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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Millard County (LST-987)
ex
 USS LST-987 (1944 - 1955)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Romeo - Delta
 NVRD
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 - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 2 February 1944, at Boston Navy Yard, Boston, MA.
  • Launched, 5 March 1944
  • Commissioned USS LST-987, 19 April 1944, LT. William H. Pennington, USN in command
  • During World War II USS LST-987 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LST Flotilla Thirty-Seven, CAPT. Riley;
     LST Group One Hundred Eleven LCDR. A. H. Tutt;
     LST Division Two Hundred Twenty-Two
  • Following World War II USS LST-987 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    8 to 20 October 1945 
    19 November 1945 to 16 April 194619 November 1945 to 16 April 1946

  • Decommissioned, 3 September 1946
  • Placed in service as a Naval Reserve training ship under command of the Potomac Naval River Command
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs, FL. in May 1950
  • Renamed Millard County (LST-987), 1 July 1955
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 June 1960
  • Sold in August 1960 to the Federal German Navy
  • Struck from the German Naval list in early 1968
  • Merchant Service
    Sold in 1973 to Zanzuig & Transportbedrijf H. G. & G. D. Blomberg B. V., Panama, renamed MV Esperance III and converted to a Hopper Dredge
    Resold in 1978 to Cdeco Maritime Construction Inc., Wilmington, DE.
    Resold in 1980 to American International Dredge Corp.
    Resold, 1986 to the B & B Dredging Corp., Chicago, IL and renamed MV Columbus
    Renamed MV Columbia in 2002
    As of August 2003 Columbia was still in 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
    USS LST-987
    Millard County 193k USS LST-987 passing under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Bay, circa May-June 1946.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 79717    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Commercial Service
    Millard County 54k Ex-USS LST-987 in merchant service as the hopper dredge, MV Esperance III laid up at Sandusky OH., date unknown.
    		 Historical Collections of the Great Lakes Bowling Green State University
    USS LST-987 / Millard County (LST-987)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Pennington, William Henry, USN19 April 1944 - 19 January 1946
    02LTjg. Henline, William B. USNR19 January 1946 - 19 June 1946
    03ENS. Gray, John W.19 June 1946 - 3 September 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 6 September 2019