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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-309


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Yankee - Romeo - Zulu
 NYRZ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (3) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 22 September 1942, at Boston Navy Yard, Boston, MA.
  • Launched, 23 November 1942
  • Commissioned USS LST-309, 11 January 1943, LT. C. A. Lamborn, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-309 was assigned first to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and later to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Sicilian occupation, 9 to 15 July 1943 Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 june 1944
    Salerno landings, 9 to 21 September 1943  

  • While assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater USS LST-309 came under the command of:
    LST Flotilla Thirty-Six, CAPT. D.F.J. Shea USN (23);
     LST Group One Hundred Seven, CDR. L. F. Teuscher USN (23);
     LST Division Two Hundred Fourteen
  • USS LST-309 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 19 October to 6 November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 19 June 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 23 June 1947
  • USS LST-309 earned three battle stars for World War II service
  • Sold for conversion to merchant service, 1 June 1948, to Humble Oil and Refining Co., Houston, TX.
  • 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 4 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
    LST-309
    1016030907    		 139k USS LST-309 underway, 2 February 1943, probably during acceptance trials off Boston, MA. Rick Davis
    LST-309 79k Starboard quarter view of USS LST-309 under way, date and location unknown.
    Imperial War Museum Ministry of Defense Foxhill Collection of Ship Photographs, Photo No. © IWM (FL 7240)    		 Mike Green
    LST-309 26k USS LST-309 off the coast of England, 1944.
    US National Archives image.    		 Bill Brinkley
    LST-309 54k USS LST-309 beached on Omaha Beach, Normandy, August 1944. John Mikolaj USS LST-309
    LST-309 49k USS LST-309 on the beach at Saipan, December 1945. Photo by John H. Kellers, GM3/c LCT-539
    LST-388.LST-309 48k USS LST-309 and USS LST-388 at Pearl Harbor, T.I., 1945. Photo by John H. Kellers, GM3/c LCT-539
    LST-309 49k USS LST-309 with LCT-539 loaded on her main deck, Pearl Harbor, T.I., 1945 Photo by John H. Kellers, GM3/c LCT-539
    LST-309 49k Looking forward across USS LST-309's main deck from the ramp of LCT-539 which is loaded onto LST-309's main deck, Pearl Harbor, T.I., January 1946 Photo by John H. Kellers, GM3/c LCT-539
    USS LST-309
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Lamborn, C. A., USNR11 January 1943 - September 1944
    02LT. Hauser, William H. A., USNRSeptember 1944 - April 1945
    03LT. Sudheimer, Melvin, USNRApril 1945 - June 1945
    06LT. Hauser, William H. A., USNRJune 1945 - 31 December 1945
    07LTjg. Lippman, Mervin Robert, USNR31 December 1945 - March 1946
    08LTjg. Cain, Francis J., USNRMarch 1946 - 1 May 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 by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 23 October 2020