USN Amphibious Ships - The Gator Navy "L" Ships & AKA/APA

[Salvage Sailor]

USS CADDO PARISH (LST-515) LST-491 class tank landing ship in USN service 1944 to 1969.  She was one of the eight LST's that took part in the disastrous "Exercise Tiger" (a practice for the planned invasion of France) in April 1944. Under attack from German E-boats, LST-515 returned fire and lowered her boats to pick up survivors from LST-507.  LST-515 participated in the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Following the war, LST-515 performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-November 1952. She also saw postwar service with the Service Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

 

 

The Caddo Parish was one of eleven LST’s assigned to Landing Ship Squadron Two (LANSHIPRON-2) operating out of the U.S. Amphibious base at Little Creek, Virginia. She performed duties with the U.S. Expeditionary Force in the Dominican Republic in 1965.  In December 1965 she was refitted with single 40mm gun mounts fore and aft and transferred to the Pacific Fleet arriving Chu Lai, South Vietnam March 1966.  

 

Photo from navsource:  Refitted with a flight deck and dedicated spaces for service in RVN with the brown water navy

 

 

While in Vietnam she was attached to the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) in a combat support role operating out of Vung Tau. Although her main duties were to run supplies for the MRF, she did come under fire on several occasions, and did have the opportunity to “Fire a Shot in Anger” more than once. The most significant of these incidents was a late night rocket attack at Dong Tam in March 1969 when she took 3 or 4 direct hits to the port side. One rocket entered the berthing compartment nearest the galley shredding the top bunk with shrapnel. Four men sustained various wounds during this attack. After repairs were made in Subic Bay, the Caddo Parish returned to the Delta and continued her calls to Nha Be, Dong Tam, Can Tho (Bien Thuy) and other ports of call known to the Gator Freighters in support to the brown water navy in RVN. 

 

 

The tank landing ship performed service in Vietnam until transferred to the Republic of the Philippines as grant aid on 26 November 1969, whereafter she served the Philippine Navy as RPS Bataan (LT-85). Her final fate is unknown.  LST-515 received one battle star for World War II service

 

 

Awards earned during the Vietnam War: Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendations, (2) Meritorious Unit Commendation, RVN Gallantry Cross with Palm, RVN Civil Action Medal, First Class, with Palm, RVN Campaign Medal with 60’s device and the Vietnam Service Medal with (10) Battle Stars.

 

[Salvage Sailor]

USS BELLEAU WOOD (LHA-3) 'Devil Dog',  Tarawa class amphibious assault ship (general purpose) in service 1978 to 2005

 

1978 Swiss-Tex Commissioning Set, The Leonard Corporation, Patch, Covers, Decals, Welcome Aboard

 

 

USS BELLEAU WOOD (LHA-3) Swiss Tex 

 

 

 

Full card version above, Ships' store boxed version below with rocker

 

 

USS BELLEAU WOOD (LHA-3) MEDICAL DEPARTMENT

 

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

USS SAN MARCOS (LSD-25) Casa Grande amphibious dock landing ship in service 1945 to 1971,  Atlantic Fleet Amphibious Force

 

 

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

USS SUMNER COUNTY (LST-1148) In service 1945-1946 (manned by the Coast Guard), USN 1950-1969.  China service, Atomic testing, Korean War, Indochina war (passage to freedom), Vietnam War.  Newly updated history here at NHHC.  SUMNER COUNTY received two battle stars for Korean service and four for service in Vietnam.

 

USS Sumner County (LST-1148) at Cua Viet, Vietnam, 2 July 1968.

 

 

USS Sumner County (LST-1148) at Da Nang RVN, 1965.  Photo by LTJG Dan W. Jeff, USNR

 

[Salvage Sailor]

On 12/22/2013 at 11:18 AM, sigsaye said:

This is a plaque from the only Gator my Father served on. '63-'65

 

...and Steve has his father's plaque, USS SUMNER COUNTY (LST-1148), Gator Freighter delivering the goods to the war zones.

