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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USAT LST-916
ex
 USS LST-916 (1944 - 1946)


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



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, see US Army Air Corps. 35th Fighter Squadron and USS LST-916
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
542-Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 22 March 1944, at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA.
  • Launched, 29 April 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-916, 25 May 1944, LT. Vincent J. Blumberg USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LST-916 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 20 October 1944     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 2 to 16 April 1945
    Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 18 January 1945     		 

  • Upon completion of service in the Philippines campaigns in the Southwest Pacific Area USS LST-916 was assigned to:
    LST Flotilla Fourteen, CAPT. E. Seay (24) USN;
     LST Group Forty-One, CDR. E. C. Parsons USNR;
     LST Division Eighty-One
  • Following World War II USS LST-916 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    6 to 23 September 1945
    20 October to 14 November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 5 April 1946
  • Transferred to the US Army, 28 June 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 29 September 1947
  • USS LST-916 earned three battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, USAT LST-916 was lost in typhoon Libby at Okinawa, 4 October 1948
    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-916
    1016091605    		 305k Aerial view of USS LST-916 underway in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina, 5 July 1944. LST-916 is carrying three disassembled LCTs on her deck, LCT-1049, LCT-1158 and LCT-1159. The LCTs were unloaded in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and assembled by their crews before beginning active service.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-241154, a US Navy photo taken by an airship assigned to ZP-12 out of Weeksville, N.C.    		 Rick Davis
    LST-916/885 33k USS LST-916 beached on a ramp at Yokohama, Japan in 1945. Harold E Carter
    LST-916 44k USS LST-916 crew member Burt Topal on the open bridge, port side, date and location unknown. Mitchell Topal
    LST-916 138k USS LST-916 moored to a buoy in the Philippines, circa early-1946, waiting for final disposition. Mitchell Topal
    LST-916 122k Ex-USS LST-916 aground at Okinawa near the Naminoue Shrine Naha after being driven ashore by typhoon Libby that passed over the Island, in October 1948.photo was taken in March 1951. Donn Cuson
    USS LST-916
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Blumberg, Vincent Joseph, USNR25 May 1944 - 18 December 1945
    02LTjg. Diener, Edgar J., USNR18 December 1945 - 5 April 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
    US Army Air Corps. 35th Fighter Squadron and USS LST-916
    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 Back To The US Army Ship Index Back To The US Army Transports Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 30 October 2020