USS TALBOT COUNTY (LST 1153) (1950 - 1959)

USS Talbot County (LST 1153)


~ 1950 through 1959 ~

Our thanks to former MM3 James Marlar of Birmingham Alabama who provided a copy of a diary that he maintained during his time aboard the USS LST 1153. Most of the information presented here for the years 1950 thru 1953 was gleaned from that diary.

USS Talbot County (LST 1153) unknown date before February 1958

When I reported for duty aboard the USS Talbot County (LST 1153) in February of 1958 all of the .20mm and .40mm anti-aircraft guns had been removed. This photo had to predate my arrival aboard because it shows one of those guns still in place in a gun tub on the starboard side of the main deck roughly midway between the number 1153 and the transition of the flat portion of that deck with the portion that angles upward. (This photo is from the site authors personal album.)

~1950 ~

... September 6th found the USS LST 1153 moored port side to pier 3 at Little Creek, Virginia. On September 11th, 12th and 13th she conducted underway drills and beaching exercises near Little Creek. On September 14th the 1153 was underway for Baltimore, Maryland, arriving on September 15th and remaining until September 18th when she got underway for the return trip to Little Creek. After arriving at Little Creek the 1153 remained in port until September 29th when it again got underway for local operations and drills in the Chesapeake Bay area near Little Creek. These operations lasted, off and on, through October. On November 3rd she was again underway, bound for New York City, where she moored to a buoy in the Hudson River on November 5th. Leaving New York behind on November 9th the USS LST 1153 arrived at Little Creek on November 12th and spent the remainder of the year on local training and drills nearby.

~ 1951 ~

... The USS LST 1153 spent the month of January conducting local operations which included a brief trip to Annapolis, Maryland beginning on January 29th. By February 2nd she was again back in Little Creek and on February 5th she moved to pier 12 for a tender period. On February 26th she was underway for operations at Fort Story, Virginia during which it became necessary to retrieve the stern anchor and anchor cable (oops!) on February 27th. By February 28th she was again anchored in the Little Creek anchorage, moving to pier 2 at Little Creek on March 1st.

... On March 2nd she was underway for Davisville, Rhode Island where she arrived on March 4th. Apparently after loading at Davisville, probably with Seabees and their equipment, the 1153 was underway on March 8th for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arriving there on the 13th of March. Two days later the 1153 departed Cuba for Little Creek, arriving there on March 19th. The following day she left for Tangier Island from which she returned to Little Creek on March 22nd. A period of maintenance at the Boston Naval Shipyard began on April 12th and lasted until the 1153 returned to Little Creek on June 17th. A two-week retraining period ended on July 19th and on July 24th the USS LST 1153 left Norfolk for the northward transit to Thule, Greenland, arriving there on August 9th. During this voyage she participated in Operation BlueJay, the building of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line across northern Canada and carried supplies and equipment to the men building the armed forces bases in Greenland and Iceland. On August 19th she got underway from Thule bound for Little Creek and arrived there twelve days later on August 31. ...

A port call in Baltimore, Maryland occupied the 1153 from September 5th until her return to Little Creek on September 16th. On September 24th she left Little Creek for the southbound transit to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, arriving there on October 1st. The next two weeks included stops at Roosevelt Roads, Vieques and San Juan in Puerto Rico and Morehead City, North Carolina before returning to Little Creek on October 18th. After a quick turn around the 1153 departed Little Creek on October 21st and was again bound for St. Thomas, arriving on October 27th. She island hopped to St. Croix on November 2nd, to Vieques on November 3rd and finally departed for Morehead City, North Carolina from Vieques on November 4th. She arrived in Morehead City on November 13th and left the same day for Little Creek, arriving on November 15th and remaining in an upkeep status there for the remainder of the year.

~ 1952 ~

...

Local operations and upkeep occupied the LST 1153 during January and the first half of February and a two week maintenance period alongside the AR 14 at NOBcommenced on February 21st. On March 7th tile 1153 completed it's repair period and commenced local operations in the Chesapeake Bay near Little Creek.

... March 1st was time to get underway, again for Vieques, Puerto Rico, via Morehead City, North Carolina. The LST 1153 arrived in Vieques on April 7th, remaining there for several days and getting underway on April 1lth for St. Thomas. From April 16th until April 18th operations between St. Thomas and Roosevelt Roads occupied the LST 1153 and on the 18th she put in to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a port visit. On April 21st the LST 1153 was at sea again bound for home, via Morehead City.

