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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-729


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Alpha - Papa
 NGAP
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 (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 12 August 1944, at Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • Launched, 18 September 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-729, 16 October 1944, LTjg. Fred S. McCarthy, USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-729 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-One, CAPT. W. H. Brereton, USN (24);
     LST Group Sixty-Three (flagship), LCDR. R .E. Farnestock USNR;
     LST Division One Hundred Twenty-Five and participated in the follow campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 2 April to 30 June 1945

  • USS LST-729 transported LCT-1268 from Gulfport, MS. to Okinawa
  • Following World War II USS LST-729 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    13 to 30 September 194512 to 30 September 1945
  • Decommissioned, 8 July 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 28 August 1946
  • USS LST-729 earned one battle star 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 Contributed
    By
    LST-729 1078k Shellback Certificate issued to ENS. J Hubert Greene signifying he crossed the equator while aboard USS LST-729. ENS Greene was the officer in charge of LCT-1268 which was loaded aboard LST-729 at New Orleans and off-loaded at Okinawa during the invasion. Mike Greene in honor of his father LTjg. J. Hubert Greene OIC LCT-1268
    LST-729/LCT-1268 53k USS LST-729, with LCT-1268 welded to her main deck, at Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, circa 21 to 25 November 1944. USS LST-729 was waiting at Coco Solo to transit the Panama Canal from Atlantic to Pacific while enroute to Okinawa. She arrived at Coco Solo, 2151 21 Nov 1944, entered the canal at 1338 25 Nov 1944 and exited the Pacific side at 2225 25 Nov 1944. Mike Greene in honor of his father LTjg. J. Hubert Greene OIC LCT-1268
    LST-729 1065k USS LST-729 at anchor, date and location unknown. William Weigel for his father-in-law LT. Charles Temple CO USS LST-729
    LST-729 90k USS LST-729 at anchor in San Francisco Bay, CA., circa 1945-46.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH79100. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    USS LST-729
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LTjg. McCarthy, Fred S., USNR16 October 1944 - 16 March 1945
    02LTjg. Temple, Charles Sloan, USNR16 March 1945 to 10 January 1946
    03LTjg. Guthrie, John W. C., USNR10 January 1946 to 8 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
    WWII Cruise Book Contributed by Mike Greene
    Voyage Record (Ports of Call) and Officer list Contributed by Mike Greene
    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 and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 24 December 2020