The FReeper Foxhole Profiles the LST -- Landing Ships, Tank - April 9th, 2004

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[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Feather.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Colonel.

LST Production was deemed critical by Allied Planners, The Pacific and European Theatre commanders were both arguing that they needed priority in receiving LST's. In the Med some invasion schedules took into consideration how many LST's would be available. I've read that the invasion of Southern France kept getting pushed back because of LST shortages.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Matt.

Fox had a poll last night that showed almost half (44%) of the Democrats think the US should cut and run from Iraq.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Gator Navy. Friday night and drunk, somehow they just seem to go together don't they?

[SAMWolf]

Morning bogdanPolska12.

I hear you have a critical election coming up in your Country too. I fear for the U.S., if Kerry wins.

[SAMWolf]

Morning stand watie.

Free Dixie!

[bogdanPolska12]

Hey Sam!!! how are you buddy. Don't worry everything will be fine. I wanna wish you great Easter.

God Bless
Bogdan

[Colonel_Flagg]

Oh, yes. I'm not diminishing their contribution by any stretch.

The Americans did not feel that an invasion of Southern France was necessary in any event. One merely needs to look at the separate code names chosen by the Americans and British to see this (British: "Anvil"; Americans: "Dragoon").

The Americans also did not see the Italian campaign as a vital front in the beginning, as evidenced by the 1 1/2 divisions sent to land at Anzio under Mark Clark. If Roosevelt had had his way, Overlord might have taken place in 1943 provided the proper landing craft were in place.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning EGC. Have fun with the company, hope you have good weather for them.

[SAMWolf]

I'm not diminishing their contribution by any stretch.

I know you weren't I was just using your comment to throw in the LST bottleneck problem.

The U.S. always considered the Med a "sideshow" and resented having to allocate scarce resources to it. They knew slogging up the Italian Boot was not going to be the war winning theatre.

[SAMWolf]

Happy Easter to you. We're gonna have a beautiful Easter weekend weatherwise. 70's and sunny.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Mayor. We are starting a beautiful weekend, upper seventies today and through Sunday! Are you guys "warming" up at all?

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Aeronaut. Looks like those little fat toy planes.

[SAMWolf]

LST exploding during West Loch disaster in May 1944

West Loch Disaster

Pearl Harbor is divided into a series of lochs that fan out from Ford Island that sits in the center of harbor. West Loch was the staging area for the invasion fleets of the Pacific. In particular, vessels called LSTs or LCTs that had the capability to land on the shore, open their bows and deposit troops, stores and vehicles on the beach.

On Sunday morning, May 21, 1944, 29 LSTs readied for the invasion of Saipan, were nestled together at six berths. An LST carried a crew of 119 men and 200 marines, trucks, jeeps, and weapon carriers were carried on the main decks, all of which were loaded with ammunition and gas. Each vessel carried 80 to 100 drums of high-octane fuel on forecastle. Six thousand cubic feet of cargo ammunition was stowed on the deck with field guns and amphibious craft known as DUKWs. Besides the stores carried on by the troops and their vehicles, the ship had its own magazine and fuel capacity of 200,000 gallons. Drums of lubricating oil, fog oil smoke pots and floats were carried on the fantail -- an accident waiting to happen.

On May 21, 1944, at 3:08 p.m., an explosion blossomed out of LST-353. Apparently the blast originated near the bow of LST-963, where Army troops had been unloading mortar ammunition. Red hot fragments showered the clustered LSTs, igniting gasoline drums lined up on the exposed forecastles. In minutes, the explosions began to rip the invasion fleet apart. Fires began to blaze from stem to stern.

The explosions continued, damaging more than 20 buildings shoreside at the West Loch facility. For 24 hours fires raged aboard the stricken ships.

Burning LSTs at West Loch.

In all six LSTs were sunk and several severely damaged. Dead were 163 men and 396 were wounded.

Several investigations sought to find the reason for such a disaster, but no conclusive evidence as how it occurred was decided upon. Two major reasons have emerged as to the possible cause: The initial explosion was caused by gasoline vapor, or that one or more mortar shells exploded while being handled.

It was recommended that LSTs no longer be nested, so that disaster like that at West Loch could be avoided. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz disagreed. He felt that facilities were too limited at Pearl and that the nesting was necessary. "It is a calculated risk that must be accepted."'

During the explosions and fires, firefighters had prevented further loss of ships that would have delayed the invasion of Saipan. As it was, only a day was lost in the departure of the invasion fleet.

Today, only a few reminders of the West Loch disaster remain. For years, both during the war and after, the disaster at West Loch was veiled in secrecy and mystery. In particular, the bow of LST-480 is visible as it rusts in the tropical air of Oahu.

Conclusion

The attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, the intense salvage activities that followed, the West Loch disaster, and almost 50 years of other natural and cultural processes since the war have contributed to the formation of the underwater archeological record in the study area. This has been a selective history written for a specific purpose: to make those archeological remains more understandable. There are many other facets to the history of Pearl Harbor that weren't discussed and which could be grist for other historian's pens. The preceding, however, should provide a backdrop for the reader who is focused on the fascinating images and facts that have been generated from field activities in this submerged cultural resources study of Pearl Harbor.

[Professional Engineer]

Howdy ma'am. Cool thread.

[snippy_about_it]

1914 Tampico incident - US ship crew arrested in México

The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Vera Cruz Incident (4/22/1914) - Sep. 28th, 2003

[snippy_about_it]

Female Language Patterns...
"Please Do"
This is not a statement, it is an offer. The woman is giving you the chance to come up with an excuse for what you have done.
In other words, a chance to get yourself into even more trouble.

I'd like to know who's giving away all our secrets!

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning feather.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Colonel. Very useful indeed!

[snippy_about_it]

Again, I'm proud of my people!

As you should be! Thanks Matt for the news.