 Mineral County underway, circa 1950s | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSLST-988 |
| Builder | Boston Navy Yard,Massachusetts |
| Laid down | 10 February 1944 |
| Launched | 12 March 1944 |
| Commissioned | 25 April 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 13 June 1950 |
| Recommissioned | 7 June 1951 |
| Decommissioned | 11 October 1957 |
| Renamed | USSMineral County (LST-988), 1 July 1955 |
| Stricken | 27 September 1957 |
| Honors & awards | 1battle star (World War II) |
| Fate | Sunk as a target |
| 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 | 2 ×LCVPs |
| Troops | 16 officers, 147 enlisted men |
| Complement | 7 officers, 104 enlisted men |
| Armament |
|
USSMineral County (LST-988) was anLST-542-classtank landing ship built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. Named afterMineral County, West Virginia, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
Originally laid down asLST-988 at theBoston Navy Yard on 10 February 1944, the ship was launched on 12 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Winfred K. Buckmaster, and commissioned on 25 April 1944.
Following shakedown out ofLittle Creek, Virginia,LST-988 departed the Norfolk area on 2 June 1944 in a convoy bound forBizerte,Tunisia. Arriving on the 22nd, she discharged herSeabee passengers and equipment and took on troops androlling stock to be transported toItaly. She anchored atNaples on 2 July and for the next month shuttled troops and equipment along the Italian coast, toSicily and toCorsica.
On 12 August, withArmy personnel as passengers and their tanks and other vehicles as her cargo, she departed Naples for theinvasion of southern France. By 0800, on 15 August, she stood offSaint-Raphaël awaiting her first beaching on enemy held shores under fire. Moving in at 1745, she had completed unloading by 1945. The following day she headed for Corsica and until 6 October shuttled troops, American and French, fromAjaccio, Corsica andOran,Algiers to Saint-Raphaël andMarseille. During October she completed runs to Italy and Tunisia, returning in November to theCorsica-Marseille route. She completed her finalMediterranean assignment, Marseille-Bizerte-Oran, in mid-December and on the 28th got underway forNorfolk, Virginia. Arriving on 14 January 1945 she steamed toNew York for overhaul, returning toVirginia in March to take on vehicles forPearl Harbor.
Underway on 1 April, she joined a convoy for thePanama Canal Zone, thence, on 15 May, steamed north toSan Francisco where she loaded explosives and ammunition for use in the westernPacific. By the end of June she had discharged herHawaiian cargo and by 6 July was en route toEniwetok andGuam. After off-loading her dangerous cargo at the latter island, she received word of theJapanese surrender and orders to continue transportation services in theMarshalls andMarianas.
On 14 September she departedSaipan for thePhilippines to begin duty with the 3rd Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet. From the 26th until 19 November, she operated betweenSubic Bay andYokohama, carrying Army occupation personnel and their equipment on the first leg of their journey to their assigned stations in the former enemy's home islands.LST-988 then commenced occupation service of her own, the transportation of cargo and passengers amongst various Japanese ports fromHonshū toKyūshū. Detached 11 April 1946, she began to make her way back to the United States. She arrived at San Francisco on 27 May, thence steamed through thePanama Canal and arrived at New York City on 13 July.
Under orders from the commandant,3rd Naval District, she decommissioned and was placed in reserve on 25 July and, after overhaul, was placed in service on 13 January 1946 for employment as aNaval Reserve training vessel for the New York area. On 6 April 1950 she reported for inactivation atPhiladelphia, and on 13 June was officially designated out of commission, in reserve. Towed toFlorida the following week, she was berthed atGreen Cove Springs as a unit of theAtlantic Reserve Fleet.
Shortly after her berthing at Green Cove Springs, the reopening of hostilities in Asia and high tension in Europe and theMiddle East resulted in an increased demand for ships of her type.LST-988 was ordered reactivated. On 7 June 1951 she recommissioned and 13 days later reported toServLant for duty as a troop and cargo carrier. Her assignments during the next year took her as far east as the Mediterranean and as far north as sailing beyond the arctic circle on 9 July 1952.[1] In May 1952 she was fitted out with ahelicopter pad and then ordered toIceland for special projects with theUnited States Air Force. Returning to Norfolk in September, she prepared for her first extended oversea deployment since World War II, six months with the6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, after which she resumed operations for the2nd Fleet.
In November 1953 she commenced work as cargo and personnel carrier, helicopter supply ship, and LORAC team unit for the Navy'sHydrographic Office, then engaged in scientific research in and resurvey of the Atlantic. RenamedUSSMineral County (LST-988) on 1 July 1955, she continued to serve the Hydrographic Office until the spring of 1957 when she was ordered to prepare for inactivation.
On 8 July 1957, at Norfolk, she was placed in reserve. On 27 September the ship was struck from theNaval Vessel Register, and on 11 October she decommissioned and was ordered to be stripped preparatory to use to destruction as atarget vessel for theAtlantic Fleet.
LST-988 received onebattle star for World War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
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