USS Berkeley County (LST-279) was an built for the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Named for counties in South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 and West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

LST-279 was laid down on 2 July 1943 at Ambridge, Pennsylvania

Ambridge, Pennsylvania

Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County in Western Pennsylvania, incorporated in 1905 and named after the American Bridge Company. Ambridge is located 16 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, alongside the Ohio River. In 1910, 5,205 people lived in Ambridge; in 1920, 12,730 people lived there, and in...

 by the American Bridge Company; launched on 19 September 1943; sponsored by Miss Marion Ruth Warsack; and commissioned at New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 on 25 October 1943 with Lieutenant Charles A. Palm, USNR, in command.

World War II, 1943–1945

After fitting out at the Naval Station Algiers, New Orleans, LST-279 loaded supplies and ammunition before proceeding to St. Andrews Bay, Panama City, Florida

Panama City, Florida

-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...

 for her shakedown cruise. While there, her crew practiced beach maneuvers and held communications and gunnery drills. In mid-November, she returned to New Orleans where the tank landing ship (LST) received minor alterations at the Pendleton Ship Yards. She then proceeded independently to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and from there on to Davisville, Rhode Island

Davisville, Rhode Island

Davisville, Rhode Island was the former home of the U.S. Navy SeaBees. It was located at Quonset Point on Narragansett Bay, an area now included in the town of North Kingstown. The Navy acquired the property in 1939 and built Naval Air Station Quonset Point...

 to load supplies and cargo. Moving on to Halifax, Nova Scotia

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

 in early January 1944, she got underway in convoy for Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 later that month.

After arriving at Plymouth, England on 7 February and unloading tank deck cargo, the LST engaged in various training maneuvers between Plymouth, Salcombe

Salcombe

Salcombe is a town in the South Hams district of Devon, south west England. The town is close to the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary, built mostly on the steep west side of the estuary and lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

, and Dartmouth

Dartmouth, Devon

Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...

 off the southern coast of England. Assigned to Flotilla 28 in May, the tank landing ship was placed under British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 operational control for the upcoming landings in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. She then spent the days immediately before the Normandy invasion in the western Solent, Southampton, undergoing further training with British troops.

On 6 June 1944 LST-279 moved from Southampton to Portsmouth, where she loaded British troops and vehicles before joining a convoy for Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

. On the morning of 7 June, the tank landing ship beached and unloaded her charges in the Green sector of Juno Beach

Juno Beach

Juno or Juno Beach was one of five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. The sector spanned from Saint-Aubin, a village just east of the British Gold sector, to Courseulles, just west of the British Sword sector...

. Casualties then came on board for the return trip to Portsmouth. On her next convoy run, however, the tank landing ship ran into trouble. German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 E-boat

E-boat

E-boats was the designation for Motor Torpedo Boats of the German Navy during World War II. It is commonly held that the E stood for Enemy....

s, operating from Cherbourg, torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

ed the ocean tug  and closed the LST convoy. Before nearby escorts drove off the attackers, one E-boat torpedo narrowly missed LST-279, passing 20 feet from her bow, but went on to damage instead. Over the next two months, LST-279 made over a dozen more shuttle trips, carrying troops, ammunition, and supplies from England to the beachheads in France.

Starting in August 1944, she made routine operational trips from Portland, England, to the Normandy beaches and to the French ports of Rouen

Rouen

Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...

, Le Havre

Le Havre

Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...

, Cherbourg, and Saint-Michel-en-Grève

Saint-Michel-en-Grève

Saint-Michel-en-Grève is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.In 2009 vast quantities of Ulva lactuca washed up on the beach at Saint Michel causing the deaths of a horse and cleanup crew truck driver.-Population:...

. By the time she departed for home in June 1945, LST-279 had made 74 Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 crossings in support of the Allied armies in Europe.

After unloading cargo at Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

 the tank landing ship proceeded to New Orleans for maintenance availability and repairs. Following a short post-repair cruise to Galveston, Texas

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

 LST-279 moved to Green Cove Springs, Florida

Green Cove Springs, Florida

Green Cove Springs is a city in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,908. It is the county seat of Clay County....

 on the St. Johns River

St. Johns River

The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant for commercial and recreational use. At long, it winds through or borders twelve counties, three of which are the state's largest. The drop in elevation from the headwaters to the mouth is less than ;...

 in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, where she joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet on 12 October 1945. LST-279 was decommissioned there on 27 June 1946.

Atlantic Fleet, 1951–1955

On 20 July 1950 in consequence of the June 1950 invasion of South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 by communist North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

 and the ensuing mobilization of units in the reserve fleet, the tank landing ship was tapped for activation the following year. On 5 April 1951 LST-279 was recommissioned at Green Cove Springs and reported to the Atlantic Fleet for duty. The tank landing ship operated out of Norfolk for the next three and a half years, carrying out a variety of training missions and hauling cargo up and down the east coast.

In January, 1955 she sailed south, passed through the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

, and steamed to Long Beach, California

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

. There, LST-279 commenced inactivation procedures after being transferred to the Pacific Reserve Fleet on 1 February. LST-279 was decommissioned at Long Beach on 14 June 1955.

China, 1955–1978

On 30 June 1955, the tank landing ship was transferred to the Nationalist Chinese Navy, in which she served as Chung Chih (LST-218). Although named USS Berkeley County (LST-279) on 1 July 1955 she never returned to Navy service, and her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 on 25 April 1960. The tank landing ship served in the Taiwanese Navy

Republic of China Navy

The Republic of China Navy is the maritime branch of the Armed forces of the Republic of China . The ROC Navy's primary mission is to defend ROC territories and the sea lanes that surround Taiwan against a blockade, attack, or possible invasion by forces of the People's Republic of China...

 until scrapped sometime during 1978.

LST-279 earned one battle star for World War II service.