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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSLST-822 |
| Namesake | Harris County |
| Builder | Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Company,Evansville, Indiana |
| Laid down | 20 September 1944 |
| Launched | 1 November 1944 |
| Commissioned | 23 November 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 27 July 1946 |
| Recommissioned | 23 November 1950 |
| Decommissioned | 21 February 1955 |
| In service | March 1955 |
| Renamed | USNSHarris County (T-LST-822), 1 July 1955 |
| Honours & awards |
|
| Fate | Sold to thePhilippines, 13 September 1976 |
 Philippines | |
| Name | RPSAurora (LT-508) |
| Acquired | 13 September 1976 |
| Fate | Unknown, probably sold for scrap |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | LST-542-classtank landing ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 328 ft (100 m) |
| Beam | 50 ft (15 m) |
| Draft |
|
| Propulsion | 2 ×General Motors12-567diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders |
| Speed | 12knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | TwoLCVPs |
| Troops | approx. 130 officers and enlisted |
| Complement | 8–10 officers, 89–100 enlisted men |
| Armament |
|
USNSHarris County (T-LST-822) was anLST-542-classtank landing ship built for theUnited States Navy during World War II. Named for counties inGeorgia and Texas, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USSLST-822 was laid down by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Company ofEvansville, Indiana on 20 September 1944; launched on 1 November 1944; and commissioned atNew Orleans, Louisiana on 23 November 1944.
After shakedown off the Florida coast,LST-822 departed New Orleans for the Pacific on 27 December. Steaming via San Diego and San Francisco, she reachedPearl Harbor on 6 February 1945. After a month of training in Hawaiian waters, she sailed on 15 March with Army troops and equipment embarked. She touchedEniwetok on 27 March, then arrivedUlithi on 7 April to prepare for participation in thebattle of Okinawa, begun a week earlier. Departing 12 April, she approached the shore of Okinawa on 18 April; and, during bitter fighting ashore and frequent Japanese air attacks, she operated between Okinawa and islands to the west. On 22 April she discharged men and equipment atIe Shima while protected by smoke cover. During her three weeks at Okinawa she survived 18 enemy air raids and carried vitally needed supplies for ground forces.
LST-822 departed Okinawa on 11 May, reachedSaipan the 18th, and sailed for thePhilippines on 6 June. ArrivingLeyte on 11 June, she proceeded toBiak where she arrived the 18th and embarked troops for transfer to Okinawa. Steaming via Leyte, she reachedNaha, Okinawa, on 4 July. There she embarked troops of the 108th Armored Tank Battalion and sailed on 6 July forCebu, Philippines. She arrived on 17 July, embarked troop replacements atSubic Bay, then returned to theRyukyus, arriving Ie Shima on 7 August.
Following thesurrender of Japan, she returned to the Philippines to transport occupation troops and equipment to Japan. As part of a 120-ship convoy, she departedLingayen Gulf on 17 September and arrived offWakayama, Japan, on the 25th. After unloading equipment and debarking Army engineers, she sailed on 1 October forManila. Between 19 and 27 October, she carried additional occupation troops from Lingayen Gulf to Wakayama; and during the next four months, she supported occupation landings and Allied operations along the coast of Japan.
DepartingSasebo on 3 March 1946,LST-822 sailed for the United States where she arrived San Diego on 30 March. After operating along theWest Coast fromSouthern California toWashington, she entered drydock atPortland, Oregon on 28 May. She decommissioned on 27 July and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet on 10 August.
LST-822 recommissioned atBremerton, Washington on 23 November 1950. In response to the invasion ofSouth Korea, she departedLong Beach, California on 10 February 1951 for the Far East. Steaming via Pearl Harbor, she arrivedYokosuka, Japan on 23 March. During the next four months she operated between Japan and the western coast ofKorea, supporting amphibious operations and bolstering American military operations. She departed Yokosuka on 20 July, arrived San Diego on 9 August, and spent the next nine months participating in amphibious training along the West Coast.LST-822 departed San Diego on 9 April 1952 and again deployed to the Far East, arriving Yokosuka via Pearl Harbor on 18 May. Operating out of Yokosuka and Sasebo, she steamed to ports along the coast of Korea fromInchon andKoje Do toPusan andPohang. She transferred men and supplies between Japan and South Korea and later in the year and into 1953 shuttledNorth Korean prisoners of war during prisoner exchanges. Departing Inchon on 22 January 1953, she sailed via Sasebo to Yokosuka, then departed for the West Coast on 5 February. She arrived San Diego on 5 March and resumed amphibious training, which continued during the remainder of the year.
LST-822 departed San Diego on 25 January 1954 for the Western Pacific. Arriving Yokosuka on 25 February, she resumed supply duty in support of US forces in the Far East, and during the next five months steamed to Korea, Okinawa, and along the coast of Japan. On 11 August she departed Yokosuka forHaiphong,North Vietnam where she arrived on 26 August. There she joined "Operation Passage to Freedom", which provided citizens ofNorth Vietnam an opportunity to escape the Communist takeover and to emigrate toSouth Vietnam. She took part in the evacuation of almost 300,000 Vietnamese from North to South. Between 29 August and 2 October she carried refugees, cargo, and military equipment from Haiphong toNha Trang,South Vietnam. After returning to Japan on 28 October,LST-822 departed Yokosuka on 17 November, touched Pearl Harbor on 5 December, and reached San Diego on 20 December.
LST-822 operated along the West Coast until 27 June 1955 when she sailed for operations in the Arctic Ocean offAlaska. RenamedUSNSHarris County (T-LST-822) on 1 July, she steamed viaSeattle, Washington and reachedPoint Hope, Alaska on 27 July. For almost two months she conducted supply and survey operations in the ice-filled Arctic Ocean north of Alaska. Departing Point Hope on 19 September, she sailed to San Diego and arrived on 8 October. She returned to Seattle late in October and from 1 December to 20 January 1956 underwent extensive overhaul. Departing Seattle on 27 January, she carried cargo to San Francisco on 31 January.Harris County was placed in service in reserve on 21 February atMare Island, California and she entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. In March she transferred to theMilitary Sea Transportation Service (MSTS).
Crewed by civilians,Harris County continued operating along the coast of Alaska and into the southern reaches of the Arctic Ocean. She operated out of ports in California andWashington as a supply and replenishment ship between 1956 and 1962. On 14 January 1962 she departed Seattle for the mid-Pacific. Steaming viaSeward, Alaska she arrived Pearl Harbor on 12 February to begin duty as a survey support ship. ThereafterHarris County operated throughout the Pacific from Hawaii to New Guinea while carrying supplies and supporting ocean survey projects. Her duties carried her to easternNew Guinea, theMarshalls, theMarianas, and theLine Islands ofPolynesia.
Subsequently, placed out of service and struck from theNaval Vessel Register, the ship was sold to thePhilippines on 13 September 1976.
The ship was sold to thePhilippines on 13 September 1976, and was renamedRPSAurora (LT-508), and in July 1980 asBRPAurora (LT-508). She served the Philippine Navy until she was decommissioned and stricken by the end of the 1980s. Her final fate is unknown, although probably she was sold for scrap.
Harris County received onebattle star for World War II and four battle stars forKorean War service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
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