[Salvage Sailor]

USS SCHENECTADY (LST-1185) "The Skinny-T" Newport class tank landing ship in service 1970 to 1993

Vietnam - Desert Storm

 

 

US made Swiss Tex commissioning gator patch

 

 

 

1970's era enlisted ball cap patch and 1980's officers ball cap patch

 

 

 

Philippine made patch - "The Ships With a Smile"

 

 

 

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

USS CARTER HALL (LSD-3)

Ashland class Dock Landing Ship in service 1943 to 1969

USS Carter Hall earned six battle stars for World War II and five campaign stars for Vietnam War service

 

PHIBRON SEVEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALWAYS READY

 

[Salvage Sailor]

 

USS GUNSTON HALL (LSD-5)

Three war Ashland class Landing Ship Dock in service 1943 to 1970

 

 

USS Gunston Hall earned nine battle stars for World War II service, eight battle stars Korean War service, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and seven campaign stars for Vietnam War service

 

Arctic Service patch

Conversion as an "Arctic LSD" at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, gave Gunston Hall a reinforced hull and a greatly extended heating and ventilation system which would permit her to operate effectively in the Arctic. She recommissioned at Puget Sound 5 March 1949 and, after shakedown, sailed north to participate in Operation Miki in the Arctic Circle and later returned for Operation Micowex. Next training and development operations along the West Coast occupied her until the outbreak of war in Korea.

 

 

 

1950's Gemsco

 

USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) en route to the Wonsan invasion area, 26 October 1950. One of many ships in the invasion convoy.
US Navy photo # NH 96879 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center

 

 

Hydrofoils for Interdiction - Market Time

USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) with USS FLAGSTAFF (PGH-1) and USS Tucumcari (PGH-2) in her well deck enroute to Vietnam circa 1969

 

 

1960's Vietnam era patch

 

    A Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle (PACV) leaves USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5)'s well deck, circa January-February 1967, probably in the vicinity of San Diego. The PACVs had seen experimental service in South Vietnam's Mekong River Delta. The original photograph was released by Commander Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, 15 February 1967.  US Navy photo # NH 96887

 

 

 

[Bearmon]

USS Tortuga LSD 26 in service from 1945 through 1970.  Served in Korea and Vietnam  Japanese manufactured patch 

[Salvage Sailor]

On 12/1/2013 at 12:35 AM, Sergesquadron said:

USS TARAWA LHA-1

 

USS TARAWA (LHA-1)

Class leader in service 1976 to 2009

 

EAGLE OF THE SEA

 

USS TARAWA (LHA-1) EAGLE OF THE SEA WESTPAC 1984

 

 

 

Reagan Era Cold War Clint Eastwoodesque Enforcer patch, "Go Ahead, Make Our Day"

 

Swiss Tex 1976

 

1980's probably made in Taiwan

 

 

 

The amphibious assault ships of Commander, Task Force Fifty One (CTF-51) come together in an unprecedented formation during operations in the North Arabian Gulf. This marked the first time that six large deck amphibious ships from the East and West coasts have deployed together in one area of operation. Led by the flag ship USS Tarawa (LHA-1), the ships are (from left to right):  USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6), USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), USS Bataan (LHD-5), USS Saipan (LHA-2), and USS Boxer (LHD-4).  US Navy photo # 030420-N-2515C-091 North Arabian Gulf (Apr. 20, 2003) by PH2 Larry S. Carlson.
 

USS TARAWA (LHA-1) EAGLE OF THE NORTHERN GULF WESTPAC 2003

Operation Iraqi Freedom - Enduring Freedom - Southern Watch

 

CTF-51 led Navy amphibious forces in the Arabian Gulf region during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 32 ships of CTF-51 composed the largest amphibious force assembled since the Inchon landing, during the Korean War. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the multinational coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people and end the regime of Saddam Hussein. US Navy photo # 030420-N-7128D-011 North Arabian Gulf (Apr. 20, 2003) by PHC Tom Daily.

