HMS LST 3002 was one of the first of her class of tank landing ship (LST). She had a short but interesting career which demonstrated the robustness of the design and construction of her class of ship.
She was built at Swan Hunter's yard on the Tyne and commissioned in August 1945 after acceptance trials. She sailed from the Tyne through the Pentland Firth to the Gareloch, encountering and sinking a floating contact mine on the way. She took aboard stores at Roseneath and worked up off the Clyde during September. She sailed for the Far East independently.
She left Suez at 0600 on 9 December. After passing through the Suez Canal into the Gulf of Suez with a cargo of Scammel tank transporters, she was rammed in calm conditions at 0028 on 10 December, by the Victory ship, SS Poland Victory, about 120 miles (190km) south of Suez. She was struck just about midships causing a hole about 44ft (13m) wide on the upper deck and 32ft (9.8m) wide at the keel and cutting the LST almost in two, leaving just about 10ft (3.0m) to hold her together. One of the ship's boats was damaged in the collision and the other seemed reluctant to yield to gravity. The crew of the LST abandoned ship, being taken aboard Poland Victory by rope ladder while she held position embedded in the LST. One crew member lost his life in the accident. He was Able Seaman Keith Larcombe and is buried in the Suez War Memorial Cemetery.
LST 3002 was still afloat next morning and a skeleton crew re-boarded her. The rest of the crew were carried off by Poland Victory. The Algerine-class minesweeperHMS Maenad attended until the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships Prince Salvor and Salvage Duke took the LST in tow slowly back to Port Taufiq (or Tewfik) arriving there of the afternoon of 12 December. There, she was dry docked in the small shipyard for temporary repairs, the skeleton crew remaining on board.
Repairs included fitting great strongback girders straddling the hole and plating over the gap. Now seaworthy again, but still showing signs of injury, in July 1946 she sailed to Dockyard Creek, Valletta Harbour, Malta to complete the repairs in dry dock. Repairs completed in September 1946, she returned home, calling in at Gibraltar on the way, paying off pennant flying boldly. She was decommissioned at Roseneath in November 1946. This incident put the reputation of the LST (Large Slow Target) to be virtually unsinkable to a severe test. Much of the shock of the collision was taken by the tank transporters without which this LST would have been cut in two. Remarkably, the two parts of the partially severed vessel sailed comfortably together, thanks no doubt to the excellence of the design and construction, but also to the skill with which she had been ballasted.
Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with no docks or piers. This enabled amphibious assaults on almost any beach. The bow of the LST had a large door that would open with a ramp for unloading the vehicles. The LST had a special flat keel that allowed the ship to be beached and stay upright. The twin propellers and rudders had protection from grounding. The LSTs served across the globe during World War II including in the Pacific War and in the European theatre.
LST 3041 was a Landing Ship, Tank that served in the Royal Navy at the end of World War II, before being converted to a commercial ferry. She was later requisitioned by the Navy during the Suez Crisis, and was scrapped in 1960.
USS Burnett County (LST-512) was an LST-491-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Burnett County, Wisconsin, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS Armstrong County (LST-57) was an LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for counties in Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Texas, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS LST-209 was an LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Like most of the ships of her class, she was not originally named, and known only by her designation. From June to August 1951 she served a stint as a part of the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), manned by a civilian crew, and renamed USNS T-LST-209. She was recommissioned under her original name 24 August 1951, and renamed USS Bamberg County (LST-209) on 1 July 1955. She was named for Bamberg County, South Carolina, the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS Benzie County (LST-266) was an LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Benzie County, Michigan, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS LST-356 was an LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. She earned three battle stars during the war and was decommissioned in July 1946. In July 1955, she was assigned the name USS Bledsoe County (LST-356) in honor of Bledsoe County, Tennessee, but never saw active service under that name. Bledsoe County was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in September 1960 and sold for scrapping in March 1961. She was apparently sold into commercial service in 1962 instead, serving under several names over the next five years. In 1967, she was acquired by the Indonesian Navy and renamed KRI Teluk Tomini (508). In 2012, the ship has pensioned and scrapped as scrap metal.
USS Boone County (LST-389) was an LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for counties in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and West Virginia, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS LST-453 was a United States Navy LST-1-class tank landing ship used in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II. She was converted at Brisbane, Australia, into an Achelous-class repair ship, shortly after commissioning, and used in the repairing of landing craft. She was later renamed for Remus, she was the only US Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS Millard County (LST-987) was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named after Millard County, Utah, it was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS Ouachita County (LST-1071) was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Ouachita County, Arkansas, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
MV Atheltemplar was a motor tanker built by Lithgows, Port Glasgow. She was launched on 15 April 1930, registered in Liverpool and operated by the United Molasses Co Ltd of London. She was transferred to Athel Lines on 1 January 1940.
USS LST-340 - later known as USS Spark (IX-196) - was a LST-1-class tank landing ship that served with the U.S. Navy during World War II. LST-340 served in the Pacific theatre and, despite suffering severe damage from the enemy, was awarded three battle stars for her action in dangerous areas. She was declared too damaged to return to the United States, so she was then reassigned as a barracks ship at Saipan.
HMS LST 3519 was a Landing Ship, Tank of the Royal Navy, entering service during the last months of the Second World War. She was chartered for civilian service as the Empire Baltic from 1946, serving as an early RO-RO ferry until the navy suspended the charter and requisitioned the ship during the Suez Crisis in 1956. She briefly returned to normal service, but was retired soon after and was eventually sold for breaking up.
Empire Cedric was the first ro-ro ferry. She was built for the Royal Navy as the Landing Ship, Tank, HMS LST 3534. She was commissioned in 1945 and converted for civilian use as a ferry in 1948. She was used in the Irish Sea on routes between Preston and Larne, and Preston and Belfast. In 1956, she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for a few months during the Suez Crisis as HMS Empire Cedric. She served until 1960 when she was scrapped.
Empire Celtic was a ferry which was built in 1945 as Landing Ship, Tank LST 3512 for the Royal Navy. In 1946 she was chartered by the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company Ltd, converted to a ferry and renamed Empire Celtic. In 1956, she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for a few months during the Suez Crisis as HMS Empire Cedric. She served until 1960 and was scrapped in 1965.
USS LST-2 was an LST-1-class tank landing ship of the United States Navy built during World War II. She was transferred to the Royal Navy in November 1944. Like many of her class, she was not named and is properly referred to by her hull designation.
USS LST-21 was a United States Navy LST-1-class tank landing ship used primarily in the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater during World War II, but also transported British forces from Calcutta and landed them at Regu Beach, Burma.
USS LST-911 was an LST-542-class tank landing ship in the United States Navy. Like many of her class, she was not named and is properly referred to by her hull designation.
USS LST-1079 was an LST-542-class tank landing ship in the United States Navy. Unlike many of her class, which received only numbers and were disposed of after World War II, she survived long enough to be named. On 1 July 1955, all LSTs still in commission were named for US counties or parishes; LST-1079 was given the name Payette County, after the county in Idaho.
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