USS Mahoning County

USS Mahoning County (LST-914) was an LST (Landing Ship, Tank) in the service of the United States Navy in World War II and the Korean War. Originally named LST-914, she was laid down by the Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts, 16 February 1944; launched 18 April 1944; and commissioned 18 May 1944, Lt. A. W. Meyer in command. LST-914 was renamed USS Mahoning County in ceremonies held on July 18 1955.The ship was named after Mahoning County in northeast Ohio.

World War II

LST‑914 first engaged in combat duty with the invasion of southern France 15 August 1944. She carried Army troops and equipment from Naples, Italy, and unloaded them on the beach near Cape Lardier. Shortly afterward the LST joined Training Group Command, Atlantic Fleet, and operated along the east and gulf coasts until early in 1945. On 10 February 1945, she departed Gulfport, Mississippi, for the Canal Zone en route to duty with the Pacific Fleet. Steaming via Pearl Harbor and Eniwetok, she arrived Saipan 25 April. For the next 4 months the ship carried men and equipment between Saipan and Okinawa, making occasional calls at Tinian and Guam. She departed Saipan 24 July and sailed for the Philippines, operating there for the remainder of the war.

LST‑914 continued to operate in the Western Pacific after the Japanese surrender. On 26 June 1946 she decommissioned and was lent to the U.S. Army. She was then given a Japanese crew and for the next 4 years transported general cargo in the Far East.

Korean War

With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea and the consequent urgent need for ships, LST‑914 recommissioned at Yokosuka, Japan, 26 August 1950, Lt. R. L. Holsaus in command. By 6 September she was steaming for the combat zone. She embarked units of the 1st Marine Division at Pusan and transported them around the peninsula for the 15 September Inchon invasion, one of the decisive amphibious assaults of history, which routed the North Korean Army. Following Inchon, for which her task element was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation, the LST participated in the Wonsan operations and in the evacuation of Hungnam, 10‑24 December. On 13 January she sailed for Kobe, Japan, underwent overhaul and returned to Korea in mid‑February. She continued to support operations off the Korean coast until 1 April 1951, then departed for San Diego, arriving 26 May.

Post-war duty

For the next 2 years LST‑914 operated off the West coast. In June of 1953, she departed San Diego for her first Bar‑Change operation, the replenishment of bases in the Arctic. She returned to that duty during the summers of 1955‑57 and plied the waters of the Arctic Ocean, operating primarily in the Beaufort Sea. En route to her 1955 Arctic deployment, LST‑914 was given the name Mahoning County in ceremonies at Seattle, Washington, 7 July. Among the sailors on board was Fireman Richard G. Adams of Struthers, a city in Mahoning County, Ohio. In addition to her Arctic cruises, the LST also participated in deployments in the western Pacific during the winters of 1954, 1956, and 1958. In 1958, the Mahoning County was awarded the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award, which is presented annually by the U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations to the fleet's most battle ready ship.

Mahoning County operated out of Long Beach for the first 9 months of 1959. On 5 September she decommissioned and was sold to Zidall Explorations, Inc., Portland, Oregon, on 22 June 1960 for scrapping.

LST‑914 received two battle stars for World War II service and four for Korean service.

Statistics

• LST-542 Class Tank Landing Ship:
• Laid down: 16 February 1944, at Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, MA.
• Launched: 18 April 1944
• Commissioned: USS LST-914, 18 May 1944, LT. A. W. Meyer in command
• Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register: 26 June 1946, Loaned to the US Army
• Reacquired, reinstated in the Naval Register and recommissioned: 26 August 1950, at Yokosuka Japan, LT. R. L. Holsaus in command

During the Korean War LST-914 participated in the following campaigns:

• North Korean Aggression: 18 September to 2 November 1950
• Communist China Aggression: 3 November 1950 to 24 January 1951
• Inchon Landing: 15 to 17 September 1950
• First UN Counter Offensive: 25 January to 1 April 1951
• Second Korean Winter: 20 March to 30 April 1952
• Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952: 1 to 4 May 1952 and 5 to 19 July 1952

Source: http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/160914.htm

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Specifications: (as reported by Office of Naval Intelligence-1945)

Displacement: 1,625 t.(lt), 4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)

Length: 328' o.a.

Beam: 50'

Draft: (light) - 2' 4" fwd, 7' 6" aft (sea-going) 8' 3" fwd, 14' 1" aft (landing) 3' 11" fwd, 9' 10" aft (landing w/500 ton load)

Speed: 12 knots. (maximum)

Endurance: 24,000 miles @ 9 knots. while displacing 3960 tons

Complement: 7 officers, 104 enlisted

Troop Accommodations: 16 officers, 147 enlisted

Boats: 2 LCVP

Cargo Capacity: (varied with mission - payloads between 1600 and 1900 tons) Typical loads One Landing Craft Tank (LCT), tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment and military supplies. A ramp or elevator forward allowed vehicles access to tank deck from main deck Additional capacity included sectional pontoons carried on each side of vessel amidships, to either build Rhino Barges or use as causeways. Married to the bow ramp, the causeways would enabled payloads to be delivered ashore from deeper water or where a beachhead would not allow the vessel to be grounded forward after ballasting

Armament: (varied with availability when each vessel was outfitted. Retro-fitting was accomplished throughout WWII.) The ultimate armament design for United States vessels was 2 - Twin 40MM gun mounts w/Mk. 51 directors 4 - Single 40MM gun mounts 12 single 20MM gun mounts

Propulsion: two General Motors 12-567, 900 hp diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders

Reference

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Source: http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m2/mahoning_county.htm There is an official homepage for LST 914 [1]]