HM LST-12 beached at Barletta, Italy, July 1944.
History
United States
Name	LST-12
Builder	Dravo Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Laid down	16 August 1942
Launched	7 December 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. Joseph Fay
Fate	Transferred to the Royal Navy, 25 March 1943
United Kingdom
Name	LST-12
Acquired	25 March 1943
Commissioned	26 March 1943
Out of service	5 January 1946
Fate	Returned to US Naval custody
United States
Acquired	5 January 1946
Stricken	20 March 1946
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 11 September 1947
General characteristics
Class and 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	Unloaded: 2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) forward; 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) aft Full load: 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) forward; 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft Landing with 500 short tons (450 t) load: 3 ft 11 in (1.19 m) forward; 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) aft
Installed power	2 × 900  hp (670  kW) General Motors 12-567A diesel engines, 1,700  shp (1,300  kW)
Propulsion	1 × Falk main reduction gears 2 × screws
Speed	12  kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range	24,000 nmi (44,000 km; 28,000 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) while displacing 3,960 long tons (4,024 t)
Boats & landing craft carried	4 × LCVP
Capacity	1,600–1,900 st (22,000–27,000 lb; 10,000–12,000 kg) cargo depending on mission
Troops	163
Complement	111
Armament	1 × 2-pounder 40 mm (1.57 in) anti-aircraft multi-barrel gun 6 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons 4 × Fast Aerial Mine (FAM) mounts
Service record
Operations:	Sicilian occupation (July–August 1943) Invasion of Reggio (September 1943) Salerno landings (September 1943) Invasion of southern France (August and September 1944)

USS LST-12 was an LST-1-class tank landing ship of the United States Navy. LST-12 was transferred to the Royal Navy in early 1943, to serve in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations during 1943 and 1944. She never saw service with the US Navy.

Construction

LST-12 was laid down on 16 August 1942, by the Dravo Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; launched on 7 December 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Joseph Fay. ^[1] She was transferred to the Royal Navy 25 March 1943, and commissioned 26 March. ^[2]

Service history

LST-12 left Galveston, Texas, on 10 April 1943, with Convoy HK 168, en route to Key West, Florida, arriving 14 April 1943. ^[3]

LST-12 left from Hampton Roads, Virginia for the Mediterranean on 14 May 1943, with convoy UGS 8A, arriving in Oran, Algeria, sometime before 8 June 1943, breaking down en route. ^[4] Records also show that she left Gibraltar on 21 June 1943, with Convoy GTX 3, and traveled to Port Said, Egypt, arriving 4 July 1943. ^[5]

Mediterranean and European operations

LST-12 was assigned to the European theater and participated in the Sicilian occupation in July and August 1943, and the Invasion of Reggio and the Salerno landings in September 1943. On 13 November 1943, she struck a mine but was able to make Ferryville under her own power to be repaired. ^[2] However, records indicate that she was also part of Convoy BM 74 from 11 November to 16 November 1943, traveling from Bombay, India to Colombo, British Ceylon. ^[6]

In August and September 1944, LST-12 was the only British LST to take part in Operation Dragoon, the Invasion of southern France. ^[2]

From September 1944 to January 1945, she operated between Italy, Yugoslavia, and Greece. ^[2]

Postwar service

Between August and October 1945, she was refit at Antwerp before being paid off at New York 5 January 1946, and returned to the US Navy. On 20 March 1946, LST-12 was struck from the Naval Register. ^[2]

LST-12 was sold on 11 September 1947, to Washburn Wire Co., Phillipsdale, Rhode Island. ^[2]

References

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS LST-12.

• Photo gallery of USS LST-12 at NavSource Naval History