LST-325 was in the European Theater in WWII.
The mother of one of my best friends was part of a group who obtained this LST from Greece.
The ship is docked in Mobile, Alabama for 11 months out of the year. It was built in Evansville, Indiana. There is an LST museum in Evansville.
My dad was a chief petty officer on two different LSTs in WWII in the Pacific.
The first LST 480 got blown up in West Loch.
On May 21, 1944, the
tank landing ship LST-353
exploded at West Loch while handling ammunition. In a short space of
time, six LSTs were so damaged that they sank. Two others were severely
damaged. 163 sailors were killed; 396 wounded. near Ford Island. (they suspect someone was welding on one of the LSTs) and it blew. This was the second biggest naval disaster after the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.
To this day, the bow of the 480 can be seen sticking out of the water.
My dad's second ship, LST 808, got sunk twice in two days at the island of Ishima.
Daddy was just getting off his break in the wardroom and someone stopped him in the hallway to ask him a question. All of a sudden there was a big jolt and things went dark. An aerial torpedo hit the engine room.
Another LST pushed his ship onto a reef, to keep it from going under.
All the good stuff was off loaded and the ship was abandoned except for a security detail.
The next day, the tide was out and the ship appeared to be floating like a normal ship. A Kamikaze dove into the ship through the captain's quarters.
You know that Jap pilot was having a bad day. First he was a Kamikaze and second he sunk a ship which had already been sunk. See folks, there is justice, even in war.
Daddy refered to the LST as Large Slow moving Target.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/usar/scrs/scrs2z.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_LST-480http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/16/160808.htm
Edited by Clay - 04 Sep 2010 at 10:58am
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Was on my way to my first svc call yesterday when I noticed a very large (for what is normally seen on the river) Naval craft, guns and all! Turns out to be a preserved LST on tour. I never saw one of these things in person............way bigger than I expected for a landing craft! I know a lot of these were built in SWPA by Dravo Corp during the war.
