VOLUNTARY
DUES
Again, thank you to all shipmates that have sent dues and donations to the Association. Without your support it would be impossible to publish "The Rolling Stone", find our shipmates, and have our reunions. Even though dues ($10.00 per year) are voluntary, we would like everyone to support the Association.
Dues and Donations should be mailed to: Marion and/or Kay Goble, 6200 Emerald Pines Circle, Fort Myers, Florida, 33912, with checks made payable to "USS Whetstone LSD-27 Association".
Thanks to all who have contributed since our last newsletter.
Alexander, Larry Allesi,Sam
Alsleben, Keith L. Arstill,William
Barber, George Bartholomew,Bart
Blenkhorn II, Charles Boren,Ben
Bradach, Jack Brown,William H.
Bryan, Otto "Coy" Burt,Sammy
Coatsworth,Robert Corpuz, Bernardo Cunningham, Michael Drasher, Luther Dresser,Don Dunn, James
Edwards,Homer Finnes,Roger G.
Fortine, Archie R. Garza,Luis
Heidt, Donald Highland,Harry B.
Hockema, Ben Holmes,Robert
Jackson, Harvey Janssen,Denton
Julian, Frank Kermicle,Harlin
Larsen, Donald L. Lonnon,Lawrence
Malroy, Stephen R. Manatt,James
McCoy, Bill Mezzanotti,Paul
Mitchell, Jr., Burley Montpelier,Henson
Moore, C. Lane Ostrofsky,Frank
Patterson, Peter V. Polk,James
Redfield, Russ Reeves,David
Richetta, Raymond J. Richey,Dan
Savoie, Donald Seabaugh,Raymond
Stanford, MD., Roy S. Stergeos,Jim
Stoll, Edwin W. Vaughan,Harold
Vitolo, John Ward,Everett
Watson, Marvin D. Weigt,Earl
West, Ray Whited,Gerald J.
Yedowitz, Jr., Joseph Zinn,Franklyn
THANK YOU
I would like to take a few minutes to thank you all for your cards and prayers during my recent recuperation period from heart attacks in April and June. Needless to say, this has been a very difficult time and your thoughtfulness is very much appreciated. Even though we have struggled health wise, we have been able to maintain the Association business. Due to the many that have participated with voluntary dues and donations, we have been able to maintain the ship’s store, have monies for the reunion and stay in the black. Thanks for your support! A financial statement will be provided at the reunion and published in the newsletter following the reunion.
Kay Goble
Secretary/Treasurer
SHIP’S STORE
USS Whetstone Ball Caps $15.00
Ball caps are available in Navy Blue with Gold Lettering or White with Blue Lettering.
Items that will be available at Biloxi Reunion and thereafter are:
Navy Blue T-Shirts $15.00
Whetstone Money Clips $10.00
Whetstone Key Chains $10.00
Embroidered Patches: $ 8.00
Yosemite Sam
Willing, Honed & Ready
Jackets, Sweatshirts and Golf-Shirts will be ordered the first week in October 1998 so items can be received by Christmas. Orders will be taken at the reunion and throughout the month of September 1998. To order hats, please contact Marion Goble, 6200 Emerald Pines Circle, Ft. Myers, FL 33912, (941) 768-1449 or e-mail at mgoble@mindspring.com. Please make all checks and money orders payable to USS Whetstone LSD-27 Association. All checks or money orders should be made payable to "USS Whetstone Association".
