USS Cayuga County (LST-529)

USS Cayuga County (LST-529) underway, date and place unknown. Official U.S. Navy photo distributed to the crew c. 1958 while assigned to the Mariana Trust Territory and homeported in Guam.
History
Name: USS LST-529, later USS Cayuga County
Namesake: Cayuga County, New York
Builder: Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Company, Jeffersonville, Indiana
Laid down: 8 November 1943
Launched: 17 January 1944
Commissioned: 29 February 1944
Decommissioned: 7 June 1946
Recommissioned: 22 September 1950
Decommissioned: 17 December 1963
Renamed: USS Cayuga County (LST-529), 1 July 1955
Honours and
awards:
Fate: Transferred to the Republic of Vietnam, 17 December 1963
South Vietnam
Name: Thi Nai (HQ-502)
Acquired: 17 December 1963
Fate: Escaped to the Philippines, April 1975
Philippines
Name: BPR Cotabato Del Sur (LT-87)
Commissioned: 17 November 1975
Fate: Scrapped, 2003
General characteristics
Class & type: LST-491-class tank landing ship
Displacement:
  • 1,780 long tons (1,809 t) light
  • 3,640 long tons (3,698 t) full
Length: 328 ft (100 m)
Beam: 50 ft (15 m)
Draft:
  • Unloaded :
  • 2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) forward
  • 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) aft
  • Loaded :
  • 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward
  • 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
Propulsion: 2 × General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed: 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried:		 2 LCVPs
Troops: Approximately 140 officers and enlisted men
Complement: 8-10 officers, 100-115 enlisted men
Armament:

USS Cayuga County (LST-529) was an LST-491-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Cayuga County, New York, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

LST-529 was laid down on 8 November 1943 at Jeffersonville, Indiana by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Company; launched on 17 January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Margaret S. Carey; and commissioned on 29 February 1944 with Lieutenant G. L. Moore, USNR, in command.

Service history

During World War II, LST-529 was assigned to the European Theater and participated in the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944. On 7 June 1946, she was decommissioned and, as a result of hostilities in Korea, recommissioned on 22 September 1950. She served in the Korean War and took part in the following campaigns: U.N. Summer-Fall offensive (July and August 1951); the Second Korean Winter (December 1951 through March 1952); and the Korea, Summer 1953 (June and July 1953). Immediately following the Korean War, she continued to serve in the Korean area until July 1954. Following her Korean service, she returned to the United States.

She was named USS Cayuga County (LST-529) on 1 July 1955 and was assigned as a logistic support ship for the Mariana and Bonin Islands in the late 1950s, remaining there until decommissioned and transferred to the Republic of Vietnam on 17 December 1963, when she was renamed Thi Nai (HQ-502). Following the fall of Saigon on 29 April 1975 Thi Nai escaped to the Philippines. Transferred to the Philippine Navy 17 November 1975 she was renamed BPR Cotabato Del Sur (LT-87). The ship was scrapped in 2003.

LST-529 earned one battle star for World War II service and three battle stars for Korean War service.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

See also


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