LST-888 entering San Francisco Bay in early 1946
History
United States
Name	USSLST-888
Builder	Dravo Corporation,Pittsburgh
Laid down	11 August 1944
Launched	14 October 1944
Commissioned	13 November 1944
Decommissioned	2 September 1946
Renamed	USSLee County (LST-888), 1 July 1955
Stricken	21 September 1960
Honours & awards	1battle star (World War II)
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 18 April 1961
General characteristics
Class & type	LST-542-classtank landing ship
Displacement	1,625long 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	2 ×LCVPs
Troops	Approximately 130 officers and enlisted men
Complement	8-10 officers, 89-100 enlisted men
Armament	8 ×40 mm guns 12 ×20 mm guns

USSLST-888 was anLST-542-classtank landing ship built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. Late in her career she was renamedLee County (LST-888) – aftercounties in twelve Southern and Midwestern states, the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear that name – but saw no active service under that name.

Originally laid down asLST-888 by theDravo Corporation ofPittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 11 August 1944; launched on 14 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Richard Connell; and commissioned atNew Orleans, Louisiana on 13 November 1944.

After shakedown and training offPanama City, Florida,LST-888 departed New Orleans on 14 December 1944 for duty in the westernPacific Ocean. Steaming via thePanama Canal andSan Diego, she arrived atPearl Harbor on 16 January 1945 and there embarkedArmy troops and vehicles before sailing for thePhilippines on 27 January. She arrived atLeyte Gulf viaEniwetok on 25 February and joined in intensive preparations for the decisive amphibious operations in theRyukyu Islands.LST-888 departed in convoy from Leyte Gulf on 19 March, and a week later she reachedKerama Retto to debark troops atGeruma Shima andTokashiki Jima. Following theinvasion of Okinawa on 1 April, she sailed forUlithi on 29 April after completing supply operations out ofIe Shima. She reached Ulithi on 5 May. For the remainder of the war, she made supply runs which took her to Okinawa,Iwo Jima,Saipan, andGuam.

Departing Saipan on 14 September 1945,LST-888 steamed toSasebo, Japan, arriving on 22 September to support occupation operations onKyūshū. She operated out of Sasebo andNagasaki for the next six months. After steaming toYokohama, she sailed for the United States on 11 April 1946. Touching at Guam and Pearl Harbor, she reachedSan Francisco on 27 May. In July she sailed for the east coast and began limited coastal operations out ofLittle Creek, Virginia.

LST-888 was decommissioned atCharleston, South Carolina, on 2 September 1946 and was towed toGreen Cove Springs, Florida, where she entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. NamedUSSLee County (LST-888) on 1 July 1955, she was struck from theNaval Vessel Register and approved for disposal on 21 September 1960. She was sold to Gulf Tampa Drydock, Inc. ofTampa, Florida, on 18 April 1961. She was towed away for scrapping on 11 May 1961.

LST-888 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-888Lee County".Amphibious Photo Archive. Retrieved1 August 2007.

• LST-542-class tank landing ships
• World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
• Ships built in Pittsburgh
• 1944 ships
• Ships built by Dravo Corporation

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from October 2021
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships