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U.S.S. WALWORTH COUNTY
(LST-1164)ANY BEACH - ANY TIME
Click to view crew list
USS WALWORTH COUNTY (LST-1164 ) - a LST-1156 class landing ship tank
In Commission 1953 to 1971LST-1164 Deployments - Major Events
Add a LST-1164 Shellback Initiation | Add a LST-1164 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SEP | 1952 | - | Keel Date: 22 SEP 1952 at Ingalls Shipbuilding Pascagoula MS | ||
MAY | 1953 | - | Launch Date: 15 MAY 1953 | ||
OCT | 1953 | - | Commissioned: 26 OCT 1953 | ||
MAR | 1958 | - | NOV | 1958 | Mediterranean |
OCT | 1960 | - | MAR | 1961 | Mediterranean |
JAN | 1962 | - | MAR | 1962 | Caribbean |
APR | 1962 | - | DEC | 1962 | Mediterranean |
OCT | 1962 | - | OCT | 1962 | Cuban Missle Blockade |
APR | 1963 | - | AUG | 1963 | Panama Canal |
OCT | 1963 | - | NOV | 1963 | Trip to Rockland Maine |
MAR | 1964 | - | JUN | 1964 | Miami Florida and Ponce PR: St. Thomas VI |
MAY | 1964 | - | Shellback Initiation - 15 MAY 1964 - Pacific Ocean | ||
MAY | 1964 | - | Shellback Initiation - 10 MAY 1964 - Pacific Ocean | ||
AUG | 1964 | - | SEP | 1964 | New York Worlds Fair Brooklyn Navy Yard |
AUG | 1964 | - | Shellback Initiation - 8 AUG 1964 - Pacific Ocean | ||
AUG | 1964 | - | Shellback Initiation - 8 AUG 1964 - Pacific Ocean | ||
AUG | 1964 | - | Shellback Initiation - 8 AUG 1964 - Pacific Ocean | ||
MAR | 1965 | - | APR | 1965 | Bayonne New Jersey |
DEC | 1965 | - | AUG | 1966 | Mediterranean |
SEP | 1968 | - | JAN | 1969 | Panama Canal |
NOV | 1968 | - | Shellback Initiation - 11 NOV 1968 - Pacific Ocean | ||
NOV | 1968 | - | Shellback Initiation - 1 NOV 1968 - Pacific Ocean | ||
DEC | 1968 | - | Shellback Initiation - 11 DEC 1968 - Pacific Ocean | ||
AUG | 1969 | - | OCT | 1969 | Caribbean |
AUG | 1970 | - | Shellback Initiation - 13 AUG 1970 - Pacific Ocean | ||
AUG | 1970 | - | AUG | 1970 | Shellback Initiation 13 August 1970 |
AUG | 1970 | - | Shellback Initiation - 13 AUG 1970 - Pacific Ocean | ||
APR | 1971 | - | Decommissioned: 2 APR 1971 |
LST-1164 General Specifications
Class: LST-1156 class landing ship tank
Named for: Walworth County
Complement: 16 Officers and 189 Enlisted
Displacement: 2590 tons
Length: 384 feet
Beam: 56 feet
Flank Speed: 14 knots
Final Disposition: Leased to Peru 7 August 1984Became Peruvian Paita (DT-141)Sold to Peru 26 April 1999
USS WALWORTH COUNTY (LST-1164)
LST-1164.
was laid down
on 22 September 1952 at Pascagoula, Miss., by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp.;
launched on 15 May 1953; sponsored by Mrs. John A. Furr; and commissioned on 26
October 1953, Lt. F. Kay in command.
The new
tank landing ship departed Pascagoula on 20 November 1953, bound for Norfolk, Va. She conducted shakedown in the Chesapeake
Bay and became a unit
of LST Division 23. The ship arrived at her home port of Little Creek, Va., on 3 December 1953. On 6
April 1954, LST-1164 departed the
amphibious base for a brief stop at the
Naval Reserve training center at Jacksonville, Fla. On 19 April, the ship took
part in simulated atomic warfare strikes and returned to Little Creek on 25 May 1954.
She
spent June participating in amphibious exercises at Vieques Island, Puerto
Rico. LST-1164 returned to Little Creek on 11 July for voyage repairs in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and towing
exercises off Little Creek
beach.