... The LST 1153 remained at Little Creek in a ready status until May 19th when it moved to the Army piers at NOB in Norfolk and commenced loading the same day. On May 23rd the LST 1153 was underway from the Army piers and bound for Goose Bay, Labrador. Upon arrival at Goose Bay, on June 7th, the LST 1153 beached and unloaded it's cargo completing the operation and getting underway again the following day. Portsmouth, New Hampshire was the next port of call for the LST 1153 and it arrived there on June 14th at 1500 hours. Underway again on June 18th the LST 1153 made for the Boston Naval Shipyard where it arrived the same day, after a brief seven hour voyage from Portsmouth. After a one day stay in Boston she was again underway the following day, bound for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where a short stay was followed on June 23rd by departure for Washington, DC.

... Washington was reached on June 24th and on the 26th the LST 1153 was again underway for it's home port of Little Creek, Virginia. Anchorage at the Little Creek anchorage was achieved on June 26th and on June 27th she tied up starboard side to pier 11 at Little Creek. The LST 1153 remained in the Little Creek area until July 23rd when it left for a quick trip to Morehead City, North Carolina, returning on July 25th. She participated in local operations until October 4th when she was dry-docked at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia where she remained until November 14th. On November 14th she shifted from the dry dock to pier 3 and remained there until December llth when she shifted to pier 6 where she remained for the rest of the year.

~ 1953 ~

... The LST 1153 remained at the shipyard dock until February 3rd when it got underway, stopping briefly at Little Creek before continuing to Craney Island then NOB to take on fuel and ammunition. On February 4th she shifted to the Hampton Roads anchorage to prepare for running the degaussing range the following day. Local operations, drills, retraining and maintenance were the order of the day for the USS LST 1153 until April 8th when it got underway for Wilmington, North Carolina to load troops and vehicles before heading, once again, for Vieques, Puerto Rico. Leaving Wilmington on April 10th she made a port visit at Port Everglades, Florida, arriving on April 12th, before continuing on to Puerto Rico. On April 13th she was underway again, arriving in Vieques on April 17th. Local operations were conducted in the waters off of Puerto Rico until April 28th when the USS LST 1153 departed the area bound for Onslow Beach, North Carolina. She continued on from Onslow Beach and unloaded ammunition at NOB in Norfolk on May 7th then proceeded to Craney Island to off load fuel before commencing a brief repair period at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on May 8th.

... The repair period at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard ended on June 8th and on that day she went to Craney Island to refuel. The following day she went to NOB, Norfolk and loaded ammunition. Local operations in the Chesapeake Bay area, near Little Creek, followed until June 13th when she anchored at the Little Creek Anchorage where she stayed until moving to pier 18 at Little Creek on June 15th. On June 17th the LST 1153 returned to the anchorage for two days and on June 19th she was underway for local exercises. The time between June 22 and August 17 was busy with operations between the Little Creek area and the area of Onslow Beach and Morehead City, North Carolina.

... On the 17th of August the USS LST 1153 was at Craney Island again to off load fuel in preparation for another period at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia which began the same day. From August 17th until October 5th repair and overhaul at the shipyard occupied the LST 1153. On October 5th she ended her yard period and took on fuel at Craney Island then went, the following day, to anchorage at NOB, Norfolk and loaded ammunition. October 8th included a four-hour full speed run after which she dropped anchor at the Little Creek Anchorage.

Map of the Tidewater area of Virginia

The Norfolk, Virginia area where the USS Talbot County (LST 1153) was homeported.

~ 1954 ~

... Late in the year 1954 the USS LST 1153 was undergoing repairs in a drydock in New York City. The drydock somehow caught fire and burned out of control for quite a long time before being brought under control by the New York City Fire Department. The ship, disabled by the nature of the ongoing repairs, was unable to get underway and for a while was in serious jeopardy as a result of this fire. Shortly afterward the Captain and crew of the USS LST 1153 hosted a dinner on the tank deck of the ship for the members of the fire department involved in combatting this fire.

...The ship and crew spent Christmas of this year at the shipyard in New York City.

~ 1955 ~

... Until July 1, 1955 LST's were identified by number only and were not named. On that date, by order of the Secretary of the Navy, all of these ships received the names of counties or parishes. The USS LST 1153 was given the name USS Talbot County (LST 1153) in honor of Talbot County, Maryland and Talbot County Georgia.

