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| USS LST-779 | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | USS LST-779 |
| Ship class | LST-542-class landing ship tank |
| Builder | Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company |
| Laid down | 10 May 1944 |
| Launched | 26 June 1944 |
| Commissioned | 29 July 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 15 March 1946 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 1947 |
| Displacement | 1,625 long tons (light); 4,080 long tons (landing) |
| Length | 328 ft |
| Beam | 50 ft |
| Draft | 14 ft 1 in (max) |
| Propulsion | 2 × General Motors diesel engines; 2 shafts |
| Speed | 12 kn |
| Complement | 7 officers, 104 enlisted |
| Armament | 2 × 40 mm AA, 6 × 20 mm AA |
USS LST-779 was an LST-542-class Landing Ship, Tank constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She participated in operations in the Pacific War, most notably the Battle of Iwo Jima, transporting troops, vehicles, and casualties. Commissioned in mid-1944, LST-779 served through major amphibious campaigns before decommissioning in 1946.
LST-779 was laid down at the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company yard in Evansville, Indiana on 10 May 1944, launched on 26 June 1944, and commissioned on 29 July 1944 under the command of Lieutenant USN officers assigned to the Pacific Fleet. The ship was one of many built under the Maritime Commission emergency shipbuilding program to meet demands from the United States Navy and allied operations in the Pacific Ocean theatre. Construction and commissioning linked industrial centers such as Evansville, wartime logistics hubs like Norfolk, Virginia, and training facilities including Camp Pendleton for amphibious doctrine.
Following shakedown and amphibious training with units from Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet and embarkation at San Diego, LST-779 transited the Panama Canal and steamed via Pearl Harbor to forward areas in support of Task Force 56 operations. She delivered troops and equipment to staging areas for the Iwo Jima assault, linking with elements of the 5th Marine Division, 3rd Marine Division, and 4th Marine Division. During the Battle of Iwo Jima in February 1945, LST-779 executed beach landings, offloaded Sherman tanks and amphibious tractors from the United States Army and United States Marine Corps, and embarked casualties for evacuation to USS Relief-designated hospital ships and fleet hospital units at Saipan and Guam. The ship operated in concert with escort vessels from the United States Navy Destroyer Force, anti-aircraft coordination with Carrier Task Force units aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6) detachments, and logistics support involving the Service Squadron 10 supply chain. After Iwo Jima, LST-779 continued inter-island cargo runs between Saipan, Tinian, and Eniwetok to support preparations for the Okinawa campaign and potential operations against the Japanese Home Islands until the cessation of hostilities following the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan's surrender in August 1945.
With the end of World War II, LST-779 participated in occupation support missions, transporting personnel and material to ports in Japan and Korea alongside units from the United States Fifth Fleet and Seventh Fleet. The ship returned to the continental United States for inactivation, was decommissioned on 15 March 1946, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register shortly thereafter. In 1947 she was sold for scrapping to a private company engaged in surplus disposal, concluding her brief but intensive wartime service.
For her service during World War II, LST-779 received one battle star for participation in the Iwo Jima operation, reflecting campaign credit authorized by the United States Department of the Navy and recorded in Navy unit award listings alongside other LSTs that supported amphibious assaults. Crew members were eligible for service medals including the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one campaign star and the World War II Victory Medal as documented in unit muster records.
LST-779's wartime role is recognized within histories of amphibious warfare, shipbuilding efforts exemplified by the Evansville Shipyard program, and studies of the Iwo Jima campaign that analyze logistics provided by LST-class vessels. Her service contributes to the collective memory preserved by institutions such as the Naval History and Heritage Command, the National Museum of the United States Navy, and veteran organizations including the Fleet Reserve Association and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Commemorative works on amphibious operations and oral histories from former crew appear in archives at regional repositories like the Evansville Museum and academic collections focused on World War II naval logistics.
Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Category:Ships built in Evansville, Indiana Category:LST-542-class tank landing ships