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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-617


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Echo - Kilo
 NFEK
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 17 February 1944, at Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., Seneca, IL.
  • Launched, 15 May 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-617, 1 June 1944, LT. Howard J. Benward, USN, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-617 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 20 October 1944     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 to 30 June 1945
    Luzon operation
    Mindoro landings, 12 to 18 December 1944
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 18 January 1945     		 

  • For the Okinawa Gunto operations USS LST-617 was assigned to:
    LST Flotilla Sixteen, CAPT. N. W. Sears;
     LST Group Forty-Six, LCDR. J. R. Keeling USNR;
     LST Division Ninety-Two
  • Following World War II USS LST-617 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 2 September to 20 December 1945
  • Decommissioned, 24 May 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 3 July 1946
  • USS LST-617 earned three battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 15 April 1948, to Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, WA.
    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-617
    1016061702    		 529k USS LST-617 beached on Violet Beach, Leyte, Philippine Islands, 27 October 1944.
    US National Archives Identifier # 80662621 - US Army Signal Corps photo #260619    		 David Upton
    LST-617 48k USS LST-617 beached with numerous LSTs and other landing craft at Mindoro Island, Philippines, 15 December 1944. The ships of the invasion force have already disembarking their troops and cargo across the beach.
    Australian War Memorial photo # OG1908.    		 Australian War Memorial
    LST-617
    1016061703    		 146k USS LST-617 and USS LSM-79 in convoy enroute to Karama Islands, 24 March 1945.
    Frame from the short film "Marines Raise American Flag Over Geruma Shima Island". National Archives ID 80229. Local ID 428-NPC-15927.    		 David Upton
    USS LST-617
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Benward, Howard John, USN1 June 1944 - August 1945
    02LT. Erickson, Roger William, USNRAugust 1945 - 23 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 9 September 2022