 LST-1097 in June 1945 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSLeague Island |
| Namesake | League Island, the site of the Navy Yard,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the junction of theSchuylkill River and theDelaware River |
| Builder | Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co.,Jeffersonville, Indiana |
| Laid down | 22 November 1944 |
| Launched | 16 January 1945 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Susan A. Rash |
| Commissioned | 9 February 1945 as USSLST-1097 |
| Decommissioned | 19 December 1946, atPortland, Oregon |
| In service | 3 January 1951 asLeague Island (AG-149) |
| Out of service | 14 December 1956, atAstoria, Oregon |
| Reclassified | League Island (AG-149), 27 January 1949;AKS-30, 18 August 1951 |
| Refit | General Stores Issue Ship 17 January to 2 March 1951 atBethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp.,Oakland, California |
| Stricken | 1 April 1960 |
| Identification | IMO number: 6501381 |
| Honors & awards | onebattle star for World War II service |
| Fate | Scrapped 21 September 1981 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | LST-511-classtank landing ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 328 ft (100 m) |
| Beam | 50 ft (15 m) |
| Draft | loaded bow 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) - stern 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) |
| Propulsion | twoGeneral Motors 12-567diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders |
| Speed | 12 knots |
| Boats & landing craft carried | twoLCVPs |
| Troops | 130 officers and enlisted |
| Complement | 8-10 officers, 89-100 enlisted |
| Armament | two40 mm guns, twelve20 mm guns |
USSLeague Island (AG-149/AKS-30) – also known asUSSLST-1097 - was anLST-511-classtank landing ship launched by theU.S. Navy during the final months of World War II.League Island served as a supply and stores-issue ship for theU.S. 7th Fleet, and was decommissioned after the war.
LST-1097 was laid down by Jeffersonville Bridge & Machinery Co.,Jeffersonville, Indiana, 22 November 1944; launched 16 January 1945: sponsored by Mrs. Susan A. Rash; and commissioned 9 February 1945.
LST-1097 reported for duty to theCommander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, 27 March 1945. After a number of short voyages in the western Pacific Ocean she participated in theOkinawa campaign from 21 May to 30 June. The ship enteredPearl Harbor Navy Yard in December for conversion to an Ordnance Spare Parts Barge, and remained there until March 1946. She steamed toPortland, Oregon, 21 November and decommissioned 19 December 1946.
On 27 January 1949 she was reclassifiedAG-149, and namedLeague Island 1 February. Due to theKorean War buildup, she recommissioned 3 January 1951.
She was converted to a cargo stores ship 17 January to 2 March byBethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp.,Oakland, California, and upon completion, moved toSan Diego, California, 24 March.
The ship departed for Japan 1 June to joinServRon 3 with whom she served fromSasebo andYokosuka from June 1951 to August 1954. She was reclassifiedAKS-30 on 18 August 1951. During this period she carried out her mission of supplying spare parts to the fleet in theFar East in support of America's Korean commitment.
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With the cessation of hostilities inKorea, the ship sailed to thePhilippines to assist theU.S. 7th Fleet in theSouth China Sea area. She served fromSubic Bay, not returning to Japan until May 1955.
Early in 1956 she was back in thePhilippines to continue logistic support for the 7th Fleet. She returned to Sasebo March 1956, and sailed forSan Francisco, California, 30 April.
She decommissioned atAstoria, Oregon, 14 December 1956. Stricken from theNavy List 1 April 1960, she was sold 17 March 1961 to Hatch & Kirk Co.,Seattle, Washington, and towed away for scrapping on 24 April 1961. However AG149 did not go for scrap and ended up in Singapore in the early 1970s where it was bought by an Arab businessman and renamed Al Rashedia. The ship was modified to off load bagged cement and loaded with bagged cement she sailed forBahrain in thePersian Gulf at the time of the building boom. On arrival around 1975 the vessel was off loaded and beached onMuhurraq Island part ofBahrain and abandoned. The vessel was moved in the late 70s fromMuhurraq and beached on the opposite side of the anchorage onBahrain Island and left. 149 slowly sank by the bows and remained with the foredeck awash for over two years. In 1980 plans were submitted to the Bahrain Government to redevelop the area where the ship lay into a yacht marina. Approval was granted and the first attempt at salvaging the vessel was undertaken by a local diving company using compressed air. A month later despite extensive diving operations the vessel had not moved. The company went into liquidation and many suppliers of plant and equipment went unpaid. The vessel was then purchased for scrap by a local company and the removal awarded to the Dutch salvage company Smit International, who in turn sub contracted the diving operations to D.M.S. who had a specialist team of salvage divers. Seven days after starting operations the Al Rashedia was towed away and subsequently sold to a company in the United Arab Emirates. It was here at Sharjah in 1981 that the hull was cut down and the vessel turned into a barge.[1] She sank at her moorings at Sitra on 21 September 1981 and was subsequently scrapped at Gadani Beach.
LST-1097 received onebattle star for World War Il service:
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