USS LST-356 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...

. She earned three battle stars during the war and was decommissioned in July 1946. In July 1955, she was assigned the name USS Bledsoe County (LST-356) in honor of Bledsoe County, Tennessee, but never saw active service under that name. Bledsoe County 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...

 in September 1960 and sold for scrapping in March 1961. She was apparently sold into commercial service in 1962 instead, serving under several names over the next five years. In 1967, she was acquired by the Indonesian Navy

Indonesian Navy

The role of the Indonesian Navy is to patrol of Indonesia's immense coastline, to ensure safeguard the territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone , to protect Indonesia's maritime strategic interests, to protect the islands surrounded Indonesia and to defend against seaborne threats. The TNI...

 and renamed KRI Teluk Tomini (508). , Teluk Tomini remained in active Indonesian service.

Service history

LST-356 was laid down on 7 September 1942 at the Charleston Navy Yard; launched on 16 September 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Harold Rivington Parker; and commissioned on 22 December 1942 with Lieutenant George A. Jacquemot, USNR, in command.

Mediterranean , 1943–1944

Following shakedown in Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 and post-shakedown repairs at the New York Navy Yard, LST-356 set out for the coast of Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 on 19 March 1943. She stopped at Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

 between 23 and 27 March and reached Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

 on 13 April. From there, she moved north and entered the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

. For the next few weeks, she conducted shuttle runs between ports on the North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

n coast (Oran

Oran

Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...

, Arzew

Arzew

Arzew or Arzeu is a port city in Algeria, from Oran. It is the capital of Arzew District, Oran Province.-Antiquity:Like the rest of North Africa, the site of modern-day Arzew was originally inhabited by the Berbers...

, Tunis

Tunis

Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

, and Bizerte

Bizerte

Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...

) before she took part in "Operation Husky" - the invasion of Sicily

Allied invasion of Sicily

The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...

. For that assault, she beached at Beach Blue Two, in the "Cent" area on the afternoon of 10 July and unloaded her embarked tanks and other vehicles within an hour. Then, she turned to the task of unloading ammunition, gasoline, and general stores until directed to retract and lie to offshore. During the retraction phase, though, LST-356 grounded on a sandbar on her port bow, rupturing a fuel tank in the auxiliary engine room. However, she managed to struggle free under her own power in about 20 minutes and then proceeded to the transport area.

The following day, she resumed unloading, using her boats in the effort. Later, on the 12th, she assisted the in unloading her cargo despite frequent interruptions by enemy air raids. Beaching again on the 13th, the tank landing ship, helped by Army engineers

United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

, started to unload the remainder of her own cargo, and her crew completed the job on the 14th. Over the ensuing weeks, LST-356 voyaged thrice to Sicilian

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

 ports bringing supplies into Scoglitti

Scoglitti

Scoglitti is a small fishing village near the town of Vittoria on the south coast of Sicily.In addition to its fishing industry, the village derives a substantial part of its income from tourism...

, Gela

Gela

Gela is a town and comune in the province of Caltanissetta in the south of Sicily, Italy. The city is at about 84 kilometers distance from the city of Caltanissetta, on the Mediterranean Sea. The city has a larger population than the provincial capital, and ranks second in land area.Gela is an...

, and Palermo

Palermo

Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

. During this time, she also carried a cargo of radar equipment and night fighter directing gear to the island of Ustica, some 40 miles north-northwest of Palermo. Before the year was out, the ship took part in her second amphibious action, "Operation Avalanche", the invasion at Salerno

Salerno

Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. She arrived in the Gulf of Salerno

Gulf of Salerno

The Gulf of Salerno is a gulf of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the coast of the province of Salerno in south-western Italy. The northern part of this coast is the touristic Costiera Amalfitana, including towns like Amalfi, Maiori, Positano and the city of Salerno itself.The Gulf of Salerno is separated...

 on D-Day, 9 September, and immediately commenced discharging DUKW

DUKW

The DUKW is a six-wheel-drive amphibious truck that was designed by a partnership under military auspices of Sparkman & Stephens and General Motors Corporation during World War II for transporting goods and troops over land and water and for use approaching and crossing beaches in amphibious...

s. Upon completing this task some 40 minutes later, she lay to, ramp and bow doors secured, to await orders. During that period of inactivity, enemy planes appeared overhead, and the tank landing ship’s gunners joined in the fire to drive them off.

LST-356 launched pontoons and arrived off the beaching area at noon. She approached the beach under fire from shore batteries. Unloading her vehicles swiftly, LST-356, still under fire, retracted from the beach without difficulty suffering neither damage nor casualties. After retrieving her boats and embarking 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...

 prisoners of war, she returned to the rendezvous area. Underway again, LST-356, configured with a "flight deck," began launching the first of four United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 Piper L-4A

Piper J-3

The Piper J-3 Cub is a small, simple, light aircraft that was built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. With tandem seating, it was intended for flight training but became one of the most popular and best-known light aircraft of all time...