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

USS CATAMOUNT (LSD-17)

Casa Grande class dock landing ship in service 1945 to 1970

 

A LCVP bucks in the well of USS Catamount (LSD-17), during mine clearance operations off Chinnampo, circa November 1950. USS Forrest Royal (DD-872), flagship for this operation, is in the left background.US National Archives Photo # 80-G-422837

 

USS Catamount earned seven battle stars for Korean War service, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and Vietnam Service Medal with seven campaign stars for Vietnam War service

 

 

Monitor Flame boats in the well deck of the USS CATAMOUNT (LSD-17)

 

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

USS FORT MANDAN (LSD-21)

Casa Grande class dock landing ship in service 1945 to 1971

 

 

Swiss Tex circa 1971

 

 

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

 

USS EPPING FOREST (LSD-4)

She was ordered as a mechanized artillery transport (APM-4) and then was reclassified as dock landing ship USS Epping Forest (LSD-4) on 1 July 1941.  In commission 1943 to 1968.

She served in WWII, Korea & post-war on Operation Passage to Freedom & Operation Hand Clasp.

Later in her career she was again reclassified and was designated a mine countermeasures support ship (MCS-7) 30 November 1962.

 

 

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

On 8/12/2016 at 10:37 AM, firefighter said:

 

 

 

USS HARNETT COUNTY (LST-821)

In service 1944 to 1970, transferred to South Vietnam (ACTOV 1970), escaped in 1975 & added to the Philippine Navy in 1976

 

 

During the Vietnam War USS Harnett County (LST-821) served continuously in country and in contiguous waters, with the exception of overhaul periods, from early 1967 to mid 1970

One battle star for World War II service and eleven campaign stars, two Presidential Unit Citations, and three Navy Unit Commendations for Vietnam War service

 

After the Vietnam War, Harnett County was transferred to the Philippine Navy, which named her BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57). In 1999 the Philippine government deliberately had her run aground on Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands to serve as an outpost of the Philippine Marine Corps to assert Philippine sovereignty in the country's dispute with China over the ownership of the Spratly Islands. To this day, she still serves that function.

[Salvage Sailor]

 

USS GRAHAM COUNTY (LST-1176)

DeSoto class tank landing ship in service 1958 to 1977

 

 

USS Graham County (LST-1176) beached at Vieques, Puerto Rico, in 1964.

Note her bow door configuration, 3"/50 twin gun mounts, and radar-equipped gun directors.

 

The Spirit of '76

 

USS Graham County (LST-1176) underway off Hampton Roads, VA., 14 April 1967.
US National Archives photo # USN 1132899 by PH3(AC) R.J.Mechel

 

 

USS GRAHAM COUNTY "GRACO" (AGP-1176)

Patrol Gunboat Tender Flagship of PATDIV21 in the Med

ex-LST USS GRAHAM COUNTY (LST-1176)

USS Graham County (AGP-1176) with USS Antelope (PG-86) and USS Ready (PG-87) alongside

 

Patrol Division 21 in the Med with the Sixth Fleet (PATDIV TWENTY-ONE)

 

At the direction of the Chief of Naval Operations, ADM Elmo Zumwalt, planning began in July 1970 to transfer two Patrol Gunboats from the Pacific Fleet to the Mediterranean in order to augment the Sixth Fleet. The basic mission to be fulfilled by these new and largely untried ships was that of "tattletail". This mission envisioned a visual confirmation of a surface-to-surface missile launch against major units of the Sixth Fleet by a potential enemy. By being in company with the potential adversary, the PG could then immediately warn all units of the impending attack. The small size and small crew of the PG made it an extremely economical and attractive platform for this mission.

 

As a result of this initial planning, USS DEFIANCE (PG-95) and USS SURPRISE (PG-97) commenced their long transit to Naples, Italy in September 1970. They stopped briefly in Little Creek, Virginia and were formed into Patrol Division 21 on 15 November 1970 under LCDR Paul D. Frazer, a former CO of USS CHEHALIS (PG-94). The following day they departed to continue their forward deployment across the Atlantic and officially joined the Sixth Fleet on 2 December 1970. Operating out of Naples with the Patrol Division staff embarked on USS CASCADE (AD-16), the two ships of the division began a continuous demonstration of their capabilities and reliability. Operations took them throughout the Mediterranean from Casablanca, Morocco to Istanbul, Turkey; from Venice and Trieste, Italy to Bizerte, Tunisia. Operations included operating as "aggressor" forces against carrier battle groups and as SEAL delivery and support platforms for Special Operations. LCDR R. Richard "Rudy" Black relieved as commodore in Naples on 18 August 1972. USS GRAHAM COUNTY (AGP-1176) and the gunboats USS ANTELOPE (PG-86) and USS READY (PG-87) joined the division in September 1972 with "GRACO" becoming the flagship.