. WELCOME ABOARD
Alsleban, Keith SN 1965-68
Bantilani, Razzi TN 1965-70
Blenkhorn, Charles LTJG 1969-70
Bortle, Robert CS2 1945
Breaux, Dwayne D MM2 1969
Bryan, Otto "Coy" BT2 1967-70
Burgess, Alton W YN3 1968
Burt, Sammy L RM3 1969
Campbell, Donley E HMC 1968-70
Climacosa, Ricardo P SH3 1965-68
Cook, James "Jake" BT 1952-54
Coomer, Harry EN2 1969
Corpuz, Bernardo TN 1968-70
Doerr, Gary T. MR3 1968-69
Droese, Marshall ETN3 1963
Dunn, James C. LTJG 1968
Eshelman, Frank SN 1950-52
Fowler, Robin L SK2 1969-70
Gavino, Frank B FN 1969-70
George, William M PN3 1969
Gordon, Ed PN2 1968-71
Graupmann, Donald DK1 1961-70
Guenther, Dwight L EN3 1967-69
Guerrero, Jose FN 1963-66
Haines, Reed A. BM 1969
Harrison, Burlin C SFP3 1968-70
Haueter, Hylton J. FN 1968
Healey, William L LTJG 1969-70
Hicks, Bill MM 1954-58
Hood, Doyle SS 1952-55
Hoose, Bruce J. RD3 1968
Janssen, Denton A MM1 1952-55
Junjulas, Barry EM2 1969-70
Kreasko, Fred SN 1968
Lehi, Jimmie FN 1968-70
Lehi, Steve M FN 1968-70
Lininger, Edward SN 1969-70
Maculaitis, Vince PN2 1968-69
Maculaitis, Vince PN2 1968-69
Manatt, James MR 1961-63
Masar, Seth RD3 1968-69
Meis, Michael J DC3 1969
Menadue, Charles BM 1952-56
Moses, Burl L. SK3 1957-58
Newton, Curtis H HM2 1969-70
Odanga, Danny TN 1968-70
Pearce, Darrell L RD2 1968
Petefish, Dennis E EM3 1968-70
Poirier, Alan J SKSN 1967-69
Porteous, John S SN 1969-70
Ricketts, Norris W BT3 1968-70
Rode, Russell N DCCS 1964-66
Rootes, James L ETN2 1969
Saddie, Donald BT3 1950-51
Sanchez, Gene GM 1963-67
Savel, John J LT 1966-68
Schaupert, Carl W RD3 1969-70
Scurry, Henry J SN 1967-69
Sedgwick, John D Officer 1965-66
Stalker, Douglas J SN 1969
Stier, Edward P SK2 1969-70
Stergeos, James P QM3 1966-69
Stoll, Edwin BT 1950-52
Stubblefield, Darwin EN3 1969-70
Sylvester, Tim GM 1963-66
Thiele, William L LT 1968-69
Thompson, Edwin F BT3 1964-67
Tracy, Roy MM 1951-52
Vella, Sam SN 1950-52
Ward, Everett K YN3 1969-70
Ward, Robert CSC 1960
Weight, Earl MR3 1957-59
Widrig, Lewis MM 1969-70
Yedowitz, Joe RM2 1963-65
GREETINGS FROM YOUR PRESIDENT
July, 1998 ---- Summer has arrived and it is only 10 weeks until we all meet in Biloxi for our Second USS Whetstone Reunion. It is hard to believe that it has been almost two years since we last met in Las Vegas.
We are continuing to add shipmates every week. Newsletters are being mailed to over 550 men that served on the Whetstone and approximately 50 additional newsletters are mailed to widows of deceased shipmates.
As this is the last newsletter prior to the reunion and election of new officers, this will be the last time that I will address you as President of the Association. I want you to know that serving as President of the Association has been a joyous and memorable time in my life. The many men and women I have spoken with over the past two years, sharing our experiences aboard the Whetstone, has meant so much to me.
Who would have believed three years ago when Bill Martin and I discussed a Ship’s Reunion with only 30 or so shipmates located that we could be expecting over 200 at our Second Ship’s Reunion in Biloxi. My hat goes off to all of those men who have given their time, energy and money locating shipmates, to those who have donated money to the Association so others may work on locating shipmates, and to those who have sent letters and different items to the Association. All members have enthusiastically supported the Association’s goal to locate as many shipmates as possible that served aboard a great ship. I look forward to Biloxi and meeting many that I have spoken with over the past three years and renewing friendships that will never cease because we all have a common interest…..the USS Whetstone LSD-27,
which has made an impact on all our lives.
