USS LST-357

Last updated
LST-357 loading.jpg
LST-357 loading vehicles before the Normandy invasion
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS LST-357
Builder Charleston Navy Yard
Laid down24 October 1942
Launched16 November 1942
Commissioned8 February 1943
Decommissioned8 June 1946
Stricken31 July 1946
Honours and
awards
3 battle stars
FateSold for scrap, 1 April 1948
General characteristics
Class and type LST-1-class tank landing ship
Displacement4,080 long tons (4,145 t) full
Length328 ft (100 m)
Beam50 ft (15 m)
Draft
  • Light :
  • 2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) forward
  • 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) aft
  • Sea-going :
  • 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) forward
  • 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
  • Landing :
  • 3 ft 11 in (1.19 m) forward
  • 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) aft
Propulsion2 × General Motors 900 hp (671 kW) 12-567 diesel engines, 2 shafts, twin rudders
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range24,000 nmi (44,000 km) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) while displacing 3960 tons
Complement9 officers, 120 enlisted
Armament
  • 2 × twin 40 mm gun mounts w/Mk.51 directors
  • 4 × single 40 mm gun mounts
  • 12 × single 20 mm gun mounts

USS LST-357 was an LST-1-class tank landing ship of the United States Navy active during the Second World War. Whilst never formally named, she was nicknamed Palermo Pete by her crew.

Contents

Service history

She was laid down in October 1942 at the Charleston Navy Yard, and commissioned in February 1943.

LST-357 first saw action at the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. During the Salerno landings on September 9, a crew of just under 150 of all ranks took some 90 casualties. One crew member, Warren C. Gill, was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions, making him one of just six Coast Guardsmen to be awarded the Navy Cross during World War II. [1]

In 1944 she moved to England for the Normandy landings, landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day.

Following the end of the war, she served on occupation duties in the Far East, before being decommissioned in June 1946 and sold for scrapping in April 1948.

Notes

  1. "Warren Gill, Oregon's Forgotten Navy Cross Hero". The Maritime Executive.

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References