USS LST-835

USS LST-835 was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Late in her career, she was renamed Hillsdale County (LST-835) — after Hillsdale County, Michigan, the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name — but saw no active service under that name.

LST-835 underway in San Francisco Bay returning home from the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, 6 January 1946
History
United States
Name:	USS LST-835
Builder:	American Bridge Company, Ambridge, Pennsylvania
Laid down:	6 September 1944
Launched:	25 October 1944
Sponsored by:	Mrs. I. Raphael
Commissioned:	20 November 1944
Decommissioned:	January 1946
Honors and awards:	1 battle star, World War II
Renamed:	USS Hillsdale County (LST-835), 1 July 1955
Namesake:	Hillsdale County, Michigan
Stricken:	October 1959
Fate:	Sold to Japan, April 1961
History
Japan
Name:	JDS Shimokita
Namesake:	Shimokita
Acquired:	1 April 1961
Commissioned:	1 April 1961
Decommissioned:	31 March 1975
Fate:	Sold to the Philippines, date unknown
History
Philippines
Name:	BRP Cavite (LT-509)
Fate:	Scrapped, 1989
General characteristics
Class and type:	LST-542-class tank landing ship Ōsumi-class tank landing ship
Displacement:	1,625 long tons (1,651 t) light 4,080 long tons (4,145 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:	Two LCVPs
Troops:	16 officers, 147 enlisted men
Complement:	7 officers, 104 enlisted men
Armament:	2 × twin 40 mm gun mounts w/Mk.51 directors 4 × single 40 mm gun mounts 12 × single 20 mm gun mounts

Originally laid down as LST-835 by the American Bridge Company of Ambridge, Pennsylvania on 6 September 1944; launched on 25 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. I. Raphael; and commissioned on 20 November with Lieutenant William H. McHenry in command.

Service history

World War II, 1944–1945

Following shakedown off Florida, LST-835 loaded ammunition at New Orleans and departed there on 28 December. After brief stops on the West Coast and Pearl Harbor, she steamed for the western Pacific, arriving Guam on 18 March 1945. For the next six weeks she transported troops, trucks, and other equipment from the Marianas to Iwo Jima. Sailing from Saipan on 25 April, LST-835 carried vital ammunition to Okinawa, where American forces were engaged in a fierce battle for control of this strategic island. For the remainder of World War II, the landing ship shuttled cargo and troops throughout the American staging areas in the Pacific.

1945–1989

After V-J Day she operated with the occupation forces in the Philippines and Japan for the next two months. Departing Nagoya, Japan on 8 November, LST-835 stopped for cargo at Saipan before proceeding to the United States. She arrived at San Francisco on 8 January 1946 and later that month sailed to Astoria, Oregon and decommissioned there. While berthed with the Columbia River Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, LST-835 was renamed USS Hillsdale County (LST-835) on 1 July 1955.

Japanese service

Hillsdale County was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in October 1959 and sold in April 1961 to Japan to serve as JDS Shimokita (LST-4002). Resold to the Philippines, and named BRP Cavite (LT-509), the ship was scrapped in 1989.

LST-835 received one battle star for World War II service.

References

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

• "LST-835 Hillsdale County". Amphibious Photo Archive. Retrieved 23 July 2007.