From 3
November 1954 through 24 March 1955, the ship
participated in various exercises with the Marine Corps and the Army in the areas of Camp Pendleton, Va.; Onslow Beach, N.C.; and Vieques Island,
Puerto Rico.
On 30
March, the LST entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for a four-month overhaul. During that period, she was named Walworth
County on 1 July 1955.
She returned to Little Creek on 5 August and conducted exercises in the Chesapeake Bay. The ship
put to sea on 21
September for atomic attack drills along the eastern seaboard; gunnery practice in operating areas out of Jacksonville, Fla.; and assault
beaching runs with men of the 3d Marines and their vehicles and combat equipment on the coast of North
Carolina. Walworth County returned to Little Creek on 8 November 1955
and spent the following months in local waters
with trips to Guantanamo and the Caribbean.
Walworth
County left
Norfolk with a load of ammunition on 7 May 1956 and, two weeks later, arrived at the United States naval base at
Port Lyautey, French Morocco.
Two days later, she sailed for Greece and arrived
at Piraeus on 30 May for operations with an amphibious
task force of the 6th Fleet which took her to principal ports of the Mediterranean. Walworth County
returned home to Little Creek on 26 September and spent the remainder of the year in local operating areas.
On 5
March 1957, the tank landing ship arrived at the Naval Base, Coco Solo, Canal Zone. From there, she took survey parties to beaching sites in the
Chagres River and other places in
preparation for Operation "Caribex" which tested the mobility
of American forces in defending the Panama
Canal. She returned to Little Creek
from this cruise on 16 March and put to sea on 10 April to participate in a three-phase operation involving the Marine Corps, the Army, and the Air
Force. The exercise-conducted on Vieques Island, Fort Lorenzo, Canal Zone, and Rio Hata-terminated on 28 April 1957; and Walworth County underwent
extended upkeep in the New York Naval Shipyard from 14 May through 11 July. She returned to Little Creek the
following day and began local
operations which lasted until 14
November 1957. At that time, Walworth County undertook exercises with amphibious warfare forces that
included practice assaults with marines on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
The ship
returned to Little Creek on 25 March 1958 but a month later headed for Morehead City, N.C. There, she loaded marines and
combat cargo in preparation
for an amphibious training operation to be held in the Mediterranean with forces of the United Kingdom and Italy. She transited the
Strait of Gibraltar on 14 May and visited the ports of Izmir, Turkey; Athens, Greece; and Suda Bay, Crete.
However,
the operation was cancelled because of Middle East tensions, and Walworth County had the distinction of acting as a
primary control ship in the initial landing of marines at Beirut, Lebanon, on 15 July. Her operations in this area
continued until 1 October
when she departed Beirut and sailed for the United
States. She reached Morehead City on 19 October
and became a unit of Amphibious Squadron 6.
From 12
December 1958 to 24 February 1959, Walworth County underwent an overhaul in the Charleston Naval Shipyard. The ship
conducted local operations and visited Guantanamo before sailing for Spain. She arrived at Rota on 30 July and
commenced her third Mediterranean
tour which lasted until 9 February 1960. She returned to Morehead City and spent the following months conducting
practice landings at Onslow
Beach, making cruises to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and to Bermuda, and completing another tour of
duty in the
Caribbean Sea that included amphibious warfare practice in the waters of Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands.
On 28
October 1960, Walworth County sailed from Little Creek with Amphibious Squadron 6 for a fourth Mediterranean deployment. The ship gave effective support to assault practice with Marine
battalion landing teams at Augusta
Bay, Sicily; with Greek Raider Teams
at Navplion, Greece; and with both Amphibious
Squadrons 6 and 4 and two Marine battalion
landing teams at Portoscuso, Sardinia.
Walworth
County returned
to Little Creek on 19 May 1961 and underwent overhaul in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard through September
1961. She spent the
remainder of the year in amphibious assault training on Onslow Beach and at Camp Pendleton where she took part in Army landing
assault training.
Walworth
County departed
Little Creek on 17 January 1962, embarked marines at Morehead City, and headed for Guantanamo Bay to
participate in Operation
"Springboard 62." The ship made calls at several Caribbean ports and
then disembarked the marines at Morehead City on 1 March. Four days later, she returned to Norfolk where she was placed on restricted availability status until 15 May 1962.
