The Freight Detective Maritime History Center

Special Report - What Is An LST?

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The TANK LANDING SHIP (LST) was the brain child of Winston Churchill. He conveyed to President Franklin Roosevelt the need for a ship that could transport battle tanks and heavy rolling equipment over the sea to forward battle areas, delivering the load directly to beachhead. Much importance was given this project. The keel of an aircraft carrier was hastily removed from a dry dock in Newport News, VA, to begin construction of the first LST. Twenty-three LSTs were in commission by the end of 1942.

U.S. Landing Ship Tank:

* Displacement: 1490 tons (lite); 4,080 tons (full load of 2,100 tons)

* Length: 327'

* Beam: 50'

* Draft: 8' fwd; 14'4" aft (full load)

* Speed: 10.8 knots (max); 9 knots (econ)

* Armament: 1 3"/50 DP; 1 40mm; 6 20mm

* Complement: 7 officers, 204 enlisted

* Power Plant: Diesel engines, twin screws

* Cargo: LSTs carry smaller craft topside, with a tunnel-like hold full of tanks, vehicles, guns or cargo.

The TANK LANDING SHIP (LST) proved to be much more rugged and versatile than her planners ever dreamed of producing. They were used for the transport of tanks (of course), general cargo, locomotives, railroad cars, all types of vehicles, prisoners, casualties and for numerous other purposes.

These ships were first built in the traditional coastal shipyards, but the demand was so great that inland shipyards were created for wartime production. The main deck was so strong that it could carry a fully loaded LCT (Landing Craft-Tank) across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. An LCT weighed 285 tons fully loaded and was over 114 feet in length. These WWII LSTs displaced 1653 tons (4,080 tons fully loaded). The length was 328 feet and the beam was 50 feet. Normally, an LST had a crew of about 120 men and 10 officers, but this varied due to the number of LCVPs that were carried. Many of the first LSTs were six davit ships, requiring additional personnel.

Of the 1,051 LSTs that were built for the U.S. Navy during the World War II, 670 were launched by five major inland shipyards on the Ohio and Illinois rivers. Within a year or so, most LST production had been shifted from coastal shipyards to these inland shipyards. Approximately 131 were built for the Royal Navy. The WWII class of the LST is the largest of a single ship design ever built for the U.S. Navy and placed in commission in such a short period of time.

While some WWII LSTs remained in commission long after the war, none of this class is in commission today. Currently, there are only two LSTs of postwar design in service today. These are the USS Frederick (LST 1184), with Pearl Harbor for a home port, and the USS La Moure County (LST 1194) out of NAB Little Creek, VA. Both are 20-knot vessels. It is worthwhile to check out their home pages by clicking above.

Landing Ship Tank

LST's - from Britannica

History For Each of the LSTs

U.S. Navy Landing Ships 1941-1945 - status of each

Brown Water LSTs - Viet Nam Service

U.S. Navl Register For: Land Ship Tank - LST

"The Whales of World War II"

Ex-USS LST-1008 - At Qingdao Naval Museum, PRC

Amphibious Forces - from The Cargo Letter

LST Associations

United States LST Association

LST Home Port

LST Discussion Group

LST-325 - The Proud Voyage

The Proud Voyage of LST - 325

The History of LST-325

Official Greek Navy Listing

NavSource Photo Archive For LST-325

The Proud Voyage of LST-325 - Dec. 2000

LST-325 Memorial Organization & Vessel

Our Other Current Maritime Features

The History of USS LST-325 (1943-1964)

USS LST-325, a 2366-ton LST-1 class tank landing ship, was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania. Commissioned in February 1943, she crossed the Atlantic a month later as part of the first convoy of U.S. Navy LSTs to reach the European war zone. LST-325 took part in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943 and the Salerno landings in September. In November, she moved to English waters, where she engaged in invasion rehersals into the following spring. In June 1944, LST-325 was one of the huge fleet that supported the Normandy invasion. She also participated in other operations along the northern coasts of France.

In March 1945, LST-325 crossed the Atlantic from Belfast, Northern Ireland, to the U.S. Overhauled at New Orleans, she was fitted with Brodie gear for launching and recovering light observation airplanes. She briefly exercised with that equipment in August 1945, just before Japan's surrender ended World War II. After a trip to Panama in September-October, she went to Green Cove Springs, Florida, for inactivation and was decommissioned there in July 1946.

LST-325 was brought back into service in about 1951 to take part in the Military Sea Transportation Service's arctic operations. She later received a reinforced bow to better suit her for work in icy waters. LST-325 was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in September 1961 and turned over to the Maritime Administration for inclusion in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Returned to the Navy in September 1963, she was modernized for further use under the Military Assistance Program. The ship was transferred to Greece in May 1964. Renamed Syros, (Greek Navy Listing) she served in the Hellenic Navy until the late 1990s and was acquired by an American LST memorial organization in 2000.

LST-325 - The Proud Voyage

The History of LST-325

Official Greek Navy Listing

NavSource Photo Archive For LST-325

The Proud Voyage of LST-325 - Dec. 2000

"Large Slow Target"

Bronze Sculpture Dedicated To The Men of The LST's in Washington DC. At the U.S. Navy Memorial

Thurs. Oct. 26, 2000. Designed by Mr. Leo C. Irrera & Appropriately Titled As Above

Back To LST-235 Feature

Back To Top of LST History Page

U.S. Navy Amphibious Units Are Known As

"Gators"

The Cargo Letter Is A Gator Family -- Our Relative An Office Aboard:

USS La Moure County LST-1194 - Operation Desert Storm

Commander Hampton H. Dowling, USN

Brother of Capt. Michael S. McDaniel - The Cargo Letter

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The Photo Gallery of Transport Loss - Photos & Lessons Learned

The Live Ships Cameras - Visit All The Live Transport Cams - Click Here

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