USS ''LST/LST(H)-482/Branch County'' (LST-482) was an built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Later renamed for

Branch County, Michigan Branch County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 44,862. The county seat is Coldwater. One of the " cabinet counties", it was named for John Branch, U.S. Secretary of the Navy under Presiden ...

, she was the only US Naval vessel to bear the name.

Construction

''LST-482'' was laid down on 14 September 1942, under

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

(MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1002, by

Kaiser Shipyards The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the West Coast of the United States, United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The ...

, Yard No. 4,

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

; launched on 17 December 1942; and commissioned on 20 March 1943.

Service history

During World War II, ''LST-482'' was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following operations: the Gilbert Islands operation in November and December 1943; the Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls in January and February 1944; the

Battle of Hollandia The Battle of Hollandia (code-named Operation Reckless) was an engagement between Allies of World War II and Japanese forces during World War II. The majority of the Allied force was provided by the United States, with the bulk of two United St ...

April 1944; the Battle of Guam July 1944; the

Battle of Leyte The Battle of Leyte (; ; ) in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the amphibious invasion of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American forces and Filipino guerrillas under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fou ...

landings October 1944; and the Lingayen Gulf landings January 1945.

Post-war service

Following the war, ''LST-482'' was redesignated ''

LST(H) A Landing Ship, Tank (Hospital) (LSTH) was a Tank Landing Ship (LST) converted to act as a hospital ship, but because they retained armaments they were not officially designated as such. The LST was a vessel designed to beach itself and unload equ ...

-482'' on 15 September 1945. She performed occupation duty in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

in November and December 1945. Upon her return to the United States, she was decommissioned on 23 February 1946 and redesignated ''LST-482'' on 6 March 1952. The tank landing ship was subsequently renamed USS ''Branch County'' (LST-482) on 1 July 1955. 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 ...

on 11 August 1955. In early March, 1956 the ship was sunk by naval gunfire and submarine-launched

torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

in an exercise off

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California.

Awards

LST-482 earned six

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star 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 service period. T ...

for World War II service.

Notes

;Citations

Bibliography

Online resources * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lst-0482 LST-1-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy Ships built in Richmond, California 1942 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Branch County, Michigan S3-M2-K2 ships