I want to take a few minutes to remember three shipmates that were present and supported me at our reunion in Las Vegas that have gone on to be with the Lord. My sympathy is extended to their wives. We will miss these men’s enthusiasm, input and contributions. Please take time to remember Joe Morrison who provided the Welcome Aboard Banner and Picture, Tom Burgess who was instrumental in helping locate shipmates, and Jack Hulon who was a major support to his brother, Don Hulen, editor of the "Rolling Stone."
A few notes about the reunion… Please note the following dates for making reservations, etc. If you are staying at Treasure Bay, room reservations must be made as soon as possible as the block of rooms and prices are guaranteed only until August 12, 1998. After that date, prices will increase and availability of rooms is not guaranteed. Please make your reservations now!
It is also very important that we know how many will be attending optional events and meals as we must give the hotel an accurate count by that same date -- August 12, 1998. Please note: Even if you are not staying at Treasure Bay, we need to know if you will be attending the Social, Bar-B-Que, Banquet, Tours, etc. Money for events is not due until August 31, 1998, but we need to know if you plan to attend.
Golfers Please Note: We have had a change in schedule since the last newsletter. Bill Martin has organized a golf outing on Tuesday morning at the Great Southern Golf Course and has reserved a tee time at 8:00. If you want to participate, please call the Great Southern Golf Course at (601) 896-3536, indicate you are with the USS Whetstone Group and give your name. We do not have an organized golf outing for Monday, but if you are interested in playing golf Monday afternoon, please request a tee time for you and a friend. Golf cost is $27.00. If you have any questions or concerns, please call Bill Martin at (409) 283-6885.
Remember to bring photographs and snapshots to the Reunion. A photographer will be available Sunday through Tuesday to help record all our memories through film. He also has the capability of reproducing snapshots that you bring and will make copies for you at a minimal cost. There will be no long wait for Reunion pictures. You will receive them before you leave Biloxi.
Again, a Special Thank You to all for your phone calls, letters and encouragement during my tenure as President of the USS Whetstone Association. I am privileged to have the opportunity to serve you.
DECEASED SHIPMATES
Alqueza, Christiano Bagley, Donald V.
Bailey, Finley A. Barber, George
Baxter, William Bruce, Marvin D.Bullock, Charles S. Burgess, Tom
Burney, John L. Burris, Richard Callahan, Alvin Cobb, John V.
Cooksey, Robert B. Crenshaw, Edwin
Cruz, Antonio R. Davis, James
Dilley, Richard J. Dixon, Thomas Doherty, Harold E. Dudley, Walter
Dyches, Archie Elder, Charles
Eshom, James M. Folks, Tracie F.
F oster, Anderson Foster, Freddie
Frank, Victor K. French, Dean M.
Fritz, Michael Gamble, William
Gatton, Frank C. Gifford, Gilbert
Giovanetti, R. A. Glover, Joseph R.
Gold, Boyd O. Gough, Terry G.
Gray, Amos Greenhill, Edward
Hardy, George D. Harrelson, Henry Harrington, Richrd L. Henderson, Thomas
Henry, Donald Hicks, Vernon
Holt, Dennis A. Houghton, Donald Howell, Larry T. Hulon, Jack
Irvin, Herbert E. Jansen, Howard
Johns, Elwood Johnson, Michael Ketchers, Lloyd R. Klemm, Floyd Kodesch, Charles Ladner, Winston
Lanpkin, Gerald T. Lattiner, George
Ledbetter, Robert L. Lewis, Ernest D. Lohmann, Gayle A. Lund, Larry
Machen, Elton McDouguald, Robert McMahon, Walter S. Milligan, Detester
Morrison, Joe Nelson, Larry A.
Nolte,Lester Olaveson, James L.
