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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-865


International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Uniform - India
NIUI
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
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with ASia clasp)



USS LST-865 was transferred to the Philippine Navy and named BRP Albay (LT-39)
542-Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 19 October 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 22 November 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST 865, 16 December 1944, LT. George J. Cain USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-865 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Thirty-One, CAPT. H. S. Covington USN (22);
    LST Group Ninety-One, CDR. Jesse Hogan Motes Jr. USN (31);
    LST Division One Hundred Eighty-One
  • Following World War II USS LST-865 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal

    China Service Medal (extended)
    3 September to 20 December 1945 
    21 December 1946 23 February 194721 December 1946 23 February 1947
    20 March to 15 December 194720 March to 15 December 1947

  • Decommissioned, 30 December 1947
  • Transferred to the Philippine Navy, 30 December 1947, named BRP Albay (LT 39)
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 22 January 1948
  • 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-865
    LST-865 200k USS LST-865 moored in a shipyard, date and location unknown. Mark Singleton for his father William Singleton S1/c USS LST-865
    LST-865 185k USS LST-865 main deck looking aft while moored in a shipyard, date and location unknown. Mark Singleton for his father William Singleton s1/c USS LST-865
    LST-865 221k USS LST-865 main deck looking aft while moored in a shipyard, date and location unknown. Mark Singleton for his father William Singleton s1/c USS LST-865
    LST-865 161k One of USS LST-865 single 40mm gun mounts. Mark Singleton for his father William Singleton S1/c USS LST-865
    LST-865 181k William Singleton , on the right, and shipmate aboard USS LST-865 date and location unknown. Mark Singleton for his father William Singleton S1/c USS LST-865
    LST-865 16k USS LST-865 under way, date and location unknown LST Home Port
    BRP Albay (LT 39)
    LST-865 363k Ex-USS LST-865 in Republic of the Philippines service as BRP Albay (LT-39) at anchor at Nha Be, Vietnam, 25 November 1971 (background) with RVN Dong Da (HQ-07), ex-USS Crestview (PCE-895) (foreground). ©Richard Leonhardt
    LST-865 54k BRP Albay (LT-39) at anchor at Nha Be, Vietnam, 25 November 1971. ©Richard Leonhardt
    LST-865 62k BRP Albay (LT-39) at anchor in 1965, location unknown.
    Official Philippines Navy photo from the 1966/67 Edition of "Jane's Fighting Ships".
    Robert Hurst

    USS LST-865
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Cain, George J., USNR16 December 1944 - 26 October 1945
    02LT. Haight, Robert W., USNR26 October 1945 - March 1946
    03LTjg. Newton Jr., Fred B., USNMarch 1946 - ?
    04LT. Clark, Eugene Franklin1946
    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 Homeport
    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
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 12 June 2015