USS LST-291
 USS LST-291 ran aground in 1954
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | LST-291 |
| Builder | American Bridge Company, Ambridge |
| Laid down | 25 September 1943 |
| Launched | 14 November 1943 |
| Stricken | 19 May 1954 |
| Honours and awards | 1 battle star (World War II) |
| Fate | Sunk as target, July 1954 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | LST-1-class tank landing ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 328 ft (100 m) |
| Beam | 50 ft (15 m) |
| Draft |
|
| Propulsion | 2 General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders |
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | Two to six LCVPs |
| Troops | approx. 140 officers and enlisted |
| Complement | 8–10 officers, 100–115 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USS LST-291 was a LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II by the American Bridge Company in Ambridge, Pennsylvania.
LST-291 was laid down on 25 September 1943 and launched 14 November 1943. During World War II, the LST-291 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater, and participated in the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944.[1]
In 1954, she ran aground on a coral reef off James Point, Eleuthera in the Bahamas. After 11 days of salvage operations which involved blasting a 1,000 foot channel through the reef, she was freed from the reef and towed back to the drydock at Jacksonville, Florida.[2] The damage she sustained was too extensive, however, and LST-291 was decommissioned, struck from the Naval Register on 19 May 1954, and sunk as a target in July 1954.
LST-291 earned one battle star for World War II service.
References[edit]
- ^ "Tank Landing Ship LST-291". navsource.org. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- ^ "ProjectEleuthera.org: LST 291 – June 1954 "All Hands"". projecteleuthera.org. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Photo gallery of USS LST-291 at NavSource Naval History
External links[edit]
- "USS LST-291". Project Eleuthera. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
