USS Steuben County

History
United States
Name	USS LST-1138
Builder	Chicago Bridge & Iron Company; Seneca, Illinois;
Laid down	6 January 1945
Launched	5 April 1945
Sponsored by	Mrs. Hattie R. Fox
Commissioned	24 April 1945
Renamed	USS Steuben County (LST-1138), 1 July 1955
Stricken	1 February 1961
Honors and; awards	5 battle stars, Korean War
Fate	Sold to Zidell Explorations, Inc., Portland, Oreg., on 11 August 1961
General characteristics
Class and type	LST-542-class tank landing ship
Displacement	1,490 tons (light);; 4,080 tons (full load of 2,100 tons);
Length	328 ft (100 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	8 ft (2.4 m) forward;; 14 ft 4 in (4.37 m) aft (full load);
Propulsion	Two diesel engines, two shafts
Speed	10.8 knots (20 km/h) (max);; 9 knots (17 km/h) (econ);
Complement	7 officers, 204 enlisted
Armament	8 × 40 mm guns;; 12 × 20 mm guns;

USS Steuben County (LST-1138) was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named after counties in Indiana, and New York, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Service history

Completed too late for service in World War II, LST-1138 performed occupation duty in the Far East until early January 1946. After post-war operations with the Pacific Fleet, LST-1138 saw extensive service during the Korean War, including the 1950 amphibious assault at Inchon,^[1] and a Korean prisoner exchange in 1953. She earned five battle stars for her service. During various cruises across the Pacific, she ranged as far north as Barrow, Alaska, and as far south as Taka Atoll in the Marshall Islands.^[2] On 1 July 1955, she was renamed Steuben County (LST-1138) (q.v.) after counties in Indiana and New York. She was struck from the Navy List on 1 February 1961 and sold to Zidell Explorations, Inc., Portland, Oregon, on 11 August 1961.^[3] Zidell had by that time expanded from shipbreaking into building barges with steel recovered from decommissioned ships, including Steuben County.^[4]

Footnotes

^ Edwin Anthony DeDeaux
^ lst1138.org
^ Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
^ Zidell Marine

References

"Zidell Marine Corporation: Our Story". Zidell Marine Corporation. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
"LST-1138". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Washington Navy Yard, Washington D.C.: Department of the Navy -- Naval Historical Center. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
"Veterans' Memoirs, Edwin Anthony DeDeaux". Korean War Educator. Tuscola, IL: Lynnita Jean Brown. Retrieved 15 May 2009.
"Unofficial Log of operations of the LST 1138 from July 1950 to 1954". lst1138.org. C.D. Pardee. Retrieved 15 May 2009.