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USS ''Berkshire County'' (LST-288) was an built for the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during World War II. Named for Berkshire County, Massachusetts, she was the only U.S. naval vessel to bear the name. LST-288 was laid down on 6 September 1943 at
Ambridge, Pennsylvania Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Incorporated in 1905 as a company town by the American Bridge Company, Ambridge is located 16 miles (25 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River. The population wa ...
by the American Bridge Company; launched on 7 November 1943; sponsored by Miss Virginia M. Plofchan; placed in reduced commission on 4 December 1943; ferried down the
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
s to
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
; and placed in full commission at New Orleans on 20 December 1943.


Service history


Invasion of France, 1944

LST-288 commenced her shakedown training on 19 January 1944 and returned to New Orleans for her post-shakedown availability on 4 February. On 14 February, the tank landing ship set sail for New York where she loaded ammunition. A week of preparation for a transatlantic passage at
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
ensued, and then she departed for
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
on 10 March. She joined convoy SC-155 and departed for the United Kingdom on the 14th. The convoy reached Milford Haven,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
on the 29th and two days later, LST-288 stood out for Plymouth. She remained at Plymouth throughout April and May readying herself for " Operation Overlord", the long-awaited, cross-channel invasion of Europe. On 31 May she loaded 425 soldiers and 116 vehicles and "sealed up" in order prevent any news of the invasion preparations from leaking. The tense week of waiting that followed seemed to be at an end when she set sail on the 4th. However, abominable weather conditions obliged the Allied command to recall the invasion
flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same clas ...
and postpone the operation for at least 24 hours. Fortunately, the weather cleared in the interim, and the 4,000 ships and landing craft assembled for the assault on the beaches of
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
departed for the real thing on the 5th. LST-288 stood out of Plymouth as a unit of Western Naval Task Force's follow-up Force "B", to which the assignment of reinforcing the beachheads established during the early hours of the attack belonged. LST-288 anchored approximately 2,000 yards off Omaha Beach at 1830 on D-Day, 12 hours after the initial assault. By 8 June, the troops and vehicles on board had left the ship, and she joined a convoy returning to England. During the four weeks following the invasion, LST-288 completed seven cross-channel trips, transporting 1,534 Allied officers and men and 627 vehicles to France while returning 601 casualties to England. On 7 July she disembarked men and material at Normandy for the final time and returned to
Falmouth, England Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English or ...
.


Mediterranean, 1944

On 18 July she departed England as part of a Mediterranean-bound convoy, arriving on the North African coast at Bizerte 10 days later. After a three-day stopover at the
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
n port at the end of July, she moved on to
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
where she unloaded her cargo on 2 August. Except for a brief excursion on the 6th and 7th to carry troops, vehicles, and provisions down the Italian coast to Salerno, she remained at Naples readying herself for " Operation Dragoon", the invasion of southern France. On 9 August the tank landing ship embarked elements of the Army's 45th Division and awaited the order to depart for southern France. The order came on 12 August, and she left Castellamare Bay as a unit of Task Force (TF) 85, under the command of Rear Admiral Rogers. The task force reached Bougnon Bay during the early morning hours of 15 August. By 0742, LST-288 had dispatched her LCVPs and
DUKW The DUKW (colloquially known as Duck) is a six-wheel-drive amphibious modification of the -ton CCKW trucks used by the U.S. military during World War II and the Korean War. Designed by a partnership under military auspices of Sparkman & Step ...
s, which brought her infantrymen to
Delta Beach Delta Beach, also known as Kodi Bengre Beach, is located in a small village of Kodi Bengre in Udupi district, Karnataka. The beach is located at an estuary where the Swarna River meets the Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَح ...
at 0930. Two hours later, she began transferring vehicles to attending LCTs by marrying the landing craft to her bow. The last vehicle rolled into an LCT at 1525, prompting the landing ship to raise the ramp, close the bow doors and join a convoy bound for Ajaccio, Corsica. Before she departed the area for Bizerte on 29 October, LST-288 made nine voyages to southern France and two to Livorno, Italy. During this period, she transported over 3,100 soldiers and 600 vehicles and removed 1,000 German POWs from France.


