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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-959


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo -Foxtrot - Quebec
 NKFQ
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, 6 October 1944, at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, MA.
  • Launched, 4 November 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-959, 29 November 1944, ENS. Jacob. H. Giesmann Jr. USN in command
  • During World War II USS LST-959 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Twenty-Three, CAPT. W.W. Weeden Jr. USN;
     LST Group Sixty-Eight, CDR. G. H. Dana USN (20);
     LST Division One Hundred Thirty-Six and participated in the following campaign:
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 8 to 18 June 1945

  • Following World War II USS LST-959 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    25 September 1945 to 23 May 194625 September 1945 to 23 May 1946
  • Decommissioned, 13 June 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 3 July 1946
  • Final Disposition, stripped and destroyed, 10 June 1948, at Subic Bay, P.I.
  • USS LST-959 earned one battle star for World War II service
    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-208 269k USS LST-959 and USS LST-208 moored in the Whangpoo River at Shanghai, China, 29 December 1945. William Fraser USS LST-208
    USS LST-959
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Giesmann Jr., Jacob Henry, USN29 November 1944 - 2 January 1946
    02LTjg. Brietzke, Gerhardt M., USNR2 January 1946 - 13 March 1946
    03LTjg. Bowden, Fred R., USNR13 March 1946 - 20 April 1946
    04LTjg. Morgan, Lewis A., USNR20 April 1946 - 13 June 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 and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 27 May 2016