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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Lee County (LST-888)
ex
 USS LST-888 (1944 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Bravo - Romeo
 NJBR
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, 11 August 1944, at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Launched, 14 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-888, 13 November 1944, LT. Walter V. Harlin USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-888 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-Five, CAPT. H.E. Richter USN (24);
    LST Group Seventy-Five, CDR. G. W. Stringer USN (28);
    LST Division One Hundred Fifty and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 30 June 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-888 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 20 September 1945 to 12 April 1946
  • Decommissioned, 2 September 1946, at Charleston, S.C.
  • Placed in service as a Naval Reserve training ship at Greenville, MS., 6 September 1946
  • Placed our to service and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs, FL., date unknown
  • Named USS Lee County (LST-888), 1 July 1955
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 21 September 1960
  • USS LST-888 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 18 April 1961, to Gulf Tampa Drydock, Inc., Tampa, FL.
    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-888 577k Launching of LST-888, 14 October 1944, at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.
    A US Navy Bureau of Ships photo by Dravo Corp. from the cruise book compiled by Paul Terry and preserved by Richard Shurtleff Reimers.    		 Will Reimers
    LST-888 683k USS LST-888 commissioning crew photo, 13 November 1944, at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.
    From the cruise book compiled by Paul Terry and preserved by Richard Shurtleff Reimers.    		 Will Reimers
    LST-888
    1016088806    		 327k USS LST-888 entering San Francisco Bay, in early 1946.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 79577    		 Mike Smolinski
    LST-888 78k USS LST-888 beached, date and location unknown
    From the cruise book compiled by Paul Terry and preserved by Richard Shurtleff Reimers.    		 Will Reimers
    LST-888 852k Hand written voyage log for USS LST-888, from 28 August 1944 to 14 June 1946, by Paul Terry USS LST-888 Will Reimers
    LST-888 423k Two poems from the crew of USS LST-888. author unknown. Preserved by Richard Shurtleff Reimers USS LST-888. Will Reimers
    USS LST-888 / USS Lee County (LST-888)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Harlin, Walter Verne, USNR13 November 1944 - 28 November 1945
    02LT. Burney Jr., John G., USNR28 November 1945 - January 1946
    03LTjg. Hasemeyer, Ernest W., USNRJanuary 1946 - June 1946
    04LTjg. McLauchlin, Hugh C., USNRJune 1946 - 2 September 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 21 February 2020