HM LST-404

HM LST-404 off the invasion beaches at Salerno, 12 September 1943, LST-404 and two unidentified PT boats are seen with Ancon in the background.
History
United Kingdom
Name	LST-404
Ordered	as a Type S3-M-K2 hull, MCE hull 924[1]
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Yard number	2176[1]
Laid down	27 August 1942
Launched	28 October 1942
Commissioned	16 December 1942
Identification	Hull symbol: LST-404
Fate	Returned to USN custody, 14 October 1944
United States
Name	LST-404
Acquired	14 October 1944
Stricken	21 October 1945
Fate	Sold for scrapping, November 1946
General characteristics [2]
Class and type	LST-1-class tank landing ship
Displacement	4,080 long tons (4,145 t) full load 2,160 long tons (2,190 t) landing
Length	328 ft (100 m) oa
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	Full load: 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward; 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft Landing at 2,160 t: 3 ft 11 in (1.19 m) forward; 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) aft
Installed power	2 × 900 hp (670 kW) Electro-Motive Diesel 12-567A diesel engines 1,700 shp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion	1 × Falk main reduction gears 2 × Propellers
Speed	12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range	24,000 nmi (44,000 km; 28,000 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) while displacing 3,960 long tons (4,024 t)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 or 6 x LCVPs
Capacity	2,100 tons oceangoing maximum 350 tons main deckload
Troops	163
Complement	117
Armament	Varied, ultimate armament 1 × QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun 6 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannon 4 × Fast Aerial Mine (FAM) mounts

HM LST-404 was a United States Navy LST-1-class tank landing ship that was transferred to the Royal Navy during World War II. As with many of her class, the ship was never named. Instead, she was referred to by her hull designation.

LST-404 was laid down on 27 August 1942, under Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 924, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; launched 28 October 1942; then transferred to the United Kingdom and commissioned on 16 December 1942.^[3]

LST-404 was used to transport elements of the 179th Regimental Combat Team to "Beach Blue" during the Salerno landings in Italy, 10 September 1943.^[2]

On the afternoon of 15 August 1944, LST-404 was returning to England from the Normandy beachhead, as part of convoy FTM 69, with wounded personnel, casualties, and prisoners of war, when she was torpedoed by U-741 about 35 miles (56 km) southeast of St. Catherine's Point. (50°02′N 0°38′W / 50.033°N 0.633°W / 50.033; -0.633) LST-413 was able to get alongside LST-404 and take off the passengers and crew, however, eight crewmen and several POWs were killed in the torpedo explosion. ATR-4 took LST-404 in tow and took her to St. Helen's Roads, Isle of Wight, and then on to Lee-on-Solent, on 16 August.^[4]

LST-404 saw no active service in the United States Navy. The tank landing ship was struck from the Navy list on 14 October 1944. She was decommissioned, returned to United States Navy custody on 21 October 1945, sold through the auspices of the State Department in November 1946,^[3] and was broken up in June 1948, at Zeebrugge.^[4]

• List of United States Navy LSTs

Citations

• Photo gallery of LST-404 at NavSource Naval History