USS LST-400

USS Bradley County (LST-400) was an LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for counties in Arkansas and Tennessee, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

ROCS Chung Suo
History
United States
NameLST-400
BuilderNewport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newport News
Laid down28 September 1942
Launched23 November 1942
Sponsored byMrs. Judith Flax-ington
Commissioned7 January 1943
RenamedBradley County, 1 July 1955
NamesakeBradley County
Identification
Honors and
awards		See Awards
FateTransferred to Republic of China, 30 June 1955
Stricken25 April 1960
History
Taiwan
Name
  • Chung Suo
  • (中肇)
Acquired30 June 1955
Commissioned29 December 1955
Decommissioned1 January 2011
IdentificationHull number: LST-217
FateSunk as target, 16 July 2018
General characteristics
Class and typeLST-1-class tank landing ship
Displacement
  • 1,625 long tons (1,651 t) light
  • 4,080 long tons (4,145 t) full
Length328 ft (100 m)
Beam50 ft (15 m)
Draft
  • Unloaded:
  • Bow: 2 ft 4 in (0.71 m)
  • Stern: 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
  • Loaded :
  • Bow: 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m)
  • Stern: 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m)
Depth
  • 8 ft (2.4 m) forward
  • 14 ft 4 in (4.37 m) aft (full load)
Propulsion2 General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried		Two or six LCVPs
Troops14–16 officers, 131–147 enlisted men
Complement7–9 officers, 104–120 enlisted men
Armament
  • 2 × twin 40 mm gun mounts w/Mk.51 directors
  • 4 × single 40 mm gun mounts
  • 12 × single 20 mm gun mounts

Construction and career

LST-400 was laid down on 28 September 1942 at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company; launched on 23 November 1942; sponsored by Miss Judith Flaxington; and commissioned on 7 January 1943.

Service in the United States Navy

During World War II, LST-400 was assigned to the European Theater and participated in the Sicilian occupation in July, 1943 and the Invasion of Normandy in June, 1944.

Following the War, LST-400 was redesignated USS Bradley County (LST-400) on 1 July 1955.

The ship was transferred to Taiwan as a grant in aid on 30 June 1955. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 25 April 1960.

  • LST-400 underway, date and location unknown
    LST-400 underway, date and location unknown

Service in the Republic of China Navy
One of her anchors is on display at the New Taipei City Weapon Park

Based on the U.S. Defense Agreement, the U.S. presented it to Taiwan at the Port of San Diego. After receiving the ship, the ship was named ROCS Chung Suo (LST-217), and arrived in Taiwan on 29 December 1955.[1]

The first captain was Li Bingcheng, who was mainly responsible for landing operations, transportation and replenishment of personnel and vehicles, and transportation and replenishment of outer islands.[1]

During the period of service, the ship carried out transportation and replenishment missions such as the Lightning Plan and the Fortune Plan during the 823 Artillery Battle in 1958.[1]

The ship was ordered to be decommissioned on 1 January 2011, due to the hull and most of her equipment being old.[1]

On 16 July 2018, she was towed out to sea to be used as a target ship off Lanyu. She was struck by a missile and sank.

One of her anchors is on display at the New Taipei City Weapon Park (新北市武器公園).[2]

Awards

LST-400 earned two battle stars for World War II service.

Citations

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

  • "LST-400". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 6 April 2007.
  • "LST-400 Bradley County". Amphibious Photo Archive. Retrieved 6 April 2007.

References
  1. "中華民國海軍 on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022.
  2. Yu, Blair (18 January 2015). "Blair's 軍事,警察及消防攝影: 中海級戰車登陸艦 中肇 LST-217 船錨". Blair's 軍事,警察及消防攝影. Retrieved 12 September 2021.


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