LST 1160

Hang on...the text is white. It will appear after the background image does.
USS TRAVERSE COUNTY LST-1160
Homeported in Little Creek, VA
A PHOTO ALBUM OF A YEAR ABOARD: JULY 1968 TO AUGUST 1969
By Jerry Search (new email address) , then RD3
All photos were taken by myself, with the exception of most of the ones I am in, and
the 2 black and whites, which are courtesy Atlantic Fleet Sales.
Photos are not necessarily in any particular order, indeed, far too much time has passed
for me to remember the exact details of each picture. Of course, corrections are always welcome. JS

The TC, Feb. 1960, without Causeways. Photo courtesy Atlantic Fleet Sales

The TC, ca. 1961, with Causeways. Photo courtesy Atlantic Fleet Sales. See link at bottom of page

Plan of the Day for September 9, 1968 A very busy day!
POD (.pdf file)
Thanks to Paul Steele
Ship's Company Roster 1968

Most photos are from our Med Cruise, July-December, 1968

Page Two

Page Three

Page Four

Other Ships

{Click} on a Thumbnail for a larger picture.

Little Creek, VA, looking towards a moonrise on Chesapeake Bay.	Moored at the east end of Little Creek	TC bow shot, in Norfolk (actually Little Creek).	Myself, quarterdeck watch, at Little Creek
Blowing tubes (not us, another ship along side)	Looking back at the superstructure from the main deck, and the antenna of our very obsolete radar**	Heading it to Morehead City, NC, to pick up the "Grunts" Sorry: "Marine Detachment" The other "T" is the Waldo County, LST 1163	Underway to the Med. The ship closest is the USS Yancy, AKA 93, which is now an artificial reef*
Marines working out. They did this a lot, not that they had much else to do. Maybe we should've taken the hint!	Underway to the Med, August 1968. The small ship is the USS RUCHAMKIN APD 89.	I Believe this is Naples, Italy. A Destroyer Escort, passing very close in front of us.	And now just a few feet off the bow, as they almost hit us.
Taking rolls on a smooth sea! One of the wonderful traits of a pre-modern LST	Writing home. Did this a lot!	Frank Graves, "driving" as we enter port at Naples.	Malta, August 1969. The TC is in the center of the photo.
Beachhead at Kavalla, Greece.	Anchored in Valetta, Malta.	A few days later, as we were stranded in port as high seas break over the seawall.	Off for liberty. Unsure of the port, but possibly Naples.

Interesting LINKS and Specs:

Where am I now? A short bio page (with pics, of course).
Naval Vessel Register (Traverse County specifications)
NavSource Online: Traverse County page: Several photos, including one of the TC now, as a part of the Navy of Peru (I am trying to get more, and will post them here if I'm successful)
NavSource Online: Tank Landing Ship (LST) Index
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. VII: A brief history of the TC, from building to decommissioning
*The Artificial Reef USS Yancy AKA 93 (Drop {sink?} to almost the bottom of the page)
Atlantic Fleet Sales: Extensive collections of U.S. Navy warship photographs
United States LST Association
Links to Other LST/LCT Sites
Life on the USS Neptune ARC-2, by Jerry Search
Contact me, Jerry Search

** In Radar school at NTC Treasure Island, we learned about the various radar systems in the Navy. One day our instructor said: "Here's one you'll never see in the Fleet, the AN-SPS 21-C, or just 21 Charlie". Well, a 21-Charlie is all we had on the TC, and probably a lot of other LST's as well. It was not unusual for the OOD to call back to CIC and ask about the ship he could see near the horizon but hadn't been told about. And, of course, we would call back and ask "Uhh, what ship?" T 's were "expendable" ships, and as it seemed, the last to get anything new or updated.
Specifications:
384'long, 55'-6"beam, 30'depth, 9'-10"draft, displacement 2,586 light ship, 6,290 full load, 2 diesel engines, 6,000
horsepower, flat bottomed hull, twin variable-pitch screws. Keel laid December 18,1952, launched October 3,1953,
delivered and commissioned December 19,1953. Reached 14 knots on trials. Commissioned at Bath Iron Works and
departed January 5,1954. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet Amphibious Forces for practice in the Caribbean and the
Mediterranean. Transferred to Peru August 7,1984 and renamed ETEN, ADT-144 (hoping to get pictures to post here).

January 6, 2001