At that
time, Walworth County embarked marines of "Foxtrot" Company, Battalion Landing
Team 2/6 and, on 1
June, proceeded to tour the entire length of the Mediterranean from Alicante, Spain, to
Marmaris, Turkey,
where she operated with combined Turkish and Greek forces. After extensive exercises, including
seven amphibious training assaults on various beaches, she sailed for her home port and
arrived at Norfolk on
20 October 1962. The next day, she was called upon to participate in the Cuban
blockade and operated in the Caribbean with the ready amphibious group until 4 December when she
returned to the United States and debarked marines at Morehead City. Walworth County arrived at Norfolk the following
day and spent the
remainder of the year in leave and upkeep.
During
the early part of 1963, Walworth County conducted local operations in the Little Creek
area. After entering
Gibbs Shipyard, Jacksonville, Fla., on 3 April, she completed her scheduled yard period and sea trials; then headed for Little
Creek on 10 June. The
ship took part in amphibious refresher training through July and August, followed by a three-week period of restricted availability.
During the remainder of
1963, she participated in local operations; visited Rockland, Maine, to obtain tactical data for the LST-1156-class; and underwent overhaul.
In
January 1964, Walworth County got underway for Panama where she spent more
than four months, making
16 transits of the canal-including one round trip which she completed in less than 23 hours. Late in May, she returned to Little Creek and, after
tender availability, took part in the
"MEBLEX" and midshipman
exercises. Following this, she made a call to New York for the World's Fair and
returned to Little Creek on 11 August. While in port, Walworth County was used in the production of a Bureau of Medicine and Surgery mental health movie. In late August,
LST-1164 again got underway for a lift to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and returned-via Miami, Fla.-on 13 September 1964.
Walworth
County spent a
short period in the yard before getting underway on 5 October for "Steel
Pike I," the largest amphibious
exercise since World War II. Besides
carrying out her role in the operation, she called at Rota, Spain, and the Canary Islands before returning home on 28 November. Walworth County
spent the Christmas and New Year holidays
undergoing tender availability.
In early February 1965,
LST-1164 sailed for Vieques and took liberty
in the Virgin Islands and at San Juan and
Ponce, Puerto Rico. She arrived back at Little Creek on 8 March and then participated in exercises to train Army personnel in amphibious warfare.
Following these training exercises, the ship conducted local operations and made preparations for an upcoming deployment.
Having completed all
preparations, Walworth County got
underway with Amphibious Squadron (PhibRon) 6 on 24 January 1966. She proceeded to Bermuda as an escort for minesweepers when the squadron was recalled. After spending one week in Bermuda, she returned to Little Creek. On 6 March, the ship got underway for her sixth Mediterranean tour. There,
she joined in a combined NATO exercise
and other amphibious assault
operations. On 1 July, she became a part
of PhibRon 8. Walworth County returned to the United States on 2 August, underwent a period of training and upkeep, and then spent the final weeks
of August on a midshipman cruise and
taking on board dependents of the crew
for a day at sea.
On 1
September 1966, Walworth County got underway for Guantanamo Bay with marines embarked. After a short stay, she returned
to her home port where
she underwent training and upkeep. On 26 September, she headed for the Boston operating area with civilian technicians and
representatives from the Naval Ordnance Testing Laboratory. The ship travelled to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to unload
testing equipment before
returning to Little Creek. On 18 October, Walworth County underwent a period of tender
availability. Late in
November, she participated in an exercise off Vieques and put into San Juan, Puerto Rico, for repairs. On 15 December, the LST got underway for Little Creek and spent the Christmas holidays at
home.
The New
Year, 1967, found Walworth County in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for repairs to her
propellers, but she
returned to Little Creek on 20 March. After a short trip to New York, the ship got underway on 8
April and headed for
the Caribbean to participate in the joint services exercise, "Clove Hitch III."
She returned to
Little Creek on 4 May and spent a month undergoing maintenance and post-repair training.
September
and October were devoted to a goodwill tour off Deal Island, Maryland, and
Operation "JCOC 37,"
an amphibious assault off Onslow Beach, N.C. From 27 October to 10 November
1967, Walworth County was
deployed to the Caribbean. On the ship's return to Little Creek, she began an
overhaul and then prepared
for an upcoming Mediterranean tour.
