USS LST-447: American Landing Ship Tank

USS LST-447 was a United States Navy LST-1-class tank landing ship used in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II.

Construction

LST-447 was laid down on 10 July 1942, under Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 967, by Kaiser Shipyards, Vancouver, Washington; launched on 22 September 1942; and commissioned on 13 December 1942.

Service History

During the war, LST-447 was assigned to the Pacific Theater of Operations. She took part in the consolidation of the southern Solomons in June 1943; the occupation and defense of Cape Torokina November and December 1943; the Green Islands landing February 1944; the Hollandia operation in April 1944; the assault and occupation of Guam July and August 1944; and the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto April 1945.

The tank landing ship was sunk off Okinawa on 7 April 1945, following a kamikaze attack. She was struck from the Navy list on 2 June 1945.

Commanding Officers
LT. Stormes, Frank H., USNR	13 December 1942 - 31 October 1943
LT. Jungerheld, Edward L., USNR	31 October 1943 - 29 January 1944
LT. Pekelder, Theodore, USNR	29 January 1944 - 28 July 1944
LT. Schmitz, Paul J.,USNR	28 July 1944 - 7 April 1945

Honors and Awards

LST-447 earned five battle stars for her World War II service.

Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Consolidation of the Solomon Islands Consolidation of the southern Solomons, June 1943	Hollandia operation 21 to 28 April 1944
Treasury-Bougainville operation Occupation and defense of Cape Torokina, 11 November and 3 to 4 and 15 December 1943	Marianas operation Capture and occupation of Guam, 21 July to 5 August 1944
Bismarck Archipelago operation Green Islands landings, 15 to 19 February 1944	Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 2 April to 8 May 1945

 

USS LST-447 unloading supplies at Bougainville, date unknown. [USMC]

USS LST-447 and USS LST-446 beached at Townsville, Australia. June 1943.

USS LST-447 participated in "Operation Chronicle" the Woodlark Island landing in June, 1943. It transported Argus Unit 1 (Fighter Director Radar Unit) from Townsville Australia to Woodlark. Photo date and place unknown.

USS LST-447 underway off Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, 11 February 1944, during AA practice with towed sleeve prior to the invasion of Green Islands (Papua New Guinea), 15 February 1944. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

Japanese suicide plane attack on USS LST 447 in action at Kerama Retto, Ryukyu Islands. Photographed by Photographer’s Mate First Class C.C. Lecmill, 6 April 1945, based on board USS Tulagi (CVE 72).

USS LST-447 at Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, 11 February 1944 receiving barrage balloon from LST FLOT 5 barrage balloon unit and underway for the 15 February 1944 invasion of Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS LST-447 at Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, 11 February 1944 receiving barrage balloon from LST FLOT 5 barrage balloon unit and underway for the 15 February 1944 invasion of Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS LST-447 at Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, 11 February 1944 receiving barrage balloon from LST FLOT 5 barrage balloon unit and underway for the 15 February 1944 invasion of Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS LST-447 at Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, 11 February 1944 receiving barrage balloon from LST FLOT 5 barrage balloon unit and underway for the 15 February 1944 invasion of Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS LST-447 at Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, 11 February 1944 receiving barrage balloon from LST FLOT 5 barrage balloon unit and underway for the 15 February 1944 invasion of Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS LST-447 at Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, 11 February 1944 receiving barrage balloon from LST FLOT 5 barrage balloon unit and underway for the 15 February 1944 invasion of Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

On the morning of 15 February 1944 USS LST-447 is approaching the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea), prior to the landings. The Invasion convoy is under Japanese air attack by Aichi D3A type 99 (Val) dive bombers. One aircraft shotdown is seen as a bright flame on the horizon about two miles away. One bomb landed 200 yards off the starboard quarter of USS LSt-447 as seen by the spray from the blast. The New Zealand troops aboard carried with them portable 40mm and 50 cal AA mounts used in the defense of the ship during the attack. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

On the morning of 15 February 1944 USS LST-447 is approaching the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea), prior to the landings. The Invasion convoy is under Japanese air attack by Aichi D3A type 99 (Val) dive bombers. One aircraft shotdown is seen as a bright flame on the horizon about two miles away. One bomb landed 200 yards off the starboard quarter of USS LSt-447 as seen by the spray from the blast. The New Zealand troops aboard carried with them portable 40mm and 50 cal AA mounts used in the defense of the ship during the attack. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