Pankonien, William Peerson, Jack
Poisson, Conrad Powers, Reginald
Rigdon, Charles E. Sandoval, Edward Sanders, Morgan G. Smith, Jay
Scholly, Victor Spruance, Edward Smith, Richard L. Stewart, Jack
Staubs, Jr., William Thome, Christian Terrell, Alex Tibbets, Joe
Waymack, James L. White, Eddie
Webb, William H. Wilson, Glen W
Zunick, Joseph L.
THE U.S. NAVY’S HYBRID
LANDING-SHIP-DOCK
Article by Matthew Dean
Sea Classics Magazine
October, 1985
Originally developed as part of the answer of how to get heavy new armor ashore, the claim to fame for the LSD turned out to be its ability to provide on the spot drydock service for battle damaged small craft of all kinds.
Putting people and weapons ashore on a hostile beach has always been the basic business of amphibious warfare. The essential idea behind an amphibious assault is that of putting a military formation ashore in the face of enemy opposition, in good condition and with the tools it needs to accomplish its mission. In the years before Wold War II, this was a relatively uncomplicated matter. Landing forces were fairly small. Their task was usually that of raiding or of seizing a small beachhead. Their weapons were usually limited to what they could carry; "heavy weapons" for a landing force meant machine guns, mortars, and "pack" artillery which could be broken down and carried ashore by their crews. Some experiments were conducted in the United States and England between the World Wars with landing craft designed to carry artillery pieces and the small tanks of the period. Actual production of landing craft did not begin until about 1939. These early craft were small, light types, carried on davits and loaded from transports at the landing point.
All this changed by World War II, as the "new" science of amphibious warfare developed at an accelerated pace. Instead of involving the movement of small, lightly-armed raiding parties, it was seen that victory in Europe and the Pacific would require the overwater transportation of entire armies, together with the hitherto undreamed-of-weight weaponry and equipment demanded by modern warfare. To put, for instance, even one of the new armored divisions ashore meant moving hundreds of heavy tanks and self-propelled guns, as well as the hundreds of other vehicles needed to keep the division supplied with ammunition, fuel, and food.
By 1940 the British had begun development of tank landing craft, or TLC (later designated LCT). Flat-bottomed, ramped craft capable of carrying several tanks, the TLC proved more seaworthy than expected, but were still slow and incapable of making long ocean passages or of coping with heavy seas. The larger LST was still, at this time, encountering design difficulties and early production was not foreseen.
The LST was an excellent idea – but it did have the disadvantage of having to approach the enemy beach in order to unload its cargo, thus exposing a relatively expensive ship (as opposed to landing craft) to direct enemy fire. Smaller landing craft offered the advantage of being far more expendable and made smaller targets; and, while building them was easy enough, the problem was how to get them within range of the beachhead. The answer as envisioned, was the design of a ship to carry loaded TLC rapidly to distant destinations in any weather. Craft the size of the TLC however, could not be davit-launched as could their small predecessors; the Mark III TLC, for instance was 190 feet long, with a displacement of 300 tons. This problem could be solved by adopting the floating-drydock principle, first used by the French in the early part of the century in the design of the submarine mothership Kangourou. Arrangements were made with the U. S. Navy’s Bureau of Ships for design of a dock-type ship capable of carrying three loaded Mark III TLC. The preliminary design, produced in November 1941, emphasized simplicity and ease of construction. In the following month eight of these new ships were authorized for the U.S. Navy; seven more were ordered for the Royal Navy. First classified as Mechanized-Artillery Transports, or APM, on July 1, 1942, the designation Landing Ship Dock, or LSD was adopted.
Essentially a self-propelled seagoing floating drydock, the LSD’s unique feature was her central well deck in which landing craft or other small craft were carried. When her well deck was flooded and her stern gate opened, her cargo of small craft could then float in or out under their own power. By the time the LSD began to enter service in 1943 and 1944, the LST was also being commissioned in large numbers and tank transportation was no longer the problem it had been. But the LSD was used to good advantage in the Pacific by the U. S. Navy and in the Atlantic and Mediterranean by the British, transporting landing craft and serving as mobile drydocks for repair of other battle damaged vessels.
