USS LST-1074

Left to right: LSM-344, LST-1074, and LST-1082 in Sasebo Harbor, Kyūshū, Japan. A Japanese seaplane base can be seen at the left center of photo. Left to right: LSM-344, LST-1074, and LST-1082 in Sasebo Harbor, Kyūshū, Japan. A Japanese seaplane base can be seen at the left center of photo.
History
Name:	USS LST-1074
Builder:	Bethlehem Steel Company, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down:	24 February 1945
Launched:	27 March 1945
Commissioned:	21 April 1945
Decommissioned:	4 September 1946
Renamed:	USS Overton County (LST-1074), 1 July 1955
Struck:	1 November 1958
Fate:	Sold into commercial service, 29 June 1959
General characteristics
Class & 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 or 6 × LCVPs
Troops:	Approximately 130 officers and enlisted men
Complement:	8-10 officers, 89-100 enlisted men
Armament:	8 × 40 mm guns 12 × 20 mm guns

USS LST-1074 was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was later named Overton County (LST-1074) for the Overton County, Tennessee — the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name—but never saw active service under that name.

Originally laid down as LST-1074 on 24 February 1945 by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyards, Inc. of Hingham, Massachusetts; launched on 27 March 1945; and commissioned on 21 April 1945 with Lieutenant John Gay in command.

Service history

World War II, 1945–1946

After a shakedown cruise in the Chesapeake Bay, LST–1074 got underway on 6 June for Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal. After unloading her cargo of LCT sections and cargo nets at Pearl Harbor and conducting various operations in the islands, she took on troops and vehicles of the 5th Marine Division and of the 302nd Naval Construction Battalion with pontoon gear and on 29 August got underway for Sasebo, Kyūshū, Japan. On 2 October she arrived in Subic Bay, Luzon, Philippine Islands and operated in the Western Pacific until returning to San Francisco on 7 January 1946.

Decommissioning and sale

After operations on the West Coast she was placed out of commission in reserve on 4 September 1946. Named USS Overton County (LST-1074) on 1 July 1955, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 November 1958.

Overton County was sold on 29 June 1959 to Foss Maritime for conversion to a concrete barge, and completed in 1960. The ship was resold (date unknown) to Salmon Bay Barge Line, Inc., of Seattle, Washington, and renamed Santos. The ship was being operated as a cargo barge by Salmon Bay Barge Line as of 2008.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.