On the morning of 15 February 1944 USS LST-447 is approaching the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea), prior to the landings. The Invasion convoy is under Japanese air attack by Aichi D3A type 99 (Val) dive bombers. One aircraft shotdown is seen as a bright flame on the horizon about two miles away. One bomb landed 200 yards off the starboard quarter of USS LSt-447 as seen by the spray from the blast. The New Zealand troops aboard carried with them portable 40mm and 50 cal AA mounts used in the defense of the ship during the attack. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

On the morning of 15 February 1944 USS LST-447 is approaching the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea), prior to the landings. The Invasion convoy is under Japanese air attack by Aichi D3A type 99 (Val) dive bombers. One aircraft shotdown is seen as a bright flame on the horizon about two miles away. One bomb landed 200 yards off the starboard quarter of USS LSt-447 as seen by the spray from the blast. The New Zealand troops aboard carried with them portable 40mm and 50 cal AA mounts used in the defense of the ship during the attack. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

On the morning of 15 February 1944 USS LST-447 is approaching the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea), prior to the landings. The Invasion convoy is under Japanese air attack by Aichi D3A type 99 (Val) dive bombers. One aircraft shotdown is seen as a bright flame on the horizon about two miles away. One bomb landed 200 yards off the starboard quarter of USS LSt-447 as seen by the spray from the blast. The New Zealand troops aboard carried with them portable 40mm and 50 cal AA mounts used in the defense of the ship during the attack. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

On the morning of 15 February 1944 USS LST-447 is approaching the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea), prior to the landings. The Invasion convoy is under Japanese air attack by Aichi D3A type 99 (Val) dive bombers. One aircraft shotdown is seen as a bright flame on the horizon about two miles away. One bomb landed 200 yards off the starboard quarter of USS LSt-447 as seen by the spray from the blast. The New Zealand troops aboard carried with them portable 40mm and 50 cal AA mounts used in the defense of the ship during the attack. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS LST-447 on the beaches of the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Landing troops and equipment of the New Zealand 3rd Division, 15 February 1944. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS LST-447 on the beaches of the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Landing troops and equipment of the New Zealand 3rd Division, 15 February 1944. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS LST-447 on the beaches of the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Landing troops and equipment of the New Zealand 3rd Division, 15 February 1944. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS LST-447 on the beaches of the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Landing troops and equipment of the New Zealand 3rd Division, 15 February 1944. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS LST-447 on the beaches of the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Landing troops and equipment of the New Zealand 3rd Division, 15 February 1944. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS LST-447 on the beaches of the Green Islands (Papua New Guinea). Landing troops and equipment of the New Zealand 3rd Division, 15 February 1944. [Frame images from a short film named "LSTs Leave Kukum Beach, Guadalcanal, Land On Green Is" National Archives ID 76049, Local ID 428-NPC-1527]

USS Admiral C. F. Hughes (AP-124): American Transport

USS Admiral C. F. Hughes (AP-124) was an Admiral W. S. Benson-class transport named in honor of Charles Frederick Hughes, an admiral in the United States Navy who served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1927 to 1930. It was later renamed the ship USAT General Edwin D. Patrick after Edwin D. Patrick, an Army general who died in World War II.

Admiral C. F. Hughes was laid down on 29 November 1943 by the Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard Inc., in Alameda, California, under contract with the United States Maritime Commission. She was launched on 27 August 1944 under the sponsorship of Mrs. Louisa Nimitz, the daughter of Admiral Hughes, the wife of Captain Otto Nimitz and the sister-in-law of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. On 31 January 1945 she was delivered to the United States Navy and commissioned.