~ 1956 ~

... During operations off of the East Coast the USS Talbot County (LST 1153) appeared in the movie Away All Boats, starring Jeff Chandler. The scenes in which it appeared were filmed off of the Virginia Capes and the Talbot County was just one of many ships appearing in an invasion scene. She appears only in distance shots and would not be recognizable to most people however those familiar with her should be able to recgonize her in the distance from her from her shape when she appears during these scenes.

~ 1957 ~

... During the early part of this year, on the first few minutes of a mid-watch (0000 - 0400), while on operations in the Caribbean, the ship was rocked by an explosion in the forward engine room. Heavy fire raged for several hours and black acrid smoke billowed from hatches leading to the engine room. In addition to the ships engines, cargo on the tank deck was severely damaged and the Talbot County was damaged severely enough to put her dead in the water for several hours and required the assistance of a towing vessel in order to return to port for temporary repairs. After these repairs and a through seaworthiness inspection were made she returned to Norfolk, at reduced power, where permanent repairs were made. This incident was the result of a valve in the engine room being erroneously closed by a member of the oncoming watch, according to some who were there at the time.

... In August of this year the Talbot County was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea where she participated in Operation Deepwater, using her bulk fuel tanks to carry more than 240,000 gallons of aviation gasoline to refuel helicopters assigned to the amphibious squadron. In October of 1957 LCDR Robert M. Smith replaced LCDR Robert Kemp as Commanding Officer of the Talbot County.

... Thanksgiving Day was spent in port, at Suda Bay, Crete and the crew was treated to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

~ 1958 ~

... On February 13, 1958, following port calls in France, Italy, Greece, Malta, Gibraltar, Algeria, and Morrocco the Talbot County returned to the United States. This writer was transferred aboard the Talbot County as a Seaman Apprentice in the Deck Division upon her return from this "Med" cruise.

...July of this year saw the Talbot County underway again, bound for Nova Scotia to participate in Operation Caesar, which we were told was the installation of a "Loran" (LOng RAnge Navigation) station on Sable Island in the North Atlantic. We did participate in operations near Sable Island and ferried supplies to the island by helocopter and as on most operations of this type rumors were abundent that we were involved in the installation of everything under the sun except a Loran Station. During this trip, while leaving the port of Argentia, Newfoundland in a heavy fog the ships radar failed leaving the navigation personnel blind. A safe return to port for radar repairs was made possible by the innovative use of the ships fire control radar by FT1 Louis Gaither and the men who worked under his supervision. Utilizing this radar for navigation was something for which it was not designed and for which there were no guidelines.

... After returning from Operation Caesar the crew of the Talbot County busied themselves making preparations for a scheduled overhaul period. In October she entered the U.S. Naval Shipyard in Charleston, South Carolina for overhaul and remained there for the balance of 1958. During this overhaul the ships fathometer was replaced and it's radar, an aging ANSPS5B, was replaced with an ANSPS21C.

Bridge of the USS Talbot County (LST 1153) in October 1958

Bridge of the USS Talbot County (LST 1153) in October 1958. (Photo is from the site authors personal album)

~ 1959 ~

... In January, LCDR Robert M. Smith was relieved as Commanding Officer of the Talbot County by LCDR Elton V. Conger. The shipyard work was completed in January and February was spent conducting post overhaul refresher training with the Amphibious Operational Training Unit at Little Creek, Virginia. On April 27th the Talbot County embarked a Mobile Construction Battalion detachment and deployed to the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. During this deployment the Talbot County helped move a U.S. Air Force base from Malta B.C.C. to Catania, Sicily, and made a stop at Rhodes, Greece where she refueled the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Courier, the ship that was home to the broadcasting station for the Voice of America in that area. In August the Talbot County returned to the United States and her home port of Little Creek, Virginia.>

... September and October were spent conducting training in the Virginia Capes and Chesapeake operating areas. In November she moored alongside of the USS Vulcan for two weeks of repair. (During a vacation trip in 1990 I was in the Norfolk area and took a commercial harbor tour which included the area Naval bases as seen from the bay. While passing the piers at the main Naval base (NOB) I observed and filmed the USS Vulcan, still on active duty, still servicing and repairing the other ships of the fleet, some thirty one years after the Talbot County's repair period alongside of her in November of 1959)

...Late November and most of December found the Talbot County operating in the Caribbean with a Marine tank company near Vieques, Puerto Rico. While returning to Little Creek after this exercise a port call was made at Hamilton, Bermuda.

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