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U.S.S. WAHKIAKUM COUNTY

(LST-1162)

CAN DO COUNTY

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USS WAHKIAKUM COUNTY (LST-1162 ) - a LST-1156 class landing ship tank

In Commission 1953 to 1970

LST-1162 Deployments - Major Events

Add a LST-1162 Shellback Initiation Add a LST-1162 Deployment - Major Event
Month Year to Month Year Deployment / Event
JUL1952-Keel Date: 21 JUL 1952
at Ingalls Shipbuilding Pascagoula MS
JAN1953-Launch Date: 23 JAN 1953
AUG1953-Commissioned: 13 AUG 1953
MAY1960-DEC1960Mediterranean
MAY1960-DEC1960Mediterranean-Indian Ocean
MAY1960-DEC1960Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf
JAN1961-FEB1961Caribbean
JAN1961-FEB1961Phiblantex 61/ Bay of Pigs
APR1961-MAY1961Bay of Pigs
APR1961-MAY1961Caribbean
APR1961-MAY1961Cuban Missle Blockade
APR1961-MAY1961Guantanamo Bay
MAY1961-JUN1961landed USMC/force recon/ dominican republic/trujillos assination
SEP1962-Shellback Initiation - 12 SEP 1962 - Atlantic Ocean
OCT1962-NOV1962Cuban Missle Blockade
OCT1962-JAN1963Mediterranean
FEB1963-MAY1963Mediterranean
SEP1963-JUL1964Caribbean
SEP1963-JUL1964Caribbean
APR1965-Shellback Initiation - 12 APR 1965 - Atlantic Ocean
OCT1968-FEB1969Caribbean
NOV1968-APR1969Mediterranean
JAN1969-JAN1970Mediterranean
OCT1969-Shellback Initiation - 10 OCT 1969 - Atlantic Ocean
NOV1969-APR1970Mediterranean Cruse
NOV1969-APR1970Mediterranean
NOV1969-APR1970Mediterranean
MAY1970-JUN1970Dry Dock - Panama Canal Co. Mount Hope Shipyard
OCT1970-Decommissioned: 16 OCT 1970

LST-1162 General Specifications

Class: LST-1156 class landing ship tank

Named for: Wahkiakum County in Washington

Complement: 16 Officers and 189 Enlisted

Displacement: 2590 tons

Length: 384 feet

Beam: 55 feet

Flank Speed: 14 knots

Final Disposition: Laid up 1973Transferred to Maritime Administration for lay-up in National Defense Reserve Fleet 29 July 1992Sold for scrap



USS WAHKIAKUM COUNTY (LST-1162)



Wahkiakum County (LST-1162) was laid down as LST-1162 on 21 July 1952 at Pascagoula, Miss., by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.; launched on 23 January 1953; sponsored by Mrs. Wilbur G. Dees; and commissioned on 13 August 1953, Lt. Comdr. I. W. Mathews in command.

Following shakedown in Guantanamo Bay, LST-1162 operated out of the Atlantic Fleet's amphibious force base at Little Creek, Va., for the remainder of 1953, conducting local operations out of Little Creek and off the coast of Florida. In 1954, the LST participated in Atlantic Fleet amphibious maneuvers "NprAmEx" and "LantFlex"-and conducted operations with the Operational Development Force out of Key West, Fla., testing antisubmarine warfare gear. Later during the year, LST-1162 visited Havana, Cuba, with embarked naval reservists. During March 1955, LST-1162 operated off Bloodsworth Island, conducting gunfire tests and serving as range safety vessel at the Navy's gunnery practive areas there. On 1 July 1955, LST-1162 was named Wahkiakum County.

For the next five years, Wahkiakum County pursued a regular schedule of operations off the east coast of the United States and into the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Operating with the Atlantic Fleet's amphibious force, the LST served alternatively as a helicopter carrier-a precursor of the roles which other ships of her type would perform during the Vietnam war; as a shore bombardment safety vessel; an afloat gunnery training ship; and a transport for Navy construction battalions (CB's or "Seabees") and their equipment.

At the end of this period, she deployed to the Mediterranean and operated with the 6th Fleet from May to December 1960. She carried cargo and troops andparticipated in amphibious exercises with naval units of NATO powers in the Mediterranean. The ship underwent a major overhaul at Newport News, Va., in 1961, before she resumed active operations with a three-month Caribbean deployment.

Transferred to Amphibious Squadron (PhibRon) 12 on 1 July 1961, the LST participated in several amphibious landing exercises and contingency operations over the remainder of the year. During July and September, she transported midshipmen from Annapolis to Little Creek, Va., for annual summer training and began a three-month Caribbean deployment in September.

During the Cuban missile crisis in the  autumn of Wahkiakum County embarked the 2d Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, and operated in support of the blockade of Cuba from 24 October to 7 December 1962. She  deployed to the  Mediterranean  in the  spring  of operating with the  6th  Fleet Amphibious  Task Force, and again to the Caribbean during the spring of 1964.

On 24 April 1965, supporters of the ousted Dominican Republic President Juan Bosch launched a coup d'etat in Santo Domingo, which soon degenerated into a civil war, with loyalists battling a rebel group backed by armed civilians. As the fighting threatened Americans there, the United States sent marines to protect and evacuate Americans. When it appeared that the revolt had been taken over by Castro's Cubans, the United States intervened with more men-paratroops of the 82d Airborne and marines. During the period from 9 to 17 May 1965, Wahkiakum County operated in support of this evacuation and intervention operation.

For the remainder of the 1960's and into 1970, Wahkiakum County operated on regular deployments to the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

Decommissioned at the Inactive Ship Facility, Orange, Tex., on 16 October 1970, Wahkiakum County was transferred to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) at Brooklyn, N.Y., on 10 April 1972. Reclassified as T-LST-1162, Wahkiakum County operated with MSC until struck from the Navy list on 11 January 1973. Transferred to the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) berthing area at Suisun Bay, Calif., soon thereafter, the LST disappeared from NDRF lists in 1974.

[Note: The above USS WAHKIAKUM COUNTY (LST-1162) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS WAHKIAKUM COUNTY (LST-1162), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]