Service History

World War II

Following brief sea trials, along the West Coast of the United States, Admiral C. F. Hughes embarked naval officers and Marines at San Diego for transportation to Hawaii. She departed San Diego on 13 March and arrived in Pearl Harbor on 18 March. There, she took on another group of passengers bound for the United States and then got underway on 23 March. The transport arrived in San Francisco on 28 March, disembarked her passengers, and then set sail for San Diego on 9 April. Admiral C. F. Hughes reached her destination the following day and began taking on more travelers. On the 14th, the transport left San Diego and set a westward course. The ship entered Pearl Harbor on the 19th, and some passengers left her while others came on board. Three days later, she put to sea on her way to the Mariana Islands. Admiral C. F. Hughes put in at Guam on 30 April, and all her passengers disembarked. After taking another group on board, including 221 Japanese prisoners of war, she stood out of Apra Harbor on 3 May. The transport made a two-day stop at Pearl Harbor from 10 to 12 May to disembark the prisoners and then continued her voyage back to the West Coast. She moored at San Francisco on 17 May.

On 26 May 1945 the transport sailed for Europe to embarked troops from the European Theater of Operations for redeployment to the Pacific. The transport retraced her route through the Panama Canal and reached Manila on 20 July. Admiral C. F. Hughes embarked troops at Biak in the Schouten Islands, and Hollandia, New Guinea, before leaving the latter port on 4 August to return to the United States. She delivered the returning servicemen at San Francisco on 17 August.

1945–1967

The ship put to sea on 31 August with replacements for western Pacific garrisons. Steaming via Ulithi, she arrived at Tacloban, Leyte on 17 September. Admiral C. F. Hughes visited Manila again before heading back to North America on the 24th. She paused at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on 9 October to repatriate former prisoners of war from various Commonwealth Nations, and arrived at Seattle, Washington later that day. The transport made one more round-trip voyage to Yokohama before being decommissioned on 3 May 1946 and struck from the Navy list in June.

US Army Transport Service

After being decommissioned from the navy, Admiral C. F. Hughes was returned to the War Shipping Administration which, in turn, transferred her to the United States Army for operation with the Army Transport Service. The Army renamed the ship USAT General Edwin D. Patrick after Edwin D. Patrick, a general who was killed in action while commanding the 6th Infantry Division in the Philippines in 1945. Under the army, she served in the Army Transport Service from 30 August 1946 until 1 March 1950, when the navy reacquired her.

Military Sea Transportation Service

Retaining her army name, she was assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and was manned by a civil service crew. Operating out of San Francisco, USNS General Edwin D. Patrick (T-AP-124) spent almost two decades transporting troops, military dependents, and cargo to American bases throughout the western Pacific, and supported American forces in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Reserve Fleet

Early in 1967, the transport was placed in a ready reserve status. On 30 September 1968, the ship was laid up at the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet facility at Suisun Bay, Calif. On 31 August 1969, title to the ship was transferred to the Maritime Administration and was, again, struck from the Naval Register 9 October 1969. After being sold to ESCO Marine on 18 March 2010, the General Edwin D. Patrick, ex-Admiral C. F. Hughes, departed the San Francisco Bay under tow to the breakers on 3 May 2010. Her scrapping was declared complete on 25 January 2011.

 

USS Admiral C.F. Hughes (AP-124) transiting the Panama Canal on 30 June 1945 to the final destination of Manila, Philippines, where she arrived a month later. She was carrying troops to the Pacific that were being redirected from Europe to the Pacific. Image taken by US Navy aircraft stationed at Coco Solo.

 USNS General Edwin D. Patrick (T-AP-124) passing under the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, after 1945. [US Navy]

Namesake: Charles Frederick Hughes 4th Chief of Naval Operations (14 November 1927 – 17 September 1930) As Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Hughes worked to strengthen the fleet with the design, construction, and deployment of aircraft carriers and cruisers

USS Admiral C. F. Hughes (AP-124) with landing craft alongside, date and location unknown.

USS Admiral C. F. Hughes (AP-124) with landing craft alongside, date and location unknown.

USS Admiral C. F. Hughes (AP-124) underway during Operation "Magic Carpet", circa 1945-46.

USS Admiral C. F. Hughes (AP-124), moored pierside during Operation "Magic Carpet", circa 1945-46.

1,200 Pacific war veterans line the rails of USS Admiral C. F. Hughes (AP-124) as she arrives at San Francisco, CA. 18 August 1945. Admiral C. F. Hughes was the first transport to arrive at the West Coast after the Japanese surrender. [AP]

USAT Admiral C. F. Hughes underway in 1946, during Operation "Magic Carpet".

Ex-USAT Admiral C. F. Hughes underway, date and location unknown.
[US Naval History and Heritage Command NH 80020]