USS League Island (AG-149)
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| Career (USA) |  100x35px |
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| Name: | USS League Island |
| Namesake: | The site of the Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the junction of the Schuylkill River and the Delaware River |
| Builder: | Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, Indiana |
| Laid down: | 22 November 1944 |
| Launched: | 16 January 1945 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Susan A. Rash |
| Commissioned: | 9 February 1945 as USS LST-1097 |
| Decommissioned: | 19 December 1946, at Portland, Oregon |
| In service: | 3 January 1951 as League Island (AG-149) |
| Out of service: | 14 December 1956, at Astoria, Oregon |
| Reclassified: | League Island (AG-149), 27 January 1949; AKS-30, 18 August 1951 |
| Refit: | General Stores Issue Ship 17 January to 2 March 1951 at Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp., Oakland, California |
| Struck: | 1 April 1960 |
| Honours and awards: | one battle star for World War II service |
| Fate: | scrapped 24 April 1961 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | LST-511-class tank landing ship |
| Tonnage: | 1,625 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 3,640 tons |
| Length: | 328' |
| Beam: | 50' |
| Draft: | loaded bow 8' 2" - stern 14' 1" |
| Propulsion: | two General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders |
| Speed: | 12 knots |
| Boats and landing craft carried: | two LCVPs |
| Troops: | 130 officers and enlisted |
| Complement: | 8-10 officers, 89-100 enlisted |
| Armament: | two 40mm guns, twelve 20mm guns |
USS League Island (AG-149/AKS-30) – also known as USS LST-1097 -- was an LST-511-class tank landing ship launched by the U.S. Navy during the final months of World War II. League Island served as a supply and stores-issue ship for the U.S. 7th Fleet, and was decommissioned after the war.
Contents
Constructed in Jeffersonville, Indiana
LST-1097 was laid down by Jeffersonville Bridge & Machinery Co., Jeffersonville, Indiana, 22 November 1944; launched 16 January 1945: sponsored by Mrs. Susan A. Rash; and commissioned 9 February 1945; Lt. Earl J. Lane in command.
LST-1097 reported for duty to the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, 27 March 1945. After a number of short voyages in the western Pacific Ocean she participated in the Okinawa campaign from 21 May to 30 June. The ship entered Pearl Harbor Navy Yard in December for conversion to an Ordnance Spare Parts Barge, and remained there until March 1946. She steamed to Portland, Oregon, 21 November and decommissioned 19 December 1946.
Korean War service
On 27 January 1949 she was reclassified AG-149, and named League Island 1 February. Due to the Korean War buildup, she recommissioned 3 January 1951, Lt. R. E. Duppenthaler in command.
She was converted to a cargo stores ship 17 January to 2 March by Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp., Oakland, California, and upon completion, moved to San Diego, California, 24 March.
The ship departed for Japan 1 June to join ServRon 3 with whom she served from Sasebo and Yokosuka from June 1951 to August 1954. She was reclassified AKS-30 on 18 August 1951. During this period she carried out her mission of supplying spare parts to the fleet in the Far East in support of America’s Korean commitment.
Post-war service
With the cessation of hostilities in Korea, the ship sailed to the Philippines to assist the U.S. 7th Fleet in the China Sea area. She served from Subic Bay, not returning to Japan until May 1955.
Early in 1956 she was back in the Philippines to continue logistic support for the 7th Fleet. She returned to Sasebo March 1956, and sailed for San Francisco, California, 30 April.
Decommissioning
She decommissioned at Astoria, Oregon, 14 December 1956. Stricken from the Navy list 1 April 1960, she was sold 17 March 1961 to Hatch & Kirk Co., Seattle, Washington, and towed away for scrapping on 24 April 1961.
Honors and awards
LST-1097 received one battle star for World War Il service:
- Okinawa Gunto operation (assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, May and June 1945)
See also
References
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - LST-1097 / AG-149 / AKS-30 League Island
- Pages with broken file links
- Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- Ships built in Indiana
- World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
- Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States
- Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States
- United States Navy Pennsylvania-related ships
- 1945 ships
- LST-542 class tank landing ships converted to stores ships
- LST-542 class tank landing ships
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