Summary
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 | |
|---|---|
| Name | De Soto County class |
| Builders | |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Terrebonne Parish class |
| Succeeded by | Newport class |
| Built | 1956-1959 |
| In commission | 1958-1973 |
| Planned | 8 |
| Completed | 7 |
| Cancelled | 1 |
| Retired | 7 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Tank landing ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 445 ft (136 m) |
| Beam | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Draft | 16 ft 8 in (5.08 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried |
|
| Capacity |
|
| Troops | 575 officers and enlisted men |
| Complement | 10 officers and 162 enlisted men |
| Armament | 3 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal Mark 22 guns |
| Aviation facilities | Helipad |
Development edit
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 edit
| 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 | |