USS ''LST-310'' was one of 390

tank landing ships A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine ...

(LSTs) 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. LST-310 was laid down on 22 September 1942 at the Boston Navy Yard; launched on 23 November 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Inga M. Gustavson; and commissioned on 20 January 1943.

Service history

During World War II, ''LST-310'' was assigned to the European Theater and participated in the Sicilian occupation in July, 1943 the landings at

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

in September, 1943 and the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

in June, 1944. Upon her return to the United States, she was decommissioned on 16 May 1945 for conversion to landing craft repair ship USS ''

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aeolus or Aiolos (; grc, Αἴολος , ) is a name shared by three mythical characters. These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which A ...

'' (ARL-42) at the Boston Navy Yard. The conversion was canceled 12 September 1945 and the ship reverted to ''LST-310''; she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 12 March 1946. On 28 January 1947 the ship was sold to the Boston Metals Company of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland for conversion to merchant service. She was sold (date unknown) to the Panama Navigation Corporation, and subsequently named MV ''Mercator'' and re-flagged as

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 Cos ...

nian. Sometime prior to 1963 the ship was sold to Navemar S. A. (name retained) and re-flagged

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

. Her final fate is unknown.

Ship Awards

*''LST-310'' earned two

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 World War II service. * Combat Action Ribbon (Retroactive) *American Ribbon *World War II Victory Medal *Europe African Middle Eastern Campaigns Medal(3)

References

* *

Service history

Ship Awards

References

See also