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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-879


International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Xray - India
 NIXI
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)
542 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 2 November 1944, at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 13 December 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-879, 5 January 1945, LT. Sidney A. Berkowitz USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-879 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-Five and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 April to 7 June 1945

  • Following World War II LST-879 performed occupation duty in the Far East from 20 October to 19 November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 26 June 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 25 September 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 17 May 1948, to Bethlehem Steel Co., Bethlehem, PA.
  • USS LST-879 earned one battle star for World War II service
    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
    LST-8796 127k USS LST-879 underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Tommy Trampp
    LST-476 75k USS LST-879, USS LST-227 and USS LST-476 beached, date and location unknown. Theron Dosch for Loran W. (Slim) Roberts USS LST-476
    LST-8796
    1016087903    		 139k USS LST-879 beached, date and location unknown.
    "LST Scuttlebutt", August 2021 Issue, p. 8. Courtesy Billy Weems     		Zach Morris
    LST-8796
    1016087904    		 196k USS LST-879 crew member Drennen Weems seen here in the lower part of this photo, with some of his crewmembers.
    "LST Scuttlebutt", August 2021 Issue, p. 10. Courtesy Billy Weems     		Zach Morris
    LST-819 327k Ten LSTs moored at the Yonabaru Pier, Okinawa, 23 July 1945. From right to left:

    USS LST-819,
    USS LST-879,
    USS LST-681,
    USS LST-926,
    USS LST-944,
    ?
    USS LST-715,
    USS LST-918,
    USS LST-871,
    ?
    ?
    US Navy photo 21st USNCB Neg. No. 204.    		 Donn Cuson
    LST-8796
    1016087902    		 148k USS LST-879 returning home from the Far East passes under the Golden Gate Bridge as she enters San Francisco Bay, circa 1946.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 79575    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    USS LST-879
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Berkowitz, Sidney A., USNR 5 January 1945 - 1 September 1945
    02LTjg. Breen, Robert V., USNR1 September 1945 - 22 January 1946
    03LTjg. Cunningham, Robert R., USNR 22 January 1946 - 26 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
    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 8 August 2021