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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-473


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Golf - Victor
NGGV
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive - 4 Sept. 1943) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (2)

Individual Awards

Medal of Honor (Posthumously) and Purple Heart S1c Johnnie David Hutchins, off Lae, New Guinea, September 4, 1943
Navy Cross - S1c Frederick L. Erickson
Silver Star - CPhM Nelson Tudor and Ens. J.K. Hayes
Purple Heart - 22 (8 KIA, 14 WIA)


LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship
  • Laid down, 10 July 1942, at Kaiser, Inc., Vancouver, WA.
  • Launched, 9 December 1942
  • Commissioned USS LST-473, 16 March 1943, LT. Rowland W. Dillard, USN, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-473 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Seven, CAPT. R. M. Scruggs, USN;
    LST Group Nineteen, CDR. James E. Van Zandt, USNR and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Eastern New Guinea operation
    Lae occupation, 4 to 5 September 1943
    Manila Bay-Bicol operations
    Zambales-Subic Bay operation, 29 to 30 January 1945
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 16 to 29 October 1944
    Consolidation and capture of Southern Philippines
    Mindanao Island Landings, 17 to 23 April 1945
    Luzon operations
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 9 to 18 January 1945
     

  • Decommissioned, 18 March 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 17 April 1946
  • USS LST-473 earned five battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 21 April 1948, to Hughes Brothers, Inc., New York, N.Y.
    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
    LST-473 33k USS LST-473 bomb damage during the Eastern New Guinea operations at Lae, September 1943 Mike Guarino
    LST-473 56k USS LST-473 moored to a causeway with bow doors open, Southwest Pacific, April 1944. Mike Guarino
    LST-471 887k Christmas 1945 and New Years 1946 greetings from Commander LST Group Nineteen, CDR James E. Van Zandt USNR to the ships of the Group: USS LST-466
    USS LST-245
    USS LST-467
    USS LST-171
    USS LST-181
    USS LST-469
    USS LST-470
    USS LST-471
    USS LST-468
    USS LST-473
    USS LST-475 and
    USS LST-474
    Bill James for his father William James USS LST-471
    LST-473 44k USS LST-473 laying off shore during the Lingayen Gulf landings, January 1945. Mike Guarino
    LST-473
    1016047303
    134k USS LST-473 coming alongside a light cruiser possibly USS Nashville (CL-43), or USS Phoenix (CL-46) mid to late June 1945, following the Battle off Labuan Island, Borneo. LST-473, cranes ready and hatches open, pulls alongside the cruiser to replenish ammunition. YN/1c Dan B. Murphy

    USS LST-473
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Dillard, Rowland Wingo, USN16 March 1943 - 24 November 1943
    02LTjg. Bunch, John McMullan, USN24 November 1943 - July 1944
    03LTjg. Triplitt, Joe Will USNR (acting)July 1944 - September 1944
    04LT. Miller, Hayes N., USNRSeptember 1944 - May 1945
    05LT. Davis, Edwin H., USNRMay 1945 - 16 September 1945
    06LTjg. Gott, Warren C. USNR16 September 1945 - 18 March 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
    History of LST Flotilla Seven
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Home Port
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
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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 8 December2023