A Landing Ship, Tank (Hospital) (LSTH) was a Tank Landing Ship (LST) converted to act as a
hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...
, but because they retained armaments they were not officially designated as such. The LST was a vessel designed to
beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...
itself and unload equipment, vehicles, tanks, and troops onto an enemy beach. The convenience of a ship beached ashore proved to be a giant morale booster for the sick and injured, who could simply walk aboard.
Background
On
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
most of the troops were not landed by LSTs, however 41,035 wounded were brought back on approximately 150 of such ships over the next 114 days, which was twice their troop capacity. The sheer numbers overwhelmed the modest sick bay facilities on these craft, which were staffed by one or two Pharmacist Mates. The troops' berthing quickly filled to capacity with walking wounded and litter patients laid on the tank deck. Further, the inclusion of refugees on LSTs created additional needs, such as an Italian woman who gave birth at sea.
Augmenting LSTs
Future operations in the Pacific sought to reduce these problems by augmenting several LSTs with surgical teams to treat unstable patients. Occasionally referred to as LST Hospitals, these surgically augmented LSTs carried troops into battle and, upon unloading, set up an organized hospital on the
well deck
In traditional nautical use, well decks were decks lower than decks fore and aft, usually at the main deck level, so that breaks appear in the main deck profile, as opposed to a flush deck profile. The term goes back to the days of sail. Late-2 ...
. During the battles of
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati ''
Iwo Jima
is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, and
Okinawa
most commonly refers to:
* Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture
* Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture
* Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself
* Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
, surgical teams consisting of at first three and then five physicians as well as 35 Pharmacist Mates were attached to LSTs.
Designation of LST as hospitals
In preparation for
Operation Olympic
Operation Downfall was the proposed Allies of World War II, Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese archipelago, Japanese home islands near the End of World War II in Asia, end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Su ...
, the initial invasion of Japan planned for 1 November 1945, 36 LSTs were to be redesignated LSTHs. These ships were to be augmented with a surgical team and provided large amounts of consumable and medical personnel to meet the anticipated demand for beachhead casualty evacuation. The official written order for redesignation took effect 15 September 1945, 13 days after the end of the war. All 36 LSTHs were assigned duty in Asia and the Far East, but their designation served merely a formality as their new mission was to return US troops. Many did receive a large contingent of Pharmacist Mates by the month's end. By the end of May 1946, the last three LSTHs departed the Far East as part of the
Magic Carpet
A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its user(s) to their destination.
In literature
On ...
fleet. Of the LSTs, one ship was converted to a "first aid ship" at the discretion of Vice Admiral Daniel E. Barbey, USN, Commander 7th Amphibious Force during 1943.
Refitting the LSTH
was converted at
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
in 1943 into a dedicated "first-aid ship", the only one of her kind used. ''LST-464'' carried no troops nor combat equipment, and functioned as a casualty evacuation ship during invasion, a station hospital ship in port, and an ambulance ship to transfer patients to a base hospital. She was designated only by the numbers "464" painted on her hull amidships.
The modified tank deck was refitted and housed a complete and fixed hospital facility which extended into the ship through new water tight doors on the port and starboard sides of the tank deck. The tank deck, now hospital, contained a receiving or
triage
In medicine, triage (, ; ) is a process by which care providers such as Health professional, medical professionals and those with first aid knowledge determine the order of priority for providing treatment to injured individuals and/or inform th ...
area, 78 hospital beds and accommodations (washrooms, toilets, increased galley), refrigerators, and a surgical suite. The ship was equipped with specialist consultation and out-patient care at all times, including:
radiology
Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...
,
pharmacy
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...
, laboratory, eye refractions, dental care, a
blood bank
A blood bank is a center where blood gathered as a result of blood donation is stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion. The term "blood bank" typically refers to a department of a hospital usually within a clinical pathology labora ...
, and stores for 25 tons of medical supplies. Staff was increased to 6 physicians, one dentist and a complement of corpsmen. In comparison, during the Normandy campaign most LSTs had one or two Corpsmen. Above deck the ship looked as any other LST, and because of her armament she was not considered a hospital ship in compliance with the
Geneva Convention
upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...
.
Following the
surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...
, ''LST-464'' was redesignated ''LST(H)-464'' on 15 September 1945.
Later, during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, the tested the idea of hoisting and opening a MUST ( Medical Unit Self-contained Transportable). The purpose of a MUST was to allow an LST to set up complete hospital facilities after unloading troops, to provide in-close support hospital facilities in a combat zone.