- USS Bamberg County (LST-209)
USS "LST-209" was an sclass|LST-1|tank landing ship built for the
United States Navy duringWorld 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 theMilitary Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), manned by a civilian crew, and renamed USNS "T-LST-209". She was recommissioned under her original name24 August 1951 , and renamed USS "Bamberg County" (LST-209) on1 July 1955 . She was named forBamberg County, South Carolina , the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.Operational history
"LST-209" was laid down on
7 September 1942 atSeneca, Illinois by theChicago Bridge and Iron Company ; launched on29 May 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. C. A. Dalton; placed in reduced commission at her builder's yard on4 June 1943 ; placed in full commission atNew Orleans on10 June 1943 with Lieutenant Frank J. Oberg, USNR, in command.World War II
After shakedown training in the
Chesapeake Bay , "LST-209" departed American waters on4 August 1943 and steamed via theStrait of Gibraltar for theMediterranean coast ofNorth Africa . On her arrival atOran ,Algeria the ship received orders to proceed toBizerte ,Tunisia where she exchanged ships' companies with USS|LST-378 on25 August . Originally slated to sail forAlgiers to load LST spare parts for shipment to theFar East , "LST-209" instead received orders toSicily due to the critical need for LSTs to carry equipment to the Italian front. In the months that followed, the tank landing ship conducted four trips betweenCatania , Sicily andTaranto , Italy, before she returned to Algiers for further assignment.In convoy with 10 other tank landing ships, "LST-209" departed the Mediterranean through the
Suez Canal and headed forIndia . After arriving atCalcutta during the latter part of November, she loaded 14 M3 "General Lee" tanks on3 December and embarked 67 men of the British 14th Army before departing on5 December , with USS|LST-208 and two British motorgunboat s, bound forRegu Creek , nearArakan ,Burma . Although "LST-208" ran aground on the run in, "LST-209" beached successfully at 23:24 on6 December . She completed unloading the tanks within 30 minutes, retracted, and reached Calcutta in the afternoon of9 December . A week later, "LST-209" received orders to proceed to theBritish Isles . DepartingColombo on28 December , the ship reached the Welsh port ofMilford Haven on12 February 1944 and, after a week of operational training, wasdrydock ed atCardiff . She next underwent additional training, including beaching exercises on the south coast ofEngland . After shifting thence toRosneath ,Scotland "LST-209" received an armament conversion alongsidedestroyer tender USS|Melville|AD-2, losing her single 3 inch gun and receiving several 40 millimeterBofors and 20 millimeterOerlikon antiaircraft guns.On completion of that refit, "LST-209" sailed for
Harwich , England to train for the invasion of France. She embarked various troops embarked during this period, including elements of the famed British 8th Army "the Desert Rats", the troops she carried to the continent onD-Day ,6 June 1944 . After beaching on the British "Gold" Beach that day, "LST-209" shuttled between French and British ports for the remainder of June to support operations inFrance . Reconfigured in July to liftrailway car s in her capacious tank deck, "LST-209" carried out this task betweenSouthampton andCherbourg until November 1944. From then until the German capitulation, the tank landing ship transported troops between various English ports andLe Havre andRouen , France, andOstend ,Belgium . Following the end of the war with Germany, "LST-209" received orders to return to theUnited States on14 June 1945 . ReachingNorfolk, Virginia on1 July 1945 with "PT-460" as cargo and former USAAF prisoners of war as passengers, "LST-209" shifted from theTidewater region of Virginia toNew York where she unloaded themotor torpedo boat . She then headed back to New Orleans, whence her voyages had commenced two years before. AtMobile, Alabama work began to update her to the configuration of the improved sclass|LST-542|tank landing ship|4, but the end of the War prompted a cancellation of some of the alterations originally planned.Post-war
When the amended refitting had been completed by the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company, she proceeded to New Orleans for inspection. "LST-209" then carried out shakedown training out of
Galveston, Texas , before returning to New Orleans in mid-October 1945. Sent to theSt. Johns River inFlorida , the tank landing ship reported to the inactive fleet on28 October 1945 and was decommissioned and placed in reserve on27 June 1946 . The ship was placed in service as USNS "T-LST-209" on19 June 1951 with a civilian crew and assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS),Atlantic . She participated in Project "Bluejay" that July, a cold-weather exercise that took place inArctic waters. While she was at sea, participating in these evolutions, it was decided that the ship be reassigned to the Atlantic Fleet with a military crew when released by MSTS from her present employment. Released from MSTS service upon her arrival at Norfolk on5 August 1951 , "LST-209" shifted from there toCharleston, South Carolina where she was formally turned over to the Commander, Mine Force, Atlantic, on11 August 1951 . She was then placed in commission on24 August 1951 with Lieutenant John E. Cridland in command.As the
flagship for the Commander, Mine Squadron (MinRon) 4, "LST-209" resumed active operations in November 1951 after receiving such repairs and alterations as were necessary to enable her to function as a mine squadron flagship. These changes did not alter her basic tank landing ship lines. Clearing Charleston on8 November , "LST-209" took part in amphibious exercises offOnslow Beach , functioning as flagship and control ship forminesweeping operations. In the course of these evolutions, she became one of the first LST's to operatehelicopter s from her main deck.For the next half decade the ship operated with the mine force based at Charleston. Her tank deck was altered in 1953 to allow the ship to function as a support vessel for MSC(0) type minesweepers. During this period, "LST-209" was renamed USS "Bamberg County" (LST-209) on
10 July 1955 . Decommissioned again atGreen Cove Springs, Florida on10 December 1956 , "Bamberg County" never again saw active service with the Navy. Deemed "unfit for further naval service" on28 October 1958 her name was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on1 November 1958 . Sold to Tolchester Lines, Inc., ofArlington, Virginia soon thereafter, she was acquired by the Dravo Corporation ofPittsburgh, Pennsylvania on23 February 1961 for use at that firm'sBaton Rouge, Louisiana facility, where she was eventually scrapped."Bamberg County" earned one
battle star for her World War II service.References
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*External links
* [http://www.hullnumber.com/LST-209 "LST-209" Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com]
ee also
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List of United States Navy LSTs
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