USS LST-689

LST-689 unloading at sea, date and place unknown
History
United States
Name	USS LST-689
Builder	Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Company, Jeffersonville, Indiana
Laid down	11 January 1944
Launched	9 March 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. Edith C. Smith
Commissioned	2 May 1944
Decommissioned	March 1946
Honors and awards	1 battle star (World War II)
Renamed	USS Daggett County (LST-689), 1 July 1955
Namesake	Daggett County, Utah
Stricken	1 October 1959
Fate	Transferred to Japan, 1961
Japan
Name	JDS Ōsumi (おおすみ)
Namesake	Ōsumi
Acquired	1 April 1961
Commissioned	1 April 1961
Decommissioned	30 March 1974
Fate	Transferred to the Philippines, 1975
Philippines
Name	BRP Davao Oriental (LT-506)
Acquired	1975
Fate	Sold for scrapping
General characteristics
Class and type	LST-542-class tank landing ship Ōsumi-class tank landing ship
Displacement	1,780 long tons (1,809 t) light 3,640 long tons (3,698 t) full
Length	328 ft (100 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	Unloaded : 2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) forward 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) aft Loaded : 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
Propulsion	2 × General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 LCVPs
Troops	Approximately 140 officers and enlisted men
Complement	8–10 officers, 100–115 enlisted men
Armament	1 × single 3-inch/50-caliber gun mount 8 × 40 mm guns 12 × 20 mm guns

USS LST-689 was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Late in her career she was renamed Daggett County (LST-689)—after Daggett County, Utah, the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name—but never saw active service under that name.

LST-689 was laid down on 11 January 1944 at Jeffersonville, Indiana by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Company; launched on 9 March 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Edith C. Smith; and commissioned on 2 May 1944.

Service history

During World War II, LST-689 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the Leyte landings in October in the capture and occupation of the southern Palau Islands in September and October, 1944 and the assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto in April 1945. She was decommissioned on 26 November 1945 and struck from the Navy list on 5 December that same year. On 25 June 1946, the ship was sold to Arctic Circle Exploration, Inc., of Seattle, Washington.

LST-689 off Angaur, with Tennessee and Minneapolis bombarding the island.

The tank landing ship performed no active post-World War II service. On 1 July 1955 the ship was redesignated USS Daggett County (LST-689); she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1959.

In 1961, she was donated to Japan and commissioned as the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Ōsumi-class tank landing ship as JDS Ōsumi (LST-4001). Transferred to the Republic of the Philippines in 1975, and named BRP Davao Oriental (LT-506). She was sold for scrapping by the Philippine Navy.

LST-689 earned two battle stars for World War II service.

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• "LST-689". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
• "LST-689 Daggett County". Amphibious Photo Archive. Retrieved 12 June 2007.

See also

• List of United States Navy LSTs
• Ōsumi-class tank landing ship – MSDF