De Soto County-class tank landing ship

The De Soto County-class tank landing ship was a class of tank landing ship of United States Navy and later sold to the Italian and Brazilian Navy.

USS Graham County
Class overview
NameDe Soto County class
Builders
Operators
Preceded byTerrebonne Parish class
Succeeded byNewport class
Built1956-1959
In commission1958-1973
Planned8
Completed7
Cancelled1
Retired7
General characteristics
TypeTank landing ship
Displacement
  • 3,560 long tons (3,617 t) light
  • 7,823 long tons (7,949 t) full load
Length445 ft (136 m)
Beam62 ft (19 m)
Draft16 ft 8 in (5.08 m)
Propulsion
Speed17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried
Capacity
  • 28 medium tanks or vehicles to 75 tons on 288 ft (88 m) tank deck
  • 100,000 gal (US) diesel or jet fuel, plus 7,000 gal fuel for embarked vehicles
Troops575 officers and enlisted men
Complement10 officers and 162 enlisted men
Armament3 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal Mark 22 guns
Aviation facilitiesHelipad

Development

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In the 1950s, eight ships were authorized to begin construction but one was later cancelled as the ship's contract was not awarded. The remaining seven ships were put into service between 1957 and 1959. The ships were designed to give a comfortable experience for the crew thus the ships were air conditioned. They have the capability of carrying vehicles or equipments up to 75 tons and 87.7 meters.[1]

Five ships were decommissioned in 1972, with LST-1171 and LST-1175 being sold to Italy. Brazil too acquired LST-1174 and commissioned her into service. LST-1176 was converted into a patrol gunboat support ship and reclassified as AGP-1176. LST-1178 was to be converted into a support ship for the Pegasus-class hydrofoils but plans later fell through.

Ships of class

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Pennant number Name Callsign Builders Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
De Soto County-class tank landing ship[2]
LST-1171 De Soto County NIOD Avondale Shipyard 28 February 1957 10 June 1958 17 July 1972 Sold to Italy and renamed Nave Grado (L9890), later scrapped in 1989
LST-1172 Cancelled
LST-1173 Suffolk County NVWD Boston Naval Shipyard 5 September 1956 15 August 1957 25 August 1972 Scrapped in 1999
LST-1174 Grant County NIOF Avondale Shipyard 12 October 1956 17 December 1957 15 January 1973 Sold to Brazil and renamed Duque de Caxias (G 26), fate unknown
LST-1175 York County NVWF Newport News Shipbuilding 5 March 1957 8 November 1957 17 July 1972 Sold to Italy and renamed Nave Caorle (L9891), later scrapped
LST-1176 / AGP-1176 Graham County NIOH 9 September 1957 17 April 1958 1 March 1977 Fate unknown
LST-1177 Lorain County NVWO American Shipbuilding 22 June 1957 3 October 1958 1 September 1972 Scrapped in October 2002
LST-1178 Wood County NIOJ 14 December 1957 5 August 1959 1 May 1972 Scrapped in July 2002

Citations

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  1. ^ "LST-1171 De Soto County". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Tank Landing Ship (LST)". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 5 December 2021.