USS LST-37

Shipyard workers hang on as USS LST-37's hull tastes water for the first time as she is launched at the Dravo Corporation shipyard at Neville Island, Pennsylvania, 5 July 1943.
History
Name: LST-37
Builder: Dravo Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Laid down: 1 April 1943
Launched: 5 July 1943
Sponsored by: Mrs. Jack Domb
Struck: 12 August 1948
Identification: Hull symbol: LST-37
Fate: Transferred to the Royal Hellenic Navy, 18 August 1943
Greece
Name: LST-37
Acquired: 18 August 1943
Fate: Ran aground and sank, 1 June 1944
General characteristics [1]
Type: LST-1-class tank landing ship
Displacement:
  • 1,625 long tons (1,651 t) (light)
  • 4,080 long tons (4,145 t) (full (seagoing draft with 1,675 short tons (1,520 t) load)
  • 2,366 long tons (2,404 t) (beaching)
Length: 328 ft (100 m) oa
Beam: 50 ft (15 m)
Draft:
  • Unloaded: 2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) forward; 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) aft
  • Full load: 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward; 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
  • Landing with 500 short tons (450 t) load: 3 ft 11 in (1.19 m) forward; 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) aft
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Speed: 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 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 x LCVPs
Capacity: 1,600–1,900 short tons (3,200,000–3,800,000 lb; 1,500,000–1,700,000 kg) cargo depending on mission
Troops: 16 officers, 147 enlisted men
Complement: 13 officers, 104 enlisted men
Armament:

USS LST-37 was an LST-1-class tank landing ship of the United States Navy built during World War II. She was transferred to the Royal Hellenic Navy on 18 August 1943, before being commissioned into the USN.

Construction

LST-37 was laid down on 1 April 1943, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by the Dravo Corporation; launched on 5 July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Jack Domb; and transferred to the Hellenic Navy on 18 August 1943.[2]

Service history

LST-37 sailed from Galveston Bar for Key West, Florida, on 28 August 1943, with convoy HK 125, arriving in Key West, 1 September 1943.[3]

On 11 October 1943, LST-37 left Halifax, Nova Scotia, in convoy SC 144,[4] en route she joined convoy WN 497 that had departed Loch Ewe, on 26 October. She arrived in Methil, Scotland, on 28 October with a load of lumber.[5]

Records do not indicate when LST-37 departed Methil, but she most likely sailed on 3 December 1943, in convoy EN 314 (series 2), arriving in Loch Ewe, on 5 December, with her sister ships LST-33, LST-34, and USS LST-36[6], because she departed Liverpool, England, in convoy OS 61/KMS 35, on 8 December 1943.[7] The convoy split on 20 December 1943, with LST-37 continuing on in convoy convoy KMS 35G, arriving in Gibraltar, on 21 December.[8] She sailed for on in convoy KMS 35, the next day, for Bizerta, Tunisia.[9] It is here that she ran aground on 1 June 1944, and sank.[2]

References

Bibliography

  • "LST-37". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • "LST-37". Navsource. Navsource.org. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  • "Convoy EN.314 (Series 2)". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  • "Convoy HK.125". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  • "Convoy KMS.35G". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  • "Convoy OS.61/ KMS.35". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  • "Convoy KMS.35". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 24 August 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.