History
United States
Name	USSLST-794
Builder	Dravo Corporation,Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania
Laid down	12 July 1944
Launched	16 September 1944
Commissioned	20 May 1944
Decommissioned	9 July 1946
Renamed	USSGibson County (LST-794), 1 July 1955
Stricken	1 November 1958
Honours & awards	1battle star (World War II)
Fate	Sunk as atarget ship, 22 May 1958
General characteristics
Class & type	LST-542-classtank landing ship
Displacement	1,625 long tons (1,651 t) light 4,080 long tons (4,145 t) full
Length	328 ft (100 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	Unloaded : 2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) forward 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) aft Loaded : 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
Propulsion	2 ×General Motors12-567diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed	12knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	2LCVPs
Troops	16 officers, 147 enlisted men
Complement	7 officers, 104 enlisted men
Armament	8 ×40 mm guns 12 ×20 mm guns

USSLST-794 was anLST-542-classtank landing ship built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. Late in her career, she was renamedGibson County (LST-794)—for counties inIndiana andTennessee, the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name—but saw no active service under that name.

Originally laid down asLST-794 by theDravo Corporation,Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania on 12 July 1944; launched 16 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. B. H. Gommel; and commissioned 16 October 1944.

Followingshakedown,LST-794 departedNew Orleans 15 November, en route to thePacific. After embarkingArmy and Navy passengers atPearl Harbor, she steamed to theNew Hebrides, arrivingEspiritu Santo on 16 January 1945. Proceeding to theRussell Islands she debarked passengers and cargo before sailing toGuadalcanal for assignment. During the next four weeks she transported troops and cargo between Guadalcanal and the Russell Islands. As the invasion ofOkinawa approached,LST-794 engaged in intensive amphibious exercises in theSolomons, then steamed for theUlithi staging area. After embarking men and vehicles of the1st Battalion 4th Marines, the landing ship departed Ulithi on 25 March, and a week later arrived off Okinawa. On 1 April the troops stormed ashore in small boats andLVTs as the Marines established a beachhead. She remained in the assault area until 11 April when she sailed toSaipan for reinforcements.

For the rest of the war,LST-794 transported troops and cargo between Okinawa and thePhilippines. Following thesurrender of Japan, she remained in theFar East, assisting the occupation forces in Japan,Korea, and Okinawa. Returning to the United States in early 1946,LST-794decommissioned on 9 July 1946 and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet, berthed in theColumbia River. NamedUSSGibson County (LST-794) on 1 July 1955, she was used as a target and sunk by the submarineRasher on 22 May 1958. The ship was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 1 November 1958.

LST-794 received onebattle star for World War II service.

 This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.

• "LST-794Gibson County".Amphibious Photo Archive. Retrieved26 June 2007.

• "LST-794".LST-794 web site.

• LST-542-class tank landing ships
• Ships built in Pittsburgh
• 1944 ships
• World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
• Gibson County, Indiana
• Gibson County, Tennessee
• Ships sunk as targets
• Maritime incidents in 1958
• Ships built by Dravo Corporation

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Ship infoboxes without an image
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships