USS De Soto County
in the Caribbean Sea, circa 1958. | |
| Career |  
|
|---|---|
| Laid down: | September 1956 |
| Launched: | 28 February 1957 |
| Commissioned: | 10 June 1958 |
| Decommissioned: | 17 July 1972 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrapping |
| Struck: | 8 May 1992 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 3,560 tons (light), 7,823 tons (full) |
| Length: | 445 ft 0 in |
| Beam: | 62 ft 0 in |
| Draft: | 16 ft 8 in |
| Propulsion: | Six Nordburg diesel engines, two shafts, controllable pitch propellers |
| Speed: | 17.5 knots |
| Complement: | 10 officers and 162 enlisted men |
| Troop capacity: | 575 officers and enlisted men |
| Boats: | Four LCVPs |
| Cargo capacity: | 28 medium tanks or vehicles to 75 tons on 288'-long tank deck |
| Liquid cargo capacity: | 100,000 gal (US) diesel or jet fuel, plus 7,000 gal fuel for embarked vehicles |
| Armament: | Three twin-3"/50 gun mounts |
The USS De Soto County (LST-1171) was a De Soto County-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during the late 1950s. The lead ship of her class of seven, she was named after counties in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
De Soto County was laid down 15 September 1956 at Avondale, Louisiana by Avondale Marine Ways, Inc.; launched on 28 February 1957; sponsored by Mrs. C. Horton Smith; and commissioned on 10 June 1958 with Lieutenant Commander Daniel A. York in command. For almost the entire length of her active service, De Soto County was assigned to the Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet. She interspersed operations off the east coast of the United States with frequent deployments to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. The tank landing ship saw brief service in the Vietnam theater of operations in 1969. Decommissioned on 17 July 1972, De Soto County was transferred to the Italian Navy where she served as NMM Nave Grado (L9890). Struck from the Naval Vessel Register 8 May 1992, the ship was sold for scrapping by the Italian government in 1989.
De Soto County earned one Meritorious Unit Commendation for service with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean and one battle star for Vietnam War service.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.- "LST-1171 De Soto County". Amphibious Photo Archive. Retrieved June 26.
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See also
- List of United States Navy LSTs
- De Soto County, Florida
- De Soto Parish, Louisiana
- De Soto County, Mississippi
- ARA Cabo San Antonio (Q42) (De Soto County class for the Argentine Navy)
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