USS LST-903

USS Lyman County (LST-903) was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named after Lyman County, South Dakota, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

History
United States
Name	USS LST-903
Builder	Dravo Corporation, Neville Island, Pittsburgh
Laid down	15 October 1944
Launched	23 December 1944
Commissioned	20 January 1945
Decommissioned	10 September 1946
Renamed	USS Lyman County (LST-903), 1 July 1955
Stricken	1 November 1958
Fate	Sunk as a target, 28 March 1959
General characteristics
Class and type	LST-542-class tank landing ship
Displacement	1,625 long tons (1,651 t) light 3,640 long tons (3,698 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 Loaded : 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
Propulsion	2 × General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 × LCVPs
Troops	Approximately 130 officers and enlisted men
Complement	8-10 officers, 89-100 enlisted men
Armament	8 × 40 mm guns 4 × 20 mm guns

Originally laid down as USS LST-903 by the Dravo Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 15 October 1944; the ship was launched on 23 December 1944, sponsored by Mrs. E. W. Wilson; and commissioned at New Orleans, Louisiana on 20 January 1945.

Service history

World War II, 1945

After shakedown out of St. Andrews Bay, Florida LST-903 departed New Orleans on 21 February for the Pacific. Steaming via the Panama Canal and San Diego, she reached Pearl Harbor on 27 March. During the next seven weeks she participated in intensive amphibious training in Hawaiian waters; and, after embarking Army troops and loading LVTs, she sailed in convoy for the Marianas on 20 May. LST-903 steamed via Eniwetok, arrived Saipan on 10 June, and on 11 July departed on a supply run to Okinawa and Guam.

Post-war activities, 1945–1946

At the conclusion of hostilities she was operating out of Saipan; thence from 23 to 29 August she steamed to Leyte Gulf for supply runs among the Philippine Islands. Between 20 September and 4 November she made two runs carrying occupation troops from Manila Bay, Luzon to Yokohama, Japan. Departing Japan on 11 November, she sailed via the Marianas and Pearl Harbor and reached San Diego on 31 December. LST-903 operated along the west coast during the next five months before reaching Puget Sound on 1 June 1946 for deactivation.

Decommissioning and disposal

She decommissioned at Vancouver, Washington on 10 September and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Named USS Lyman County (LST-903) on 1 July 1955, she was designated a target ship on 20 October 1958. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 November. On 28 March 1959 she was torpedoed by the Menhaden (SS-377) off the coast of Baja California and sank in 720 fathoms of water.

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• "Lyman County". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
• "LST-903 Lyman County". Amphibious Photo Archive. Retrieved 10 August 2007.