The LST certainly achieved a greater degree of notoriety than did the LSD during WWII for who can deny what a spectacular sight these ships were as they rammed the beach, opened their giant doors and disgorged scores of tanks. What is more, LSTs were built in far larger numbers than LSDs. While stateside yards turned out hundreds of LSTs, only 27 LSDs were completed before the end of hostilities, a few being launched too late in the war to join in combat operations. Why such a disparity in numbers? The LSD was a full size ship, the typical WWII version measuring some 457 feet in length with a beam of 72 feet and displacing 4,500 tons. Her slab-sided appearance not-withstanding, the LSD was not a simple ship to build or operate thanks to the complexities of her inner workings and the fact that she was one of the few specifically designed amphibious warfare ships big enough to be powered by steam plant driven turbines. The LST, on the other hand, was a far easier vessel to build with its overall length of 328 feet and 1,625 ton displacement. Their two 1,700 hp diesel engines allowed for even greater engineering simplification.
As it turned out, the first eight LSDs contracted to the Moore Dry Dock Company of Oakland, California, ended up in the hands of the U. S. Navy. Additional contracts were led to Newport News Shipbuilding for eleven ships of the same design, the first seven of which were planned for delivery to the British. The plan was later changed; however, so that only the first four ships went to the Royal Navy while the U.S. Navy took the remaining seven. For the sake of avoiding confusion, it should be noted that names were given to all of these ships before their launchings and this is why, as it will be noted later, the first seven ships laid down by Newport News were given "H.M.S." names, the latter three then undergoing name changes back to American names midway through their construction.
Although approved during December, 1941, the keel for the first LSD was not laid until seven months later on June 22, 1942, this due, no doubt, to production efforts in the first months of the war geared to defense and survival rather than optimistically constructing amphibious warfare ships clearly designed for offensive operations. Six months later the strange looking new ship was ready for launching and on December 21, 1942, to the cheers of enthusiastic yard workers, one Mrs. Jabez Lowell broke the proverbial bottle of champagne against the hull of the USS Ashland (LSD-1). It had earlier been decided to name the first group of LSDs (most smaller amphibious warfare ships such as LSTs receiving only numbers) after the famous homes of famous Americans. Ashland, for instance, for the estate home of the famous statesman Henry Clay at Lexington, Kentucky.
Seventeen days short of one year after her keel laying, the new USS Ashland was completed and ready for her commissioning ceremony on June 5, 1943. As the first ship of a new type, to say that her strange lines brought many curious stares would be an understatement. She looked like something that had gotten away from her builders too soon. What made the Ashland so strange in appearance was her huge docking well, a cavernous opening 44 feet wide and 396 feet long which ran from the stern to clear up under the bridge, ending near the bow. Almost one hundred feet longer than a football field, the Ashland’s well deck was only 61 feet short of the ship’s 457 foot overall length. In it would fit 27 LCVPs, 18 LCMs with one LCVP in each, three LCUs, one LSM—or anything small enough to fit its nose through the stern opening (during the Korean war another LSD would take aboard a destroyer escort for dry dock repairs). The LSD was also designed so that it could be equipped with a removable "superdeck" of steel grating that could span the width and almost the entire open length of the well deck. Made up of six-ton sections, the pieces would typically be lifted off the pier one at a time by one of the ship’s two 25-ton swivel cranes and set down amidships. They would then be picked up by a six-ton traveling bridge crane (moving on tracks down either side of the ship) which would haul the piece toward the stern and set it in its appropriate place. On the superdeck could go 350 tons worth of invasion cargo—tanks, cars, trucks, DUWKs, 66 amphibious tanks or any other type of cargo that needed to be moved from point A to B. Tanks and vehicles on the superdeck could simply be lowered by crane into waiting landing craft in the well deck or, in the case of amphibious tractors, could be lowered directly into the partially submerged well deck where they would simply drive off the stern and head for the beach. The possibilities were almost endless and it was realized from the beginning that the new Ashland and her sisters to follow would be very versatile and handy ships to have around—not just during infrequent major amphibious landings but for general transport and day-to-day odd jobs that arise particularly including small craft maintenance. In fact, this is exactly what LSDs became far better know for; their ability to take smaller craft aboard for on the spot dry dock repairs. Each LSD was equipped to change screws, shafts and other parts of smaller craft by virtue of a fully equipped machine shop as well as a complete wood shop for working on the smaller, wooden hulled landing craft and PT-boats.
