Following the war, LST-568 performed occupation duty in the Far East. She was caught in a typhoon off Ulithi Atoll on 15 September 1945, during which winds reached 120 knots (220 km/h); near the eye of the storm, LST-568 was badly damaged, losing her bow doors and suffering flooding.
While moored to a buoy at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on 9 October 1945, LST-568 was caught in a second typhoon, during which winds reached 109 knots (202 kilometers per hour). The crew beached the ship to ride out the storm, but the wind blew the ship into the bay where it struck the Liberty ship SS Richard S. Oglesby. LST-568's crew abandoned ship and boarded Richard S. Oglesby. Shortly afterwards, the wind shifted and pushed the unmanned LST-568 across Buckner Bay. She eventually came to rest on the reef near China Saki Point, where she was found on 10 October 1945, extensively damaged.
Landing ship tank USS LST-693 pulled LST-568 off the reef on 13 October 1945. LST-568 departed for the Philippines on 18 October 1945 under tow by LST-693. The tow line parted after only a few miles, and the ship continued under its own power, with a maximum speed of about six knots. It arrived in the Philippines on 23 October 1945.
Orders arrived on 22 January 1946 to strip, decommission, and sink LST-568. Stripping completed, she was decommissioned in the Philippines on 4 March 1946, her last commanding officer, James L. La Fon, being the last man to leave the ship.
LST-568 was towed to sea east of Samar and sunk by internal explosive devices on 7 March 1946. She sank in 4,000 fathoms (24,000 feet or 7,315 meters) of water. She was stricken from the Navy List on 20 March 1946.
Honors and awardsedit
LST-568 earned four battle stars for her World War II service. [1]
NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive LST-568 HISTORY OF THE USS LST-568
January 01, 1970
united, states, navy, class, tank, landing, ship, commission, from, 1944, 1946, beach, russell, islands, solomon, islands, august, 1945history, united, states, name, buildermissouri, valley, bridge, iron, company, evansville, indiana, laid, down21, march, 1944. USS LST 568 was a United States Navy LST 542 class tank landing ship in commission from 1944 to 1946 USS LST 568 on the beach in the Russell Islands in the Solomon Islands on 10 August 1945History United States NameUSS LST 568 BuilderMissouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company Evansville Indiana Laid down21 March 1944 Launched18 May 1944 Sponsored byMrs Arthur E Owen Commissioned3 June 1944 Decommissioned4 March 1946 Stricken20 March 1946 Honors andawardsFour battle stars for World War II FateScuttled 7 March 1946 General characteristics Class and typeLST 542 class tank landing ship Displacement1 625 long tons 1 651 t light 4 080 long tons 4 145 t full seagoing draft with 1 675 ton load Length328 ft 100 m Beam50 ft 15 m DraftUnloaded 2 ft 4 in 0 71 m forward 7 ft 6 in 2 29 m aft Full load 8 ft 2 in 2 49 m forward 14 ft 1 in 4 29 m aft Landing with 500 ton load 3 ft 11 in 1 19 m forward 9 ft 10 in 3 00 m aft Installed power1 800 horsepower 1 34 megawatts PropulsionTwo 900 horsepower 0 67 megawatt General Motors 12 567 diesel engines two shafts twin rudders Speed12 knots 22 km h Range24 000 nautical miles 44 000 km at 9 knots 17 km h while displacing 3 960 tons Boats amp landing craft carried2 x LCVPs Capacity1 600 1 900 tons cargo depending on mission Troops16 officers 147 enlisted men Complement7 officers 104 enlisted men Armament2 twin 40 mm gun mounts 4 single 40 millimeter gun mounts 12 20 mm guns Contents 1 Construction and commissioning 2 Service history 3 Honors and awards 4 ReferencesConstruction and commissioning editLST 568 was laid down on 21 March 1944 at Evansville Indiana by the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company She was launched on 18 May 1944 sponsored by Mrs Arthur E Owen and commissioned on 3 June 1944 Service history editDuring World War II LST 568 was assigned to the Pacific Theater of Operations She took part in the Philippines campaign participating in the landings on Leyte in October 1944 and the landings at Lingayen Gulf in January 1945 She then took part in the invasion and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in April 1945 Following the war LST 568 performed occupation duty in the Far East She was caught in a typhoon off Ulithi Atoll on 15 September 1945 during which winds reached 120 knots 220 km h near the eye of the storm LST 568 was badly damaged losing her bow doors and suffering flooding While moored to a buoy at Buckner Bay Okinawa on 9 October 1945 LST 568 was caught in a second typhoon during which winds reached 109 knots 202 kilometers per hour The crew beached the ship to ride out the storm but the wind blew the ship into the bay where it struck the Liberty ship SS Richard S Oglesby LST 568 s crew abandoned ship and boarded Richard S Oglesby Shortly afterwards the wind shifted and pushed the unmanned LST 568 across Buckner Bay She eventually came to rest on the reef near China Saki Point where she was found on 10 October 1945 extensively damaged Landing ship tank USS LST 693 pulled LST 568 off the reef on 13 October 1945 LST 568 departed for the Philippines on 18 October 1945 under tow by LST 693 The tow line parted after only a few miles and the ship continued under its own power with a maximum speed of about six knots It arrived in the Philippines on 23 October 1945 Orders arrived on 22 January 1946 to strip decommission and sink LST 568 Stripping completed she was decommissioned in the Philippines on 4 March 1946 her last commanding officer James L La Fon being the last man to leave the ship LST 568 was towed to sea east of Samar and sunk by internal explosive devices on 7 March 1946 She sank in 4 000 fathoms 24 000 feet or 7 315 meters of water She was stricken from the Navy List on 20 March 1946 Honors and awards editLST 568 earned four battle stars for her World War II service 1 References edit nbsp This article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The entry can be found here NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive LST 568 NavSource Online Amphibious Photo Archive LST 568 HISTORY OF THE USS LST 568 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title USS LST 568 amp oldid 1093042809, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
