Today I’m taking you on a tour of a piece of truly amazing history – the USS LST 325, the last WWII, fully operational landing ship tank. This awesome amphibious vessel docked for five days on the Vicksburg waterfront and I got to go aboard.
Scale model of the LST 325 constructed out of Legos. (Original photo by P. Rickrode.)
LST’s (landing ship tanks) were the largest ships designed to place tanks, troops and cargo onto hostile beaches and then retract off the shore using the stern anchor. Over a thousand of them were built in the early 1940’s and Winston Churchill called them “the ships that won the war.”
The LST 325, the one I toured, was commissioned in 1943 and was on the beach in Normandy! Talk about OMG! I walked through the very doors that tanks drove through onto the beach at Normandy. This vessel was also used in both the Vietnam and Korean wars. Imagine, this ship was in commission for 30+ years. Pretty cool. If that iron could talk.
Entry to the tank deck – LST 325. (Original photo by P. Rickrode.)
The tank deck (where we entered) can house up to 20 Sherman tanks at 33 tons each. Holy crap! Along the port and starboard bulkheads are compartments for storage, an electric and machine shop, and laundry area. Below that deck are fuel tanks, waste disposal tanks, fresh water tanks, the main and auxiliary engines, fire pumps and various other essential stuff.
Inside this cavernous belly of the ship was an assortment of displays depicting life aboard ship.
Also in the tank deck was the resident “movie star” on board; one of the actual Jeeps used in the show MASH.
Next we made our way up to the mess deck, which had berthing for the crew and eating and cooking areas and dry food storage compartments as well as the aft steering area. The galley, which is on the main deck, still has the original steam table and dumbwaiter. A bunch of cool dudes were fixing lunch for the Red Shirts (the volunteer crew) working that day. At the back of this deck we saw the stern anchor winch, which pulls the ship off the beach.
On the main deck (or the top floor as I like to call it) is where the rubber tired vehicles, artillery and all types of supplies are carried. The big truck in the photos below, is sitting on the, still operational, elevator that raises and lowers things to the tank deck below.
Up here on the open air deck are 4 huge gun mounts and a station for the gun director to do his thing. There were some smaller guns as well, but when it comes to guns of any kind, I’m kind of an idiot so I won’t even try to explain what kinds of guns these were. (I think I labeled them correctly in the photos. If not, my apologies.) They did fire one off using some kind of propane powered fuel. It was loud.
Back inside, on whatever deck that was, we walked through the troop berthing. The ship still has racks for 200 Army and Marine Soldiers. The “racks,” or bunks as they liked to call them, were original to the ship. If a guy were taller than me (a soaring 5′ 5″), he’d have a hard time in one of these bunks. And, nobody could sit up. At all. If you were anywhere but the top bunk, your nose would be in somebody else’s back.
There were also some original life jackets and helmets displayed. I would not have wanted to wear one of those helmets on my head for any length of time. Holy crappola, they were heavy. God bless our WWII vets.
Original helmet and life jacket from LST 325. (Original photo by P. Rickrode.)
Outside the ship, was a collection of WWII vehicles, including an ambulance. I repeat, God bless our WWII vets. Anyone needing that ambulance had a tough road ahead of them.
So that was my exciting mid-day adventure last week. What a fabulous experience it was. If this ship is ever in your area, I encourage you to please take the time to visit. You won’t regret it. For more information and touring schedule for the LST 325, visit: http://www.LSTMemorial.org
LST 325 at the Vicksburg waterfront, October 2016. (Original photo by P. Rickrode.)
What cool extraordinary experiences have you taken advantage of? Have you ever toured an LST ship?
Word of the Day: ichthyoid
Fun fact about me: I don’t know as much about WWII history as I should.
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, October 2016. Original photos by P. Rickrode, October 2016.
jansenschmidt 
That is so cool – thanks for sharing all your pictures! It always blows my mind that ships that huge, carrying so much tonage, can still float. I went aboard the Mighty Mo when I went to Hawaii last, and that was awesome. Plus, it was in the movie Battleship…which wasn’t particularly realistic since the heroes used it to defeat aliens, but hey, it was entertaining!
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Thanks Coleen! I, too, toured the Mighty Mo. This LST reminded me a lot of the Missouri. Similar living quarters and such. Tiny, short hallways and doorways. Sort of claustrophobic.
And, yes, how do they keep all that weight afloat? Engineering wonders for sure.
Have a great week.
Patricia
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I don’t know as much WWII history as I should, either. And one of my books takes place during it! Though in my defense, I mostly researched life at home for it. I haven’t had too many extraordinary experiences myself–maybe a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon qualifies? I would definitely like to tour the LST ship if I am ever in an area where it is!
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I’ve never traveled in a helicopter! It’s on my bucket list.
I hope you get a chance to tour this ship. They usually visit one or two cities a year, when it’s not docked in Indiana. It’s a really cool piece of history.
And, I know what you mean about research. Good heavens, we cannot possibly research every single thing about what happens in our books. We’d never get any writing done.
As always, thanks for visiting. Have a great week.
Patricia
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You did well touring this ship in October. We toured the USS Lexington, a WW II aircraft carrier permanently anchored at Corpus Christi in the summer. Big mistake, as interior temperatures were horrendous.
We toured the Missouri in December. Very pleasant. Awesome to stand on the deck where MacArthur was seated when he accepted Hirohito’s surrender.
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“Awesome to stand on the deck where MacArthur was seated when he accepted Hirohito’s surrender.” Yes it was. I’ve been there myself. Very humbling and proud at the same time.
This is the first time I’ve ever been on an LST. The way it operates is pretty dang cool. And everything from 1942 on board still works! Thankfully, they added air conditioning over the years and updated the emergency systems and fire alarms and such, but all of the old wiring and fixtures and switches are such are all there.
Thanks for visiting Dave. Have a great week.
Patricia
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Amazing, I would have liked to have visited that ship. Ten years ago we visited the USS Hornet in Alameda NAS. It was the ship my father-in-law served aboard in WWII and we were able to go aboard with him. It was an amazing trip for many reasons. Here is the link to my first Veterans Day post and a photo of my family http://makingthedayscount.org/2010/11/13/veterans-day-and-heroes/. It was a wonderful trip. Have a wonderful week, the days are passing so quickly. Peace.
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Awesome post, Clay! How exciting that a man who was actually stationed on the ship got to give you the tour. Very exciting.
And your family is very good-looking, especially that cutie patootie little blond girl!
Patrica
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I don’t know as much about WWII history as I should. – I agree! The older I get the more I realize how little I truly know. My dad warned me about this… what I find fascinating is that with 14 million men and women in uniform during WWII, many never saw combat but served behind the scenes doing the necessary things that make an army work – supply, transportation, administration, grave details, logistics, and so many more ways to serve. Thank you for sharing this….
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You’re welcome. And I agree, so many people are involved in protecting this great country – more so in the past since we didn’t have all the really cool technology then. I don’t think most people even give those service men and women a thought.
As always, thanks for your support.
Patricia
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