As mentioned earlier, the LSD was designed for steam power, an engine room being located in the wings amidships on both sides of the docking well. Ashland and her seven sisters built in Oakland were equipped with Skinner eight-cylinder reciprocating uniflow steam engines of 7,000 horsepower each. Later LSDs starting with those launched by Newport News during 1944 would, however, switch to steam turbine power of the high-pressure impulse reaction, single flow Parsons type. LSDs could make 15-16 knots, easily putting them in the "fast transport" category.
The most fascinating aspect of the LSD is, of course, her ability to squat down in the water and flood her well deck up to a depth of about 10 feet. Exactly how is it done? Perhaps the following wartime account by a reporter observing operations aboard the USS Lindenwald (LSD-6) best explains how it is all done:
"It takes 330 men and 18 officers to man this LSD and they’re all busy when her snubby bow approaches the embarkation area. Though operations look simple, they are extremely complex. According to the skipper, ‘It takes an hour and a half to ballast her down until there’s enough water in the docking well to float the small craft. So we start while we’re still underway.’
"As the ship plows along, you can see preparations being made. Men with telephone gear stand at six different stations around the ship to report ballasting progress. Each phone connects with the ballast-control center—a tiny shelter on the starboard wing well, lined with huge panels of wavering dial needles reminiscent of the control room in a submarine. The trembling deck underfoot tells you the big pumps are pulling sea water into the ship’s 36 tanks, located along the keelson, under the wooden planked floor of the docking well." ‘We watch like hawks’ explains the skipper, ‘to keep from having any half-full tanks with free surface—where water can slosh around. If the ship is rolling in a heavy sea swell, free surface water will slosh steeper than the roll and keep the roll going—an invitation to capsize.’ "The engineering officer on the wing wall orders the 45-foot steel stern gate to open a crack, and the first sea spills in around its lower edges as the ship settles in the sea. Slowly, the well fills like a bathtub. Before the destination is reached, 7,000 tons of salt water will flood the docking well. Actually, 3,500 tons are enough to float the 40-foot LCMs sitting snugly side by side, and they soon bob like corks, their steel sides screeching as they rub together in the swell. Gears whirl and down goes the gate, folding neatly in half, the doubling back under the stern. Boat engines roar. A blue, smoky, exhaust haze fills the docking well. Three at a time the boats emerge from the pungent fumes, through the open stern of the mothership."
The exhaust haze to which the wartime report refers was undoubtedly enhanced by the covering superdeck which tended to keep exhaust gases trapped within the well deck. It should be noted, however, that early operations with the first LSDs saw the ships sortie without superdecks in place. The same reporter went on to witness the process of taking the LSD’s landing craft back aboard.
"Upon the after end of the port wing wall stands the docking officer, holding a power megaphone with which he calls signals. Like the LSO on an aircraft carrier, it is his responsibility to bring each of the boats aboard again safely. Only he "talks" them in like this: ‘Number six aboard center; seven and eight follow port and starboard’. In they come, the first LCM roaring right down the center of the mothership right up to her bow. Two others follow, flanking it, until they are wedged in and secured. The loading proceeds, three at a time, until the last of the little craft have disappeared into the dark maw of the big ship. Then the stern gate closes part way, to allow the ocean inside the ship’s belly to seep back out where it belongs as the ship deballasts underway.