On 3
January 1968, Walworth County got underway for Morehead City, where she
embarked marines and loaded
equipment. On 6 January, she rendezvoused with five minesweepers and began the voyage across the
North Atlantic for her seventh Mediterranean cruise. She reached Rota, Spain, on 3
February and began a series of
"Phiblex" exercises which took her to Sardinia and Corsica. Her crew
enjoyed leave at Toulon, France; La Spezia
and Naples, Italy; and Rota, Spain. On 27 April 1968, Walworth County took part in Operation "Dawn Patrol" involving 40 ships of five
nations. The exercises were completed
on 12 May at Timbakion, Crete. The
ship then sailed for Rota, Spain, and steamed
across the North Atlantic. Walworth County arrived at Morehead
City, N.C., on 8 June 1968 and proceeded to
Little Creek where she arrived the next day.
After a
month of maintenance, Walworth County participated in a riverine exercise in the James River- which taught the fundamentals of river warfare and lessons learned in Vietnam-from 9 to 19 July. The ship then spent the remainder of July and most of
August undergoing a tender availability.
The
landing ship got underway on 23 September 1968 for a SOUTHCOM deployment as a member of LST Division 41. After a trip to the Canal Zone, she gotunderway on 9 October for a visit to Jamaica. Upon
reaching Montego Bay, Walworth
County was called back to Panama
when an uprising overthrew the Panamanian government. She arrived in the
Canal Zone on 14 October and, the next day,
transited the canal to the Pacific. She remained at the Rodman Naval Station
until 8 November 1968.
Loaded
with Operation "Handclasp" material, Walworth County got underway for Equador that day
and arrived at Guayaquil on 9 November
1968. She returned to Rodman on 17 November
and-except for four amphibious
landings and a round-trip transit of the canal -remained there until 9 January 1969.
From 1
March to 16 May, LST-1164 underwent upkeep at the Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp. in Berkley, Va. The ship
then began a period of upkeep at her home port. On 21 July, she started amphibious refresher training and
then prepared for movement
overseas. From 15 September through 25 November, the ship operated in the Caribbean Ready Group.
Upon her
return to Little Creek, the tank landing ship began another period of leave and upkeep. Then, she conducted a training exercise from 12 to 16
January 1970. On 30 January, the ship began a month of tender availability by Vulcan (AR-5) which was
moored at the Norfolk Navy Base. This
work lasted until 20 February when Walworth County returned to Little Creek.
Following
several months of local operations, Walworth County sailed independently
on 8 July 1970 for South
America. Her mission was primarily one of good will. She delivered earthquake relief supplies to Peruvian ports and carried Project
"Handclasp" ma-tefial to Ecuador. For the remainder of the deployment, LST-1164 carried
out many and varied missions, ranging
from being a home for Smithsonian scientists performing marine biology research to acting as a ferryboat for United States exhibits to a regional fair
at Bocas del Toro, Panama. During
her three-month deployment, Walworth
County steamed over 9,000 miles,and
she received a letter of commendation from Admiral C. D. Nace, Commander,
United States Naval Forces, Southern
Command and Commandant, 15th Naval
District. After a final transit of the Panama Canal, Walworth County headed homeward, arriving back at Little Creek on 23 October 1970.
Following
the post-deployment leave periods, Walworth County commenced
preparations for inactivatipn. On 4 January
1971, operational and administrative control
of the ship was shifted from Amphibious Force, United States Atlantic Fleet to the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility,
Norfolk.
After
three months of work by her crew, LST-1164 was decommissioned in April 1971. The ship was subsequently towed to Orange, Tex.,
where she arrived on 14
April 1971. She was drydocked on 11 May for the underwater phase of inactivation with the topside phase scheduled to commence upon completion of the
drydock phase.
In May
of 1972, Walworth County was scheduled for transfer to the Maritime
Administration and layup at Suisun Bay,
Calif.; but she served with the Military Sealift
Command from May 1972 until stricken from the Navy list on 1 November 1973. On 19 June 1974, she was turned over to the Maritime Administration and berthed at Suisun Bay, Calif.
As of
April 1979, Walworth County was still with the National Defense Reserve
Fleet.
[Note: The above USS WALWORTH COUNTY (LST-1164) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS WALWORTH COUNTY (LST-1164), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]