 USSLST-980 unloads anLVT during "Exercise Camid III", for an "assault" onBloodsworth Island in the Chesapeake Bay. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Meeker County, Minnesota |
| Builder | Boston Navy Yard,Massachusetts |
| Laid down | 22 December 1943 |
| Launched | 10 February 1944 |
| Commissioned | 19 March 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 16 December 1955 |
| Renamed | Meeker County, 1 July 1955 |
| Identification |
|
| Honors and awards |  1 ×battle star (World War II) |
| Fate |
|
| Recommissioned | 23 September 1966 |
| Decommissioned | December 1970 |
| Stricken | 1 April 1975 |
| Honors and awards | 10 ×campaign stars (Vietnam War) |
| Fate |
|
 Singapore | |
| Name | LST-3 |
| Owner | Landing System Technology Pte. Ltd.,Singapore |
| Acquired | 1976 |
| Fate | Sold, 30 June 1978 |
 Greece | |
| Name | Petrola 143 |
| Owner | Maritime & Commercial Co., Argonaftis S.A., Panama |
| Acquired | 30 June 1978 |
| Identification | IMO number: 7629893 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping, 7 August 1996 |
| General characteristics[1] | |
| Class & type | LST-542-classtank landing ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 328 ft (100 m)oa |
| Beam | 50 ft (15 m) |
| Draft |
|
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 11.6 kn (21.5 km/h; 13.3 mph) |
| Range | 24,000 nmi (44,000 km; 28,000 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) while displacing 3,960 long tons (4,024 t) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 2 xLCVPs |
| Capacity | 1,600–1,900short tons (3,200,000–3,800,000 lb; 1,500,000–1,700,000 kg)cargo depending on mission |
| Troops | 16officers, 147enlisted men |
| Complement | 13 officers, 104 enlisted men |
| Armament |
|
USSMeeker County (LST-980) was anLST-542-classtank landing ship built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. Like many of her class, she was not named and is properly referred to by her hull designation. Later named afterMeeker County, Minnesota, she was the only US Naval vessel to bear the name.
Originally laid down asLST-980 on 22 December 1943, at theBoston Navy Yard; the ship waslaunched on 10 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Orrion R. Hewitt; andcommissioned on 19 March 1944.[2]
In April 1944, after completingshakedown exercises inChesapeake Bay,LST-980 loaded equipment and got underway forEngland, where plans for theinvasion of France had been stalled in debate over the need for shipping, a need and resultant disagreement so acute that Prime MinisterWinston Churchill had quipped, "The destinies of two great empires...seem to be tied up in some God-damned things called LSTs."[3][4]
Upon arriving in England,LST-980 underwent further amphibious training and by early June, stood ready for "D-Day." On 5 June the ships of "Operation Overlord" sortied from the English coast and on 6 June, theAllies landed on theNormandy beaches. Participating in the invasion,LST-980 was bracketed by bombs, one of which, a 125-pound (57 kg) dud, penetrated the hull and two bulkheads, killing one man and causing minor damage. After the establishment of thebeachhead, the landing ship remained in the area providing shuttle service between the United Kingdom and France. Carrying men and equipment to France, she returned to England with prisoners of war, transporting upwards of 900 at one time.[4]
LST-980 returned to the United States in February 1945 and was assigned to training activities along the east coast for the remainder of the war.[4]
Following the war she remained atLittle Creek, Virginia, and continued her training operations, extending them to theCaribbean and theGulf of Mexico. Those included participation in CAMID I, II, and III, jointArmy-Navy operations to acquaintUS Naval Academy cadets and midshipmen with amphibious warfare. On 30 April 1949,LST-980 departed Little Creek, for theMediterranean and five months' duty with the6th Fleet. Returning to her base on 4 October, she resumed east coast operations. With only three interruptions, two resupply missions to theBaffin Bay area in the summers of 1951 and 1952, and a two-month tour as support LST forMarines onVieques Island, in 1954, she continued to provide amphibious training to Naval and Marine Corps personnel until July 1955.[4]
RenamedMeeker County on 1 July 1955, she steamed toNew York, in mid-July to begin inactivation. On 23 September, she arrived atGreen Cove Springs, Florida, to complete the process. Decommissioning on 16 December 1955, she remained in the Florida Group,Atlantic Reserve Fleet, until transferred to thePhiladelphia Group in October 1961.[4]
In 1965, an urgent need for amphibious types causedMeeker County to be reactivated. Modernized atBaltimore, she recommissioned on 23 September 1966, underwent intensive training at Little Creek, and on 20 January 1967, departed for her new home port,Guam. She arrived atApra Harbor, Guam, on 7 April, and then sailed forSouth Vietnam, for a tour of duty as a unit of Landing Ship Squadron 3. Operating fromDa Nang, she provided almost continuous support to combat operations in Vietnam into 1970.[4]
Decommissioned in December 1970, atBremerton, Washington,Meeker County was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 1 April 1975. Sold for scrapping byDefense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS), on 1 December 1975, she was in turn sold toMax Rouse & Sons ofBeverly Hills, California, and taken in hand byMarine Industries,Tacoma, Washington, for conversion to commercial use. Sold in 1976, toLanding System Technology Pte. Ltd. ofSingapore (Lauritz Kloster,Norway) and renamedLST-3, the ship arrived atPiraeus, Greece, having been acquired byMaritime & Commercial Co. Argonaftis S.A.,Panama (Greek flag) on 30 June 1978, and renamedPetrola 143. After nearly two decades she arrived in tow atAliağa,Turkey, for demolition bySeltas A.S. on 7 August 1996.[1]
LST-980 received onebattle star for World War II service, asMeeker County tencampaign stars for service during theVietnam War.[1]
Online resources
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