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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-673


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Kilo - Hotel
 NFKH
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 (4) - 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, 6 April 1944, at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA.
  • Launched, 22 May 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-673, 9 June 1944, LT. James K. Athow, USN, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-673 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 18 October to 29 November 1944     		Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines
    Mindanao Island landings, 17 to 23 April 1945
    Luzon operation
    Mindoro landings, 12 to 18 December 1944
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 17 January 1945     		Borneo operation
    Balikpapan operation, 25 June to 10 July 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-673 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    18 September to 13 October 1945
    18 December 1945 to 21 January 1946
    13 February to 7 March 1946

  • Decommissioned, 10 July 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 August 1946
  • USS LST-673 earned four battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 27 October 1947, to Moore Dry Dock, Co., Oakland, CA.
    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-673 53k USS LST-673 beached at Labuan Island, off Brown Beach one, 15 June1945, while Australian Army troops of 2/32 Infantry Battalion wade out to embark on the ship. These troops took part in "Operation Oboe West" which was a landing at the village of Weston in Borneo.
    Australian War Memorial photo # 109605    		 Australian War Memorial
    USS LST-673
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Athow, James Keith, USN9 June 1944 - December 1945
    02LTjg. Kittredge, Gilbert D., USNRDecember 1945 - 10 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
    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
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 16 January 2015