 "Grasshoppers" for liaison missions. As she increased speed to flank, the first L-4A took off, but narrowly missed the guardrail to the forecastle-mounted 40-millimeter mount. The second took off two minutes later, but it struck the guardrail and fell into the sea off the starboard bow. Executing hard right rudder and stopping her engines, LST-356 swung to starboard to avoid running down the splashed "Grasshopper." Fortunately, a boat from the picked up the Army pilot, and the attack transport took him on board and treated his injuries. Determining the runway to be faulty, Lieutenant Jacquemot and the officer in charge of the planes decided against launching the other two L-4As. For the rest of the day and throughout the night, LST-356 remained in the vicinity, her crew at general quarters because of periodic enemy air attacks.

On the 10th, LST-356 set out in convoy for Bizerte and thereafter conducted follow-up trips from Bizerte to Salerno; Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

 to Salerno; and Bizerte to Taranto

Taranto

Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....

, lifting both American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and 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...

 troops and equipment. While engaged in one such mission on 15 September, LST-356 came under "extremely heavy enemy shore-based gunfire" off Green Beach in the northern attack area. Shells landed on both sides of the ship, under the stern and on the beach immediately off the ramp; but, except for a British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 passenger who suffered a severe leg wound, those embarked in LST-356 again came through without a scratch.

Invasion of France, 1944–1945

Leaving the Mediterranean in the fall of 1943, LST-356 proceeded to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 where she spent the ensuing months refitting and training for the Normandy invasion. While not part of the initial phase of "Operation Neptune," she did take part in follow-up action. She sortied from the Thames in convoy, and arrived off Sword Beach

Sword Beach

Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord; the Allied invasion of German-occupied France that commenced on 6 June 1944...

 early on the evening of 14 June, streaming her barrage balloon

Barrage balloon

A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...

 "to lethal height," and made smoke during dusk and evening hours. Although sporadic air attacks punctuated the night, she withheld her fire in accordance with instructions from the beachhead commander.

The following day, LST-356 and six other American LST's received orders to proceed to "Queen Red" beach. An hour after high tide, the tank landing ship still had 10 feet of water at the ramp's end, making it obvious "...that we would have to dry out in order to discharge our troops and vehicles." About an hour later, while waiting for the tide to recede, LST-356 observed shellfire down the beach, from the direction of the Orne River

Orne River

The Orne is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées...

, where the Germans were known to have placed artillery batteries. Within half an hour, the fire crept up the beach and began to fall close aboard. For the next four hours, LST-356 lay exposed to the enemy guns, unable to return fire in her own defense since her 3-inch gun had been removed during the recent refit. Around noon, the tide had withdrawn enough to permit unloading; but a shell crater directly in front of the ramp held that task up until a woven steel mat was bridged the hole and allowed the first of 47 Canadian Army vehicles to cross it shoreward. Lieutenant Blanco made all passengers take cover behind the superstructure or under the trucks, and ordered his crew to remain under cover as much as their duties permitted. As a result there were no casualties. Within 50 minutes of the start, all vehicles had left the ship, and LST-356 proceeded to the anchorage. A short time later, however, more long-range enemy shelling compelled her to move back out to sea, but not before a shell had whistled directly over her bow and penetrated the side of . In all, five LSTs took hits from the German guns and suffered damage. Between June 1944 and April 1945, LST-356 carried 39 loads of men and material across the English 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...

.

Decommissioning and sale, 1945–1960

Sent home in May 1945 for a thorough overhaul, she remained at the Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...

 yards of the Bethlehem Steel Company, undergoing repairs and alterations until the end of July 1945. Clearing New York on 9 August, LST-356 conducted post-overhaul shakedown in Chesapeake Bay until late August. The tank landing ship then visited 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...

 from 21 to 29 August. At the end of August, she sailed from New York on her way to deactivation 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...

. Pausing at Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 from 30 August to 13 September, the tank landing ship continued via Morehead City, North Carolina

Morehead City, North Carolina

Morehead City is a port city in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007...

 to Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

. Reporting to the 16th Fleet on 26 September 1945 LST-356 was decommissioned on 2 July 1946 and was berthed with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at 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....

. Although named USS Bledsoe County (LST-356) on 1 July 1955 the tank landing ship never returned to active service. 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 1 September 1960 and she was sold to the Mechanical Equipment Company of New Orleans on 8 March 1961 for scrapping.

LST-356 earned three battle stars during World War II.