USS LST-666

USS LST-666 was an LST-542-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy in World War II. Like most ships of her class, she was not named and properly known only by her designation. Because of the biblical reference to the number, "666" in the Bible's Book of Revelation, USS LST-666 earned the unofficial nicknames, "The Devil's Ship" and "The Devil Ship".

USS LST-666 anchored off San Pedro, California, 10 February 1946
History
United States
Name	USS LST-666
Builder	American Bridge Company Ambridge, Pennsylvania
Laid down	16 February 1944
Launched	24 April 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. A. I. Hay
Commissioned	16 May 1944
Decommissioned	20 June 1946
Stricken	31 July 1946
Honors and awards	6 battle stars, World War II
Fate	Sold for scrap, 26 September 1946
General characteristics
Class and type	LST-542-class tank landing ship
Displacement	1,625 tons (light) 4,080 tons (full)
Length	328 ft (100.0 m)
Beam	50 ft (15.2 m)
Draft	2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) fwd; 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) aft (unloaded) 8 feet 3 inches (2.51 m) fwd; 14 feet 1 inch (4.29 m) aft (full load) 3 feet 11 inches (1.19 m) fwd; 9 feet 10 inches (3.00 m) aft (landing)
Propulsion	Two General Motors 12-567, 900 hp diesel engines, two shafts, two rudders
Speed	12.0 knots (22.2 km/h) (max) 9 knots (17 km/h) (econ)
Troops	16 officers, 147 enlisted
Complement	7 officers, 104 enlisted
Armament	7 × 40 mm AA guns 12 × 20 mm AA guns 2 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns 6 × .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns (one on each LCVP)

Construction and commissioning

LST-666 was laid down on 16 February 1944 at Ambridge, Pennsylvania, by the American Bridge Company. She was launched on 24 April 1944, sponsored by Mrs. A. I. Hay, and commissioned on 16 May 1944.

Service history

During World War II, LST-666 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater and participated in the following operations:

• Western New Guinea operation: (Morotai landings), Halmahera Island, North Maluku, 15 September 1944
• Leyte operation: (Leyte landings) - Tacloban, 16 to 30 October and 9 to 29 November 1944
• Luzon operation: (Lingayen Gulf landings), 4 to 18 January 1945
• Manila Bay-Bicol operation: (Zambales-Subic Bay landings), La Paz, Bataan, 29 to 30 January 1945
• Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines: (Palawan Island landings), Puerto Princesa, 1 to 2 March 1945; (Visayas Island landings) - Iloilo, Panay Island and Pulupandan, Negros Island, 18 March and 29 March to 1 April 1945
• Borneo operation: (Balikpapan operation), East Kalimantan, 26 June to 9 July 1945

Decommissioning and disposal

Following the war, LST-666 was decommissioned on 20 June 1946 and struck from the Navy List on 31 July 1946. On 26 September 1946, the ship was sold for scrap to Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., of Chester, Pennsylvania.

Honors and awards

LST-666 earned six battle stars for World War II service.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Priolo, Gary P. (21 January 2005). "LST-666". NavSource Online. NavSource Naval History. Retrieved 3 January 2007.

External links

• Photo gallery of LST-666 at NavSource Naval History