HMS LST-8

History
Name:	HMS LST-8
Builder:	Dravo Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Laid down:	26 July 1942
Launched:	29 October 1942
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Anne H. Johnson
Commissioned:	23 March 1943
Decommissioned:	4 May 1946
Struck:	3 July 1946
Fate:	Returned to US Navy 1946
General characteristics
Class & type:	LST-1-class tank landing ship
Displacement:	1,625 long tons (1,651 t) light 4,080 long tons (4,145 t) full
Length:	328 ft (100 m)
Beam:	50 ft (15 m)
Draft:	Varied, depending on load
Speed:	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried:	6 LCVP
Capacity:	between 1600 and 1900 tons
Troops:	14 officers, 131 enlisted men
Complement:	129 officers and enlisted men
Armament:	2 × twin 40 mm gun mounts w/Mk.51 directors 4 × single 40 mm gun mounts 12 × single 20 mm gun mounts

HMS LST-8 was an LST-1 class tank landing ship of the Royal Navy. LST-8 served in the European and Pacific Theater of Operations and was returned to the United States Navy in 1946.^[1]

Construction

LST-8 was laid down on 26 July 1942 at Dravo Corporation in Pittsburgh, launched on 29 October 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Anne H. Johnson;^[2] and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 23 March 1943.

Service History

LST-8 sailed from New York for the Mediterranean in convoy UGS8A on 14 May 1943. She participated in the invasion of Sicily, landings at Reggio, Salerno, Anzio and Normandy in the European Theatre. She was refitted at Liverpool in September 1944 and was transferred to the Eastern Fleet. LST-8 also participated in the landings in Malaya, Operation Zipper. She was paid off on 4 May 1946 at Subic Bay, returned to the US Navy on 1 June 1946, struck on 3 July 1946 and sold on 5 December 1947 to Bosey, Philippines.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

1. "HMS LST-8". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
2. "LST-8". www.history.navy.mil. Retrieved 2015-04-05.