- USS Suffolk County (LST-1173)
The USS "Suffolk County" (LST-1173) was a sclass|De Soto County|tank landing ship built for the
United States Navy during the late1950s . Named after counties inMassachusetts andNew York , she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name."Suffolk County" was laid down on
17 July 1955 by theBoston Naval Shipyard ,Boston, Massachusetts ; launched on5 September 1956 ; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.; and commissioned on15 August 1957 with Lieutenant Commander James E. Brown in command. "Suffolk County" fitted out at Boston and sailed forNorfolk, Virginia on1 October to hold shakedown training and exercises in beaching. She returned to Boston from5 December 1957 to3 February 1958 for post-shakedown availability. The ship was back at Norfolk three days later and began local training exercises. From19 July to7 August the LST participated in amphibious training exercises offPuerto Rico . "Suffolk County" departed Norfolk on 8 September and, after embarking marines atMorehead City, North Carolina sailed for theMediterranean and her first tour with the 6th Fleet. She was part of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Group at Beirut, Lebanon from 29 September to 18 October 1958. Between fleet manuevers that included amphibious assault landing exercises on Crete, Sardinia (twice), Libya and Almeria, Spain she called at ports in Gibraltar,Lebanon ,Crete ,Greece ,Turkey ,Italy , Spain and France. The ship stood out ofRota, Spain on12 March 1959 . After disembarking the marines at Morehead City on 24 March, she returned to Norfolk on the 26th. In June, she participated in "Operation Inland Seas " which was the formal opening of theSt. Lawrence Seaway for ocean-going ships. "Suffolk County" returned to Norfolk in August and was assigned to Amphibious Squadron (PhibRon) 8 which promptly deployed to the Mediterranean until12 June 1960 when it returned to Norfolk. After a leave and upkeep period, she moved toCharleston, South Carolina for her first overhaul which lasted from mid-July to15 September . As a unit of PhibRon 8, the ship participated in a landing demonstration offOnslow Beach, North Carolina from29 October to3 November . The following month found her in theCaribbean on a two-month deployment, ending at Norfolk on17 January 1961 . "Suffolk County" returned to the Caribbean in April on a normal deployment. However, she was called upon to operate offGuantánamo Bay from25 April to5 May and off theDominican Republic from 1 to13 June because of the international tension those two countries were creating. She returned to Norfolk and operated from there until15 September when she sailed on Solant Amity III deployment. After loading marines and equipment atNorth Carolina , she proceeded toTrinidad . "Suffolk County" was attached to Task Force (TF) 88 for the remainder of the cruise which included port calls atSouth Africa ,French Equatorial Africa ,Sierra Leone ,Guinea , andLiberia . She returned toLittle Creek, Virginia on16 December 1961 . "Suffolk County" operated along the east coast, participating in various operations, deployments, and exercises which took her as far south as the Caribbean,Panama , and the Dominican Republic. From September to December 1964 she was involved in the cross Atlantic operation, "Operation Steel Pike." "Operation Steel Pike" was the largest operation to date since the World War II Normandy Landings. Elements of the Second Marine Division were landed at several locations along the Spanish coast. The USS Suffolk County, inaddition to her ship's company, carried several companies of Marines and she also served as the "home base" for the U.S.Naval Cargo Handling Battalion ONE (CHBONE) during "Operation Steel Pike." She was at Guantanamo on26 September 1966 whenHurricane Inez struck the Caribbean and left a path of destruction inHispaniola . "Suffolk County" aided the inhabitants ofJacmel-Cayes ,Anse-a-Pitre , andMarigot , on the southern coast ofHaiti , until7 October . The LST then continued her routine operations until early 1968. On16 April 1968 "Suffolk County" sailed for another deployment period with the 6th Fleet which lasted until4 June . Normal peacetime, east coast operations were resumed until September, 1970 when she steamed to the Mediterranean to partake in a two-month exercise withNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) fleet units which ended on18 November 1970 . Her normal routine was next broken in September, 1971 when she deployed to the 6th Fleet for her longest tour in years which lasted until mid-March, 1972. When "Suffolk County" arrived at Norfolk, she was ordered to prepare for inactivation. A "stand-down" phase was begun on24 May which lasted until1 July when she was placed in commission, in reserve. On25 August 1972 "Suffolk County" was placed out of commission, in reserve.Disposed of by transfer to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) on
15 April 1992 for lay-up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet atJames River ,Fort Eustis, Virginia , the ship was sold for $500 to Transforma Marine ofBrownsville, Texas for scrapping,31 March 1999 . "Suffolk County" was removed from the Reserve Fleet23 November 1999 and scrapped.References
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*ee also
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List of United States Navy LSTs
*Suffolk County, Massachusetts
*Suffolk County, New York
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