History
United States
Laid down	15 August 1944
Launched	3 November 1944
Commissioned	3 November 1944
Decommissioned	18 January 1947
Stricken	1 November 1958
Honors & awards	onebattle star for World War II service
Fate	Sunk as a target
General characteristics
Displacement	1,625 tons (light), 3,640 tons (full)
Length	328 ft (100 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	Bow 2'-4", stern 7'-6" (unloaded) bow 8'-2", stern 14'-1" (unloaded)
Propulsion	Two General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed	12 knots
Test depth	8' fwd; 14'-4" aft (full load)
Boats & landing craft carried	TwoLCVPs
Capacity	Approximately 130 officers and enlisted men
Complement	8-10 officers, 89-100 enlisted men
Armament	One single3 in (76 mm) gun mount, eight40 mm guns, twelve20 mm guns

USSLST-850 was anLST-542-classtank landing ship built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. Late in her career, she was renamedJuniata County (LST-850)—afterJuniata County, Pennsylvania, the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name—but never saw active service under that name.

Originally laid down as LST-850 by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company ofSeneca, Illinois 15 August 1944; launched 3 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Mildred Margaret Tegge Honig; and commissioned atNew Orleans, Louisiana 27 November 1944. After shakedown off the coast ofFlorida, LST-850 loaded military cargo atGulfport, Mississippi and departed New Orleans for the Pacific 31 December. Steaming via thePanama Canal and San Diego, she reachedPearl Harbor 1 February 1945. On 20 February she sailed with five other landing ships for theSolomons, arrivingGuadalcanal 7 March. After loading a cargo ofLVTs, she departed 19 March, touched atEniwetok 25 March, and reachedGuam the 31st. There she unloaded her cargo before steaming toSaipan 3 April to prepare to support operations atOkinawa. Between 12 April and 14 April, LST-850 embarkedSeabees and loaded construction and combat equipment; then she departed 20 April for that strategic island, which lay at the gateway to the heart of the Japanese Empire. Arriving 27 April, she discharged troops and cargo despite intermittent enemy air attacks. From 7 to 13 May she returned to Saipan where she embarked 371 officers and men of the2nd Marine Division and loaded a cargo of LTVs. Sailing 24 May, she arrived Okinawa 30 May. On 3 June, and again on 9 June, she carried these veterans of the Pacific fighting for amphibious assaults againstIheya Shima andAguni Shima. Departing in convoy 18 June, she reached Saipan the 24th; and, after embarking Seabees at Guam, she returned to Okinawa 28 July. Sailing once more for theMarianas 8 August, she arrived Saipan 14 August asJapan accepted Allied peace terms and agreed to surrender.

Assigned to transport occupation forces to Japan, LST-850 steamed viaLeyte toManila Bay, Luzon, where she embarked Army troops and departed in convoy for Japan. She enteredTokyo Bay 11 September and discharged her troops. Departing Tokyo early in October, during the next month she returned to Luzon, embarked additional troops, and carried them to Yokohama where she arrived 4 November. After supporting occupation landings along the coast ofHonshū, she sailed in mid-November for the United States. She sailed via Saipan and Pearl Harbor and arrivedAstoria, Oregon 30 December. LST-850 operated out of Astoria during the next 10 months and then was placed in commission, in reserve 17 May 1946. She transferred to Portland in October, decommissioned 18 January 1947, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. While berthed in theColumbia River, she was namedUSSJuniata County (LST-850) 1 July 1955. She was recommended for use as a target to destruction 20 October 1958. Her name was struck from theNaval Vessel Register 1 November 1958.

•  This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
• "LST-850Juniata County".NavSource. Retrieved25 July 2007.

• LST-542-class tank landing ships
• Ships built in Seneca, Illinois
• 1944 ships
• World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
• Juniata County, Pennsylvania
• Ships sunk as targets

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