 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | LST-404 |
| Ordered | as aType S3-M-K2 hull,MCE hull 924[1] |
| Builder | Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard,Baltimore, Maryland |
| Yard number | 2176[1] |
| Laid down | 27 August 1942 |
| Launched | 28 October 1942 |
| Commissioned | 16 December 1942 |
| Identification | Hull symbol: LST-404 |
| Fate | Returned toUSN custody, 14 October 1944 |
 United States | |
| Name | LST-404 |
| Acquired | 14 October 1944 |
| Stricken | 21 October 1945 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping, November 1946 |
| General characteristics[2] | |
| Class & type | LST-1-classtank landing ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 328 ft (100 m)oa |
| Beam | 50 ft (15 m) |
| Draft |
|
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Range | 24,000 nmi (44,000 km; 28,000 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) while displacing 3,960 long tons (4,024 t) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 2 or 6 xLCVPs |
| Capacity |
|
| Troops | 163 |
| Complement | 117 |
| Armament |
|
HMLST-404 was aUnited States NavyLST-1-classtank landing ship that was transferred to theRoyal Navy duringWorld War II. As with many of her class, the ship was never named. Instead, she was referred to by her hull designation.
LST-404 was laid down on 27 August 1942, underMaritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 924, by theBethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard,Baltimore, Maryland;launched 28 October 1942; then transferred to theUnited Kingdom andcommissioned on 16 December 1942.[3]
LST-404 was used to transport elements of the179th Regimental Combat Team to "Beach Blue" during theSalerno landings in Italy, 10 September 1943.[2]
On the afternoon of 15 August 1944,LST-404 was returning to England from theNormandy beachhead, as part ofconvoy FTM 69, with wounded personnel, casualties, andprisoners of war, when she was torpedoed byU-741 about 35 miles (56 km) southeast ofSt. Catherine's Point. (50°02′N0°38′W / 50.033°N 0.633°W /50.033; -0.633)LST-413 was able to get alongsideLST-404 and take off the passengers and crew, however, eight crewmen and several POWs were killed in the torpedo explosion.ATR-4 tookLST-404 in tow and took her toSt. Helen's Roads, Isle of Wight, and then on toLee-on-Solent, on 16 August.[4]
LST-404 saw no active service in the United States Navy. The tank landing ship was struck from theNavy list on 14 October 1944. She was decommissioned, returned to United States Navy custody on 21 October 1945, sold through the auspices of the State Department in November 1946,[3] and was broken up in June 1948, atZeebrugge.[4]
Online resources
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