 

GRACO Patrol Gunboat Tender, flagship of PATDIV 21 1972

 

USS SURPRISE was transferred to the Turkish Navy on 28 February 1973 and renamed BORA (P-339). USS DEFIANCE would follow and was transferred to the Turkish Navy on 11 June 1973 at Izmir, Turkey and renamed TCG YILDIRIM (P-338). She would ultimately be destroyed by fire on 11 April 1985 off the Greek island of Mitelene, near Lesbos in the northeastern Aegean Sea. Patrol Division 21 continued operating as an embarked staff until the staff was disestablished on 30 June 1973 with all duties passing to LCDR Peter McCammon, CO USS GRAHAM COUNTY.

 

USS GRAHAM COUNTY (AGP-1176) moored at Venice, Italy in October 1973. Moored astern of Graham County is USS DOUGLAS (PG-100)

 

The division would be augmented by two additional gunboats on 13 August 1973 when USS GRAND RAPIDS (PG-98) under the command of LT Gordon RHEINSTROM and USS DOUGLAS (PG-100) under the command of LT Doug Smart arrived in Naples, Italy. The gunboat division would continue to operate out of Naples until 1977 when all of the ships returned to Norfolk/Little Creek. GRAHAM COUNTY would be struck from the Naval Register on 1 March and the four PGs would be decommissioned at Little Creek on 1 October 1977.

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

LST to AVB Conversion

USS ALAMEDA COUNTY (LST-32) (AVB-1)

LST-1 class Tank Landing Ship Reclassified Advance Aviation Base Ship, (AVB-1) 28 September 1957

 

Patch circa 1957-1962, Note the Italian Flag, homeport Naples, Italy

 

Reactivated as a part of the Navy's expansion of its active fleet following the communist invasion of South Korea, the ship was recommissioned on 7 March 1951 and operated with the Atlantic Fleet Amphibious Force until reassigned to the Atlantic Fleet Naval Air Force in April 1953. By September, she was operating out of Naples, Italy, serving as an advanced base support ship with Air Logistics Support Division 2. With the exception of occasional voyages to the United States for alterations and repairs, LST-32 operated in the Mediterranean Sea for the remainder of her active Navy career providing the 6th Fleet with the capability of establishing forward NATO air bases anywhere in the Mediterranean on short notice. On 1 July 1955, she received the name Alameda County.

 

USS Alameda County (AVB-1) entering the Grand Harbor at Valletta, Malta in 1960

 

Most of her missions consisted of training evolutions and exercises, but once she had the opportunity to put all that practice to use. Late in October 1956, Israel, Britain, and France retaliated against Egypt after the latter country had seized the Suez Canal. In response to the crisis, Alameda County moved to Suda Bay, Crete, and had an emergency air base in operation by 22 November. From then until 4 December, she staged United Nations forces into the troubled area while evacuating Americans and other foreign nationals. Soon thereafter, she resumed normal operations out of Naples.

 

 

On 28 September 1957, the ship was redesignated Advance Aviation Base Ship AVB-1. In July 1958, Alameda County again demonstrated her capabilities when United States Marine Corps forces landed in Lebanon, to help stabilize the volatile situation in that country. She returned to Suda Bay, on 14 July, and spent the next three months housing, feeding, rearming, and refuelling the air squadrons flying support missions for the marines in Beirut. The landing force departed Lebanon in October, and Alameda County resumed her drills and exercises put of Naples.

 

On 25 June 1962, Alameda County was decommissioned at Naples; and her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 June 1962.

