LST (491) - Naval Cruise Book

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I w 1 The Crew Forms We all know that the U.S.S. LST 491 has con- tributed her part in bringing about the successful con- clusion of the war. She has sailed over 100,000 miles, carried thousands of troops and millions of tons of war cargo. During the two and one half years the ship was in commission there were received aboard for duty or temporary duty 798 men. Many places in the world have been visited and many will be remembered be- cause of some thrilling experience that occurred there. All who sailed the 491 will want to remember the im- portant events and experiences during these years, and this in a few words is what we shall try to present in this book. It was on Sunday, September 14, 1943, at the Am- phibious Training Base, Solomons, Maryland, that Crew 4204 was born. On that day the oflicers and men met for the first time. Lt. R. E. Fahnestock, USNR, was the prospective commanding officer. He had served aboard the U.S.S. Marblehead fa light cruiserj, in the Pacific theatre, and was one of the few in the entire group that had previous sea experience. The officers and crew were subjected to intensive training, and in a few weeks we found ourselves going aboard a training ship, the 1

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INTRODUCTIGN , The strategical and combat requirements of World War II resulted in the most novel departures in the de- sign of naval vessels that had occurred in the past half century. The LST probably remains the most special- ized type developed. These mass-produced shoe boxes with propellers, specifically designed to land vehicles and accompanying troops on hostile shores, became the work horses of the Navy. With modifications, they served as train ferries, horse ferries, casualty evacuation ships, tenders, and often bulk cargo carriers. To the professional mariner, the LST, with its char- acteristics of: no draft and all freeboard, contrary and always surprising maneuverability, buggywhip flexibility, and its ultimate mission of being driven upon the shore, was at the same time ridiculous and alarming. Their officers and crews, however, were almost totally non-pro- fessional. These men, few of whom had ever seen blue water, much less sailed it, solved her idiosyncrasies and made her perform above and beyond what had been in- tended or expected. The U.S.S. LST 491, with two and one half years war service, including assault landings at Normandy and southern France, combat landing at Okinawa, finally terminating with the occupation of Japan, can match her performance and experiences with the best in this highly respected branch of the amphibians. To her officers and crew, my shipmates and friends, I extend the fondest affection of an old sea dog. L ' L. F. TEUSCHER Captain United States Navy l 2 if 9' , if

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i '5 3'Qi' I 4 l 2 S gi 4 L T If l e l l l 3 l t l 5 5 :A THE OL, DOUBLE TROUBLE T it LST 177, in the Chesapeake Bay. Here many of us saw, for the first time, an LST and also the ocean. We were naturally amazed to find a ship that looked so peculiar, as we knew very little about landing opera- tions and of the proposed use of the LST. We were trained in gunnery, battle problems, and general drills, and stood sea watches with the men from the ship's company. It was early in October when we sailed up the Bay expecting to disembark at Solomons, Maryland and leave shortly thereafter for the shipyard and our new ship. Upon arrival however we were told we would not disembark at Solomons, but wouldnreturn to Nor- folk that evening. The following morning about eleven o'clock we proceeded to Lambert Point, and docked at United Nations Pier. It was raining so hard the rain drops felt like little pebbles beating on our faces, and it was difhcult to berth the ship. 011 the pier was a huge empty warehouse, and not a soul was in sight. All of our gear was stacked ready to be shipped to Great Lakes Naval Tlallllllg Station our next report mg station before going to the shipyard Few of us knew that the Captain Executlve Officer and Others stayed and sau to it that all gear was p1 operly tagged and dispatched a task which took practically the whole after noon to complete All hands received a delay of seven days in reporting to Great Lakes and thus all were quite happy Wie had a nucleus crew known at 4204 A in training with us, and they too were given orders to pro , 5 , J! ,J G ? Q ceed to Great Lakes Lt Qgj R C Gerfen was the pros pectxve Executive Oflicer and he was in charge of the group f -25 A ?:A Q 'A A- O I 0 1 9 r 9 l ' O U 1 so ' -4 ' r I' Q 'Q Q , s 1 4 . A P- U ' I D . 'C C O I . 1 so ' so I we 0 0 . ' I 0 vo I o U I so r C vo 0 l I I I I ,, 1, - , .,f,. A ,ll-ssl.. .2 A , A: 5 w .L - A .4 x L'i'f::4'j- V 1-xl , W V af? P A a H-'tl 4 as ii sz-1 W