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| The tank landing ship (LST, for "Landing Ship, Tank") was created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and troops directly onto an unimproved shore. More than a thousand of these ships were laid down in the United States during WWII. The WWII versions of the LST were of two basic types. The earlier models were called type LST-1 and the later ones were type 511. After the war most of the LST’s sailed back to the US where they were but into an auxiliary fleet or scraped. Many of the LST were sold for scrape or sunk while still in the pacific. Over 50 were sold for scrape or for commercial use at Subic. As many as 10 may have been used as targets or just sunken at Subic. It is impossible to say which ships went where at Subic, once a ship was stricken from the roles it was no longer tracked by hull number.She may be LST-959. During World War II, LST-959 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in June 1945. Following the war, she performed occupation duty in the Far East and saw service in China until mid-May 1946. She was decommissioned on 13 June 1946 and struck from the Navy list on 3 July that same year.On 10 June 1948, the ship was stripped and destroyed at Subic Bay, Philippines. |