[Salvage Sailor]

USS WHETSTONE (LSD-27)

Casa Grande class in service 1946 to 1970

Four battle stars for Korean service and eight campaign stars for Vietnam War service

 

 

[Tonomachi]

I didn't realize that there were this many variations of the USS Monrovia APA-31 patch.  My aunt's husband (Clarence Davis) was a boatswain mate coxswain aboard the USS Monrovia during WW2.  

 

 

 

 

[Salvage Sailor]

On 7/10/2023 at 1:50 PM, Salvage Sailor said:

 

 

USS HARNETT COUNTY (LST-821)

In service 1944 to 1970, transferred to South Vietnam (ACTOV 1970), escaped in 1975 & added to the Philippine Navy in 1976

 

 

During the Vietnam War USS Harnett County (LST-821) served continuously in country and in contiguous waters, with the exception of overhaul periods, from early 1967 to mid 1970

One battle star for World War II service and eleven campaign stars, two Presidential Unit Citations, and three Navy Unit Commendations for Vietnam War service

 

After the Vietnam War, Harnett County was transferred to the Philippine Navy, which named her BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57). In 1999 the Philippine government deliberately had her run aground on Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands to serve as an outpost of the Philippine Marine Corps to assert Philippine sovereignty in the country's dispute with China over the ownership of the Spratly Islands. To this day, she still serves that function.

 

Philippine Naval Outpost on Second Thomas Shoal, BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57) November 2023 ex-USS HARNETT COUNTY

'Hey China, we're still here'

• Huge holes were visible at the bottom of the Sierra Madre; tires were used as weights against the wind. Boards and aluminum sheets served as makeshift doors and windows. On Friday morning, some crew members were bathing outside on the deck, scooping water kept in blue drum containers.

  Philippine officials fear that when the ship falls apart, China will swoop in to claim the shoal, a submerged reef that is rich with fish and serves as a gateway to an area believed to contain vast reserves of oil and natural gas. That could also mean a potential Chinese advance on Palawan, the site of a new military base where the United States recently gained access. New York Times, November 2023

 

[Salvage Sailor]

USS SHREVEPORT (LPD-12)

Austin Class Amphibious Transport Dock in service 1970 to 2007

Assigned to Amphibious Group Two, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic, homeported at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, VA

USS Shreveport (LPD-12) steering mishap 23 February 1972 during a practice UNREP off Panama just prior to a collision with USS Nashville (LPD-13)

 

 

 

Swiss Tex Commissioning patch circa 1970

 

The red USMC version of their patch

 

 

USS SHREVEPORT Electronic Warfare EW 1982-1983 Beirut Crisis, Silvio Polidoro, Naples, Italy

'Always Listening, Ready to Strike'

 

THE BEIRUT CRISIS

During a Mediterranean cruise that began in August 1982, Shreveport spent four months off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon. As a result of this operation, she received the Navy Unit Commendation and the Navy Expeditionary Medal. In July 1984, she broke the world record for transiting the Suez Canal.   In late 1984, she received the Meritorious Unit Commendation for conducting mine clearing operations in the Red Sea in support of Operation Intense Look. Later in the deployment, she was called to action off the Lebanese coast. Following the bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut, Shreveport provided critical medical evacuation and logistics support services. After making port calls in Marseille, France, and Malaga and Rota, Spain, she returned to Norfolk

 

...and the rare Beirut patch made by Silvio Polidoro, Naples, Italy

 

 

'Black Beach', later renamed 'Green Beach'

 

[Salvage Sailor]

LST-914

Flagship of Landing Ship Squadron Seven

Over Ice or Sand We Land

Named USS Mahoning County (LST-914), 1 July 1955

 

A General Patton tank (M-46) leaving through the bow doors of USS LST-914 during the invasion of Wonsan, Korea, 2 November 1950.
US Navy photo 80-G-421355, now in the collections of the US National Archives

 

Marines of the First Marine Division pack the deck of USS LST-914, left. and a Japanese crewed Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) LST, right, as the MSTS LST unloads a tank following the Inchon landings, 23 September 1950. Acme photo by staff photographer Richard C. Ferguson.