USS ''Summit County'' (LST-1146) was an ''LST-542''-class

tank landing ship Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with ...

in 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 ...

. Unlike many of her class, which received only numbers and were disposed of after

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 opposing ...

, she survived long enough to be named. On 1 July 1955, all LSTs still in commission were named for US

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es; ''LST-1146'' was given the name ''Summit County'', after counties in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

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

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. 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 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 and Grundy counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 2,353 at the 2020 census, down from 2,371 at the 2010 census. The LaSalle County portion of Seneca is part of the Ottawa Micropolitan Statis ...

, 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

, ''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 Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

theater. She was transferred to the

United States Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Merchant Marine. Det ...

in December 1969 and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, California. ''Summit County'' was sold to

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

on 14 February 1977. ''LST-1146'' earned one

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 ...

for the Korean War and three battle stars for the Vietnam War..

Ecuadorian Navy career

On 14 February 1977 ''Summit County'' was sold to

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