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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-968


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - India - Hotel
 NKIH
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 - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 7 November 1944, at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc. Hingham, MA.
  • Launched, 9 December 1944
  • Commissioned, USS LST-968, 3 January 1945, LT. Rayburn M. Quinn, USN in command
  • During World War II USS LST-968 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
  • Following World War II USS LST-968 was assigned to Occupation duty in the Far East from 29 October 1945 to 12 April 1946
  • Decommission, 2 July 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 August 1946
  • Sold to the Humble Oil and Refining Co., Houston, TX., 10 June 1948, for operation
  • 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
    LSM-122 43k USS LST-968 just visible in the background of this photo of USS LSM-122 in the foreground in Sasebo Harbor, Kyushu, Japan, 10 November 1945. Richard W. Friedrich, F/1c, LSM-467, Collection, slide number 024
    LST 968 13k Entering San Francisco Bay with LCT-1230 secured to her main deck. LCT-1230 was "toploaded" at Yokohama, Japan, circa 10-12 April 1946 for the return trip to CONUS. USS LST-968 web site
    LST 968 86k USS LST-968 with LCT-1230 on deck, circa 1945-46.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 84711. Courtesy of D.M. McPherson, 1976.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    USS LST-968
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT, Quinn, Rayburn Maurice, USN3 January 1945 - 2 July 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
    LST-968 and other units of TU 96 Voyage Orders from Yokohama to Pearl Harbor, 12 April 1946
    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
    Last Updated 1 July 2022