USS ''Summit County'' (LST-1146) was an ''LST-542''-class tank landing ship in the United States Navy. Unlike many of her class, which received only numbers and were disposed of after World War II, she survived long enough to be named. On 1 July 1955, all LSTs still in commission were named for US counties or parishes; ''LST-1146'' was given the name ''Summit County'', after counties in Colorado, Ohio and Utah. She was decommissioned in 1969 and placed in reserve. She was sold to Ecuador and renamed BAE ''Hualcopo'' (T-55). Although she suffered a major fire in July 1998, she was still in service with the

Ecuadorian Navy The Ecuadorian Navy ( es, Armada del Ecuador) is an Ecuadorian entity responsible for the surveillance and protection of national maritime territory and has a personnel of 9,127 men to protect a coastline of 2,237 km which reaches far into t ...

under her current pennant number of TR-61.

U.S. Navy career

''LST-1146'' was laid down on 10 February 1945 at

Seneca, Illinois Seneca is a village in LaSalle County, Illinois, LaSalle and Grundy County, Illinois, Grundy counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 2,353 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 2,371 at the 2010 United States c ...

, by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 11 May 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Margaret L. Hecht, Jr.; and commissioned on 30 May 1945. Following World War II, ''LST-1146'' performed occupation duty in the Far East until mid-November 1945. After occupation duty, ''LST-1146'' operated off the west coast of the United States for the next five years, principally occupied with resupply missions for Alaskan ports. During the Korean War, her resupply efforts were shifted to Korean ports. During the Korean War, LST 1146 was modified to transport the much needed, but the slow and short range

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

pigback where it would then drop the LSU in the water sideways."LSU rides big brother to work."
''Popular Mechanics'', September 1951, p. 94. On 1 July 1955, she was redesignated ''Summit County'' (LST-1146) after counties in Colorado, Ohio, and Utah. From 1965 into 1969, ''Summit County'' saw extensive service in the Vietnam theater. She was transferred to the United States Maritime Administration in December 1969 and assigned to the

Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and ...

Suisun Bay, California Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...

. ''Summit County'' was sold to Ecuador on 14 February 1977. ''LST-1146'' earned one battle star for the Korean War and three battle stars for the Vietnam War..

Ecuadorian Navy career

On 14 February 1977 ''Summit County'' was sold to Ecuador under the terms of the Security Assistance Program. She was renamed BAE ''Hualcopo'' (T-55), but later successively assigned pennant numbers ''T-61'' and ''TR-61''. ''Hualcopo'' suffered a major fire in July 1998 and, as a result, is in poor condition and perhaps non-operational. Nevertheless, , she remained in service with the Ecuadorian Navy.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Summit County (LST-1146) LST-542-class tank landing ships Ships built in Seneca, Illinois 1945 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Korean War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Vietnam War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Summit County, Colorado Summit County, Ohio Summit County, Utah Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Ecuadorian Navy Amphibious warfare vessels of the Ecuadorian Navy Amphibious warfare vessels of Ecuador