949-52.		William Robert Caskey Jr. for his father William Robert Caskey Sr. (Bob) EM2 USS LST-857 1949-52
	40k	USS LST-857 moored pierside, date and location unknown.		Boyd Campbell USS LST-857 1951-53
	56k	USS LST-857 moored at Sasebo, Japan while loading incendiary bombs for the Air Force in Korea, circa 1952-53.		Boyd Campbell USS LST-857 1951-53
USS King County (LST-857)
	104k	The Regulus II missile launcher for Project Lehi leaves the structural shop at Mare Island, 25 March 1957, on its way for installation abroad USS King County (LST-857). Mare Island Navy Shipyard photo # 33684-3-57		Darryl Baker
	97k	The Regulus II missile launcher aboard YD-33 prior to installation aboard USS King County (LST-857), 4 April 1957. Mare Island Navy Shipyard photo # 33840-4-57		Darryl Baker
	182k	The Regulus II missile launcher being installed aboard USS King County (LST-857), 5 April 1957. YD-33 is doing the lifting. Mare Island Navy Shipyard photo # 33809-4-57		Darryl Baker
USS King County (AG-157)
	350k	USS King County (AG-157) Commanding Officer. LT. J. Metcalf, left, is looking over the plans for the Regulus II missile system with LCDR R. G. Newby, Mare Island’s Assistant Design Superintend, 18 September 1958. US Navy photo from the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum - File name: LST 857 40775-9-58 TH, 9/18/58..		Darryl Baker
	297k	The prototype Regulus II storage and handling system in being installed aboard the USS King County (AG-157) at Mare Island, 18 September 1958. Note the submarine sail. US Navy photo from the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum - File name: LST 857 41069-9-58 TH, 9/18/58..		Darryl Baker
	357k	View of the topside mock-up of the Halibut’s topside missile launching area aboard USS King County (AG 157), 18 September 1958. US Navy photo from the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum - File name: LST 857 41070-9-58 TH, 9/18/58..		Darryl Baker
	56k	USS King County (AG-157) with a Regulus II missile being readied for launch, circa 1958. The structure behind the missile is a non-submarine blast shield to protect the ship's superstructure. US Navy photo from "The American Submarine" by Norman Pulmar.		Robert Hurst
1015085717	311k	USS King County (AG-157) underway, circa 1950s, while serving as Regulus II test ship.		Mike Smolinski
	108k	A Regulus II missile being fired from the deck of USS King County (AG-157) in the Pacific Missile Range off Point Mugu, CA., 11 December 1958. US Navy photo.		Tommy Trampp

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USS King County (LST-857 / AG-157)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Commanding Officers
01	LT. Parlier, Roy Clifford, USN	29 December 1944 - December 1945	LST-857
02	LT. Mathews, Charles E., USNR	December 1945 - March 1946	LST-857
03	LT. Parlier, Roy Clifford, USN	March 1946 - June 1946	LST-857
04	LT. Stevens, James Rutledge, USN	June 1946 - August 1947	LST-857
05	LT. Myers, Harvey Lawrence, USN	August 1947 - 1949	LST-857
06	LT. Andrews, George Page, USN	August 1954 - 4 January 1956	LST-857
07	LTjg. Stieber, Daniel P., USNR	4 January 1956 - 7 January 1956	LST-857
08	LT. Gurney, Sumner (Stud), USN	7 January 1956 - 10 July 1958	LST-875/AG-157
09	LT. Metcalf III, Joseph, USN :VADM	10 July 1958 - 21 December 1959	AG-157
10	LT. Gibbs, Charles Edward, USN	21 December 1959 - 19 July 1960	AG-157

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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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 1 March 2024