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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-172


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Quebec - Bravo - November
 NQBN
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)
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 24 December 1942, at Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 12 May 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST 172, 11 June 1943, LT. Joseph J. Keim, USNR. in command
  • During World War II USS LST-172 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Five, CAPT.. G.B. Carter, USN;
     LST Group Fourteen, CDR. R.W. Lejeunesse, USN;
     LST Division Twenty-Eight
  • Following World War II USS LST-172 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    1 January to 22 May 19461 January to 22 May 1946

  • Decommissioned, 8 June 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 9 June 1946
  • Sold, 5 November 1947 to Bosey, Philippines and converted for merchant service
  • 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
    LST-172 66k USS LST-172 in floating drydock USS ABSD-1, 29 September 1944, at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands. Note the bluff bow and nearly square bulges that made LST's slow and poor seakeepers.
    Text and photo from "U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History" by Norman Friedman.    		 Robert Hurst
    LST-172 44k USS LST-172 beached at Hawaii, November 1945 Photo by Lawrence (Larry) Laflamme GM2 USS LST-172
    LST-727/172/1001 62k USS LST-1001, USS LST-727 and USS LST-172 moored at Hawaii, 1945 Photo by Lawrence (Larry) LaFlamme GM/2c
    LST-172 92k USS LST-172 and LST-854 moored to a buoy at Shanghai, China, circa April 1946. George Curry GM2/c USS LST-172
    LST-172 557k Newspaper article describing the tragedy that struck USS LST-172 while moored at Shanghai, China, 23 April 1946. George Curry GM2/c USS LST-172
    LST-172 150k US Naval personnel and the crew of USS LST-172 bury their dead shipmates in the US plot at the Shanghai Cemetery after the tragic murders that took place aboard LST-172 on 23 April 1946.
    US Navy photo    		 George Curry GM2/c USS LST-172
    LST-172 158k US Naval personnel and the crew of USS LST-172 bury their dead shipmates in the US plot at the Shanghai Cemetery after the tragic murders that took place aboard LST-172 on 23 April 1946.
    US Navy photo    		 George Curry GM2/c USS LST-172
    USS LST-172
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Keim, Joseph John, USNR11 June 1943 - 22 February 1945
    02LT. Weiss, Lowell, W., USNR22 February 1945 - 1945
    03LT. Bonbright, William P., USNR1945 - 12 September 1945
    04LTjg. Elson, Richard A., USNR12 September 1945 - 8 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
    LST Flotilla Five War Diary May 1944
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Homeport
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 9 June 2023