Return to the US, 1944–1945

On 31 October LST-288 put in at Bizerte for eight days of repairs and maintenance. In company with and , she set out for Oran,
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
on 8 November. After pausing at
La Maddalena La Maddalena (Gallurese: ''Madalena'' or ''La Madalena'', sc, Sa Madalena) is a town and ''comune'' located on the islands of the Maddalena archipelago in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia, Italy. The main town of the same name is loca ...
,
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
to load cargo and soldiers, she reached Oran on the 18th and commenced six days of replenishment. On the 24th, she joined a convoy of 28 LSTs, 35 LCI(L)s, eight minesweepers, and two
destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
s and set course for the United States, reaching Norfolk, Virginia on 11 December. Three days later, the tank landing ship shifted north to the Navy's ammunition depot at Earle, New Jersey where the ship underwent a month of yard availability while most of her crew enjoyed leave. On 18 February 1945 she loaded construction supplies at
Davisville, Rhode Island Davisville, Rhode Island is a village in the town of North Kingstown in the U.S. state of Rhode Island that was formerly the home of the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center, which housed the United States Navy's SeaBees. Village descr ...
, then returned to New York to take on board, before steaming to Norfolk on 2 March.


Pacific, 1945–1950

On 7 March LST-288 departed for the Pacific, making a brief stop at Guantanamo Bay en route to
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
. A steering failure while transiting the canal necessitated two days of repairs before she left Panama on the 23rd. On 12 April, she entered
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
and began 10 days of replenishment before embarking on a seven-week voyage to
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
that included visits to
Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...
,
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, and Saipan. When LST-288 anchored off Okinawa on 30 May, the Japanese defenders had just over three weeks of determined resistance left in them. The landing ship disembarked over 1000 officers and enlisted men on the 31st, but waited to unload the vehicles on board until 15 June. After that, she operated off Okinawa for two weeks and then headed for Saipan. Arriving at Saipan on 6 July, she spent two days in
drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
to repair hull damage suffered during the Okinawa beaching. In all, LST-288 stayed at Saipan nearly three weeks before setting out for the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
on the 24th in company with an LST convoy, The tank landing ship remained there beyond the
Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...
on 15 August into early September. On the 3rd, she set sail for
Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...
where she disembarked elements of the 808th Engineer Aviation Battalion. She departed Tokyo on 19 September for
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...
where she took on board Japan-bound soldiers and supplies and arrived at
Otaru is a city and port in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular to ...
on 19 October. After another six months of duty in the
Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...
, LST-288 was decommissioned at
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
on 6 March 1946 and transferred to the Shipping Control Administration, Japan ( SCAJAP). She served with SCAJAP until the spring of 1950, at which time she sailed back to the United States to be returned to the Navy.


Decommissioning and transfer to South Korea, 1950–

Turned over to the Commandant, 13th Naval District at
Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...
on 14 June 1950 she remained under his cognizance until berthed with the Pacific Reserve Fleet's Bremerton Group on 15 November 1950. On 1 July 1955 the tank landing ship was named USS ''Berkshire County'' (LST-288), but never saw active service under the name. She was later transferred to the
Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...
on 5 March 1956 and commissioned as ROKS ''Ke Bong'' (LST-810). On 15 November 1974, while she was still on loan to
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, her name was struck from the
Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...
. Her final fate is unknown.


Awards

LST-288 received three
battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...
s for her World War II service.


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:LST-0288 LST-1-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy Ships built in Ambridge, Pennsylvania 1943 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Berkshire County, Massachusetts Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Republic of Korea Navy Pacific Reserve Fleet, Bremerton Group