Reloading landing craft was a pretty smooth operation in a calm sea, but in a rough sea, the task could become treacherous. Rolling in rough water, it took skilled crewmen aboard both the ship and the boats to handle and secure the five ton landing craft. Typically, as they would enter the heaving docking well, they would whirl and spin, bashing the ship’s bulkheads and each other as the action of the confined sea water tossed them around like corks in a typhoon. To make matters worse, were such rough water operations being undertaken in an actual combat area where the ship might be endangered by, say, air attack (indeed, LSDs accounted for several kamikazes downed during the later stages of the Pacific war), the skipper often made the decision to order the landing craft to back in. This would allow them to make a quicker getaway should the need arise. Although to the untrained eye, the pandemonium of bringing the landing craft back aboard in a rough sea might have seemed like mass confusion — men scrambling along the wing walls, climbing over each other to grab lines and make them fast – the operation was typically well orchestrated. It had been practiced many times. If the captain wanted to get his ship out of the area, everything would be timed to the last second. As the first boats would come aboard, the LSD would begin to deballast at once – forward tanks first. If all went well, the forward end of the docking well would be progressively tipped up and dry, the first boats grounded seconds after being lashed in place thus preventing them from banging about.
The skipper of one LSD once pointed out another minor advantage of this unique ship’s abilities. "Plenty of times after deballasting, nice big fresh fish are left flopping around the docking well. We’ve had lots of fresh sea bass for supper as a result."
After the commissioning of the Ashland in June, 1943, the next Moore-built LSD to enter service was the USS Belle Grove in August followed by CarterHall, Epping Forrest, Gunston Hall, Lindenwald, Oak Hill and White Marsh in the following months. White Marsh (LSD-8), the last of her type built by Moore, was launched in July, 1943 and commissioned in late January, 1944. About the same time Moore was preparing to launch LSD-5, the USS Gunston Hall, in May, 1943, Newport News Shipbuilding launched the first of their LSDs, the HMS Eastway followed by HMS Highway, HMS Northway and finally the HMS Oceanway which was launched in December 1943 and commissioned in late March 1944. These four ships participated in a number of British operations including the invasions of Normandy and Southern France. After the war, HMS Eastway ended up in the hands of the Greeks who first used her in commercial service as the Hyperion and then later as the HHMS Nafkratoussa, flagship of the Greek Navy’s landing forces.
After the first four built-for-Britain ships, Newport News went on to build more LSD’s of what would come to be known as the Casa Grande Class. Starting with Casa Grande (LSD-13), the additional ships included, in order of their launching, Rushmore, Shadwell, Cabildo, Catamount, Colonial and Comstock (LSDs 14 through 19). The last two ships were completed too late in the war to see any action, the Colonial being moored at San Francisco and the Comstock on her shakdown when the Japanese surrendered. Cabildo and Catamount were able to see the later stages of action in the Pacific only by virtue of the fact that the ever efficient Newport News Shipbuilding had delivered the two ships some six months ahead of schedule, a rather amazing feat when one considers that the construction of these ships had been tacked on to an already full building schedule.
Eight more LSDs were contracted for during the war years, seven of which were completed and delivered. Donner (LSD-20) and Fort Mandan (LSD-21) were built by the Naval Shipyard at Boston during early 1945 and were both in commission by October of that year. Rather than being assembled and launched in the conventional manner, these two ships were assembled in a drydock and simply floated out upon completion.
