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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Lincoln County (LST-898)
ex
 USS LST-898 (1950 - 1955)
USNS T-LST-898 (1950)
USS LST-898 (1944 - 1946)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Hotel - Delta
 NJHD
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 - 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 (6) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

USS Lincoln County (LST-898) was transferred to Thailand, renamed HTMS Chang (LST-12)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 15 October 1944, at Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Launched, 25 November 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST 898, 29 December 1944, LT. Donald W. Kallock in command
  • During WWII USS LST-898 was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Thirty-One, CAPT. H. S. Covington USN (22);
    LST Group Ninety-Two, CDR. J. G. Winn USN;
    LST Division One Hundred Eighty-Three and participated in the following campaign;

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 17 April to 30 June 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-898 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    9 to 25 September 194521 to 24 April 1954
    1 to 23 March 1945 

  • Decommissioned, 9 May 1946, in the Philippines
  • Custody transferred to U.S. Army, 25 May 1946
  • Reacquired by the Navy for Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) service, 1 May 1950
  • Placed in service as USNS T-LST-898
  • Recommissioned, 26 August 1950 as USS LST-898
  • During the Korean War USS LST-898 participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    North Korean Aggression
    13 to 16 September 1950
    18 September to 2 November 1950     		First UN Counter Offensive
    12 February to 3 March 1951
    Communist China Aggression
    3 November 1950 to 17 January 1951     		Second Korean Winter
    21 March to 20 April 1952
    Inchon Landing
    16 to 17 September 1950     		Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
    7 to 27 June 1952
    13 July to 2 August 1952
    6 to 16 September 1952

  • Named USS Lincoln County (LST-898), 1 July 1955
  • Decommissioned, 24 March 1961
  • Transferred to Thailand and commissioned into the Royal Thai Navy as HTMS Chang (LST-12), 3 August 1962
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS Lincoln County earned one battle star for World War II service and six battle stars for Korean War service
  • Hull number changed from LST-12 to LST-712, date unknown
  • Final Disposition, The Royal Thai Navy plans to utilize her as a firefighting training hulk at the Royal Thai Navy Base Sattaheeb.
    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
    USS LST-898
    Lincoln County 28k USS LST-898 at anchor, date and location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    Lincoln County 246k Hungnam waterfront during the evacuation of the First Marine Division, 14 December 1950. Identifiable ships present include: USS LST-898, at left; SS Canada Mail, extreme right; and USS Foss (DE-59), in the right distance, providing electric power to the port area.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-423911, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Robert Hurst
    Lincoln County 152k Hundreds of fuel drums await evacuation on the Hungnam docks, 14 December 1950. This view looks across the inner harbor from Blue Beach. USS LST-898 is in the center, with an LSU at right and the harbor entrance control frigate (PF) in the right distance.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-423913, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Lincoln County 98k USS LST-898 beached at Hungnam, Korea, December 1950. with a Shipping Control Administrator, Japan (SCAJAP), LST (note no side number) and LSU-783, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine February 1951    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Lincoln County
    1016089811    		 409k USS LST-898 underway, date and location unknown.
    US National Archives photo # USN 1046017, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Mike Smolinski
    USS Lincoln County (LST-898)
    Lincoln County 81k Starboard broadside view of Lincoln County (LST-898) off Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 15 March 1957. USS Lincoln County was under repair at Mare Island from 7 January to 15 March 1957.
    Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 33434-3-57.    		 Darryl Baker
    Lincoln County 65k Port broadside view of USS Lincoln County (LST-898) off Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 15 March 1957.
    Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 33437-3-57.    		 Darryl Baker
    HTMS Chang (LST-12) (LST-712)
    Lincoln County 32k Ex-USS Lincoln County (LST-898) in Royal Thai naval service as HTMS Chang (LST-12), at anchor, circa 1965, location unknown.
    Official Thai Navy photo    		 Robert Hurst
    Lincoln County 168k Ex-HTMS Chang (LST-712) moored pierside at the Royal Thai Navy Dock Yard Phachunlachomklao, 13 January 2007, awaiting scrapping. Thai Navy plans to use her as firefighting training hulk at the Royal Thai Navy Base Sattaheeb. Photo by Nye Nava
    Lincoln County 210k The decommissioned Thai Royal Navy LSTs HTMS Chang (LST-712), and HTMS Lanta (LST-714) (ex-Stone County (LST-1141)) moored pierside at the Royal Thai Navy Dock Yard Phachunlachomklao, 12 January 2008. Photo by Nye Nava
    Lincoln County 195k The decommissioned Thai Royal Navy LSTs HTMS Chang (LST-712), and HTMS Pangan (LST-713) (ex-Stark County (LST-1134)) moored pierside at the Royal Thai Navy Dock Yard Phachunlachomklao, 14 January 2008. The patrol craft HTMS Pattani (511) is in the foreground. Photo by Nye Nava
    Lincoln County
    1016089812    		 220k Ex-HTMS Chang (LST-712) [Ex-USS Lincoln County LST-898)] as an artificial reef. She was sunk in Mu Koh Chang National Park, Thailand, 22 November 2012.
    Photo courtesy of Varakorn Kuldilok. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Information about the wreck site can be found at The Dive-spot HTMS Chang Wreck - Chang Diving Center     		Robert Hurst
    USS Lincoln County (LST-898)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Kallock, Donald W., USNR29 December 1944 - 23 November 1945
    02LTjg. Sullivan, James Timothy, USN23 November 1945 - 9 May 1946
     Decommissioned9 May 1946 - 26 August 1950
    03LT. Sparger, John, USN (USNA 1943)26 August 1950 - 1952
    04LT. Johnson Jr., Paul D.1952 - ?
    05LT. Perez, Raul Brown, USN? - 1955
    06LT. Butler, William Joseph, USN1955 - 9 May 1956
    07LT. Carpenter, Harold Lloyd, USN (USNA 1946)9 May 1956 - 31 July 1957
    08LT/LCDR. Christopher, Frank Joseph, USN31 July 1957 - 18 October 1958
    09LCDR. Bowen, Jack Winnree, USN (USNA 1951)18 October 1958 - 10 June 1960
    10LT. Ward, John Ellsworth, USN (USNA 1952)10 June 1960 - 24 March 1961
    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
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 1 March 2024