Gulf Shipbuilding of Chickasaw, Alabama received contracts for LSDs 22, 23 and 24, but the war was drawing to a close. LSD-22, the USS Fort Marion, was launched in May, 1945 but was not completed until January, 1946, six months after Japan’s surrender. She was nevertheless commissioned and went on to enjoy a long and distinguished career serving into the 1970s. LSD-23 was originally given the name Fort Snelling but was completed as a merchant ship and christened TMT Carib Queen in 1956 after sitting derelict for 10 years. Two years later the ship was repossessed by the Government and acquired by the Navy. She was renamed the USNS Tarus and became part of the MSTS civil service manned fleet. LSD-24, given the name Point Defiance was also cancelled during August 1945 and what little had been laid of her keel was simply scrapped. The USS San Marcos (LSD-25), the single example of that type was built by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Laid down in September 1941 and commissioned in mid April 1945, she had just arrived off Okinawa with her first war cargo when the Japanese surrendered in August. This ship, too, went on to enjoy a lengthy career with the U. S. Navy and then was finally transferred to the Spanish Navy in mid 1971 where she currently serves as the Galicia.
The last two war-built LSDs, numbers 26 and 27, were also built by the Boston Naval Shipyard, but were launched too late in the war to participate in combat operations. Both of these ships, the USS Tortuga (LSD-26) and the USS Whetstone (LSD-27), went on, however, to enjoy long service lives with the Navy.
For administrative purposes, those LSDs constructed during WWII were classed as follows: LSDs 1 through 8 were called the Ashland Class, 13 through 15 were called the Casa Grande Class and 16 through 27 were the Cabildo Class. It should be pointed out; however, that differences between the WWII ships were minor although post war modifications which continued up until the early 1970s eventually produced a group of ships where no two were configured exactly alike.
The Navy thought so much of the capabilities of the LSD that in the early 1950s it was decided to build a new class of eight ships. Along with the lead ship of the Thomaston class, the USS Thomaston (LSD-28) which was launched in September 1954, the seven additional ships included Plymouth Rock (LSD-29), Fort Snelling (LSD-30), picking up the name from the WWII LSD-23 which had been cancelled, Point Definace (LSD-31), also picking up the name of the cancelled LSD-24, Spiegel Grove (LSD-32), Alamo (LSD-33), Hermitage (LSD-34) and Monticello (LSD-35). Monticello, as the first ship in the new class, was launched in March 1957. The principle of operation for these ships was exactly the same as with those ships constructed in WWII. They did, however, sport redesigned, superstructures as well as sleeker and more eye pleasing hull lines. Clearly, it was not hard to improve the looks of those ships built during the war. The well deck on these new ships was five feet shorter in length than the WWII ships (391’ versus 396’) but was four feet wider (48’ versus 44’). The class could be identified from the earlier ships in their main lifting cranes and smoke stacks being offset from one side to the other. The lifting capacity of the two big cranes carried aboard each ship was also increased from 35 tons to 50 tons. All eight of the ships were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi, and all are still in active service with the Navy. With an overall length of 510 feet and displacing 6,880 tons, the new ships could make a top speed of 23 knots, a considerable improvement over their predecessors.
A decade later, the Navy once again decided to build new LSDs. Authorized in 1965-66, this would be the five ship class named after the lead ship, the USS Anchorage which was launched in 1965 by Ingalls but not commissioned until March 1969. The remaining four ships of the class were built by General Dynamics at their Quincy, Massachusetts facility, all being launched during 1966-67 and commissioned between 1970-72. Differing somewhat in superstructure and side view appearance from the Thomaston Class, the five Anchorage Class ships (Portland, Pensacola, Mount Vernon and Fort Fisher) were, at 553 feet in length, 43 feet longer than the earlier ships and could carry a slightly heavier load with a well deck measuring 430’ x 50’. The ships are easily distinguished from earlier LSDs by their enclosed twin 3-inch gun mounts on either side just ahead of the bridge.
For a type that has served so well for so long, it now seems likely that the LSD building program has reached the end of the line. If, in fact, large amphibious operations remain a viable concept, by the time the newest of the LSDs are ready for retirement, ships along the lines of the Tarawa Class of General Purpose Amphibious Assault Ships will probably have stepped in to fill the gap. But for the next two decades, anyway, the LSD should remain a viable part of the nation’s offensive strike capability.