View source for USS LST-325

{{Short description|World War II era tank landing ship converted to a museum ship}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS LST-325-9.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''LST-325'' as a museum ship on 28 August 2023 <br> In [[La Crosse, Wisconsin]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1961}}
|Ship name=''LST-325''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Philadelphia Navy Yard]]
|Ship laid down=10 August 1942
|Ship launched=27 October 1942
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=1 February 1943
|Ship decommissioned=2 July 1946
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 September 1961
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=2 [[battle star]]s (WWII)
|Ship fate=Transferred to Greece 1964
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=Greece
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|Greece|naval}}
|Ship name=RHS ''Syros'' (L-144)
|Ship namesake=
|Ship acquired=1 September 1964
|Ship commissioned= 
|Ship decommissioned=1999
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck= 
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=T-LST (1951)
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours= 
|Ship fate=Sold, 2000
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1961}}
|Ship name=M/V ''LST-325''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship renamed=USS ''LST-325'' (2004)
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship identification=*{{MMSI Number|338142833}}
*[[Maritime call sign|Callsign]]: NWVC
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=
|Ship status=Operational [[museum ship]] at [[Evansville, Indiana]]
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|LST-1|tank landing ship}}
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1625|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} light
*{{convert|4080|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full (sea-going draft with 1675 ton load)
|Ship length={{convert|327|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft=*''Light'':
*{{convert|2|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}} forward
*{{convert|7|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} aft
*''Sea-going'':
*{{convert|8|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} forward
*{{convert|14|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on}} aft
*''Landing'' (with 500 ton load):
*{{convert|3|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}} forward
*{{convert|9|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} aft
|Ship depth=
|Ship propulsion=2 [[General Motors]] [[EMD 567|12-567]] {{convert|900|hp|0|abbr=on}} [[diesel engine]]s, two shafts, twin rudders
|Ship speed={{convert|12|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|24000|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|9|kn|abbr=on}}
|Ship boats=2 × [[LCVP (United States)|LCVP]]s
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=7  officers, 104 enlisted
|Ship armament=*2 × twin 40&nbsp;mm gun mounts
*4 × single 40&nbsp;mm gun mounts
*12 × single 20&nbsp;mm gun mounts
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
|embed=yes
|name=USS ''LST 325''
|nrhp_type=
|image=PortOfEvansville.jpg
|image_size=300
|caption=At 2006 [[Tall Stacks]] Festival in [[Cincinnati, OH]]
|locmapin=Indiana
|map_width=150
|map_caption=
|coordinates = {{coord|37.972879|-87.580418|display=inline,title}}
|location=610 NW Riverside Dr.<br />[[Evansville, Indiana]]
|built=
|architect=
|architecture=
|added =24 June 2009
|designated_nrhp_type=
|visitation_num=
|visitation_year=
|refnum=09000434
|mpsub=
|governing_body=
}}
|}
'''USS ''LST-325''''' is a decommissioned [[tank landing ship]] of the [[United States Navy]], now docked in [[Evansville, Indiana]], US. Like many of her class, she was not named and is properly referred to by her hull designation (LSTs in service after July 1955 were named after U.S. counties and parishes).

The ship was listed on the U.S. [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2009<ref name="nrhpinv">{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: USS LST-325 |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/weekly_features/USS_LST325.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831011249/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/weekly_features/USS_LST325.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 August 2009 |date=22 December 2008 |first1=Steve |last1=Boeder |first2=Paul |last2=Diebold |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=12 August 2009}} (92 pages, with diagrams and approximately 40 photos)</ref>  and the listing was announced as the featured listing in the [[National Park Service]]'s weekly list of 2 July 2009.<ref name="featured">{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/2009nrlist.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301224507/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/2009nrlist.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 March 2010 |title=National Register of Historic Places Program: Lists of Weekly Actions 2009 |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=5 September 2012}}</ref>

==Service history==
===US Navy, 1942-1961===
''LST-325'' was launched on 27 October 1942 at [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], and commissioned on 1 February 1943 under Lt. Ira Ehrensall, USNR.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lstmemorial.org/virtualExhibit/vex1/BAFC30D5-EA96-4335-A228-188599573700.htm |title=USS LST-325 Deck Logs - February, 1943 |publisher=USS LST Ship Memorial |date=February 1943 |access-date=26 February 2018}}</ref> The ship operated in the [[North Africa]] area and participated in the invasions at [[Gela, Sicily]] and [[Salerno, Italy]]. On 6 June 1944, ''LST-325'' was part of the largest armada in history by participating in the [[Normandy Landings]] at [[Omaha Beach]]. She carried 59 vehicles, 30 officers and a total of 396 enlisted men on that first trip. On her first trip back to England from France, ''LST-325'' transported 38 casualties back to a friendly port.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lstmemorial.org/virtualExhibit/vex1/217766B8-952C-4623-91B0-402860073197.htm |title=USS LST-325 Deck Logs - June, 1944 |publisher=USS LST Ship Memorial |date=June 1944 |access-date=26 February 2018}}</ref> Over the next nine months, Navy records show ''LST-325'' made more than 40 trips across the [[English Channel]], carrying thousands of men and pieces of equipment needed by troops to successfully complete the liberation of Europe. The ship continued to run supply trips between [[England]] and [[France]] before returning to the [[United States]] in May 1945.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lstmemorial.org/virtualExhibit/vex1/61FA0F12-8548-4EF9-9E15-205159476690.htm |title=USS LST-325 Deck Logs - May, 1945 |publisher=USS LST Ship Memorial |date=May 1945 |access-date=26 February 2018}}</ref> ''LST-325'' was decommissioned on 2 July 1946, at [[Green Cove Springs]], Florida, and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

The ship was placed in service with the [[Military Sea Transportation Service]] in 1951 as USNS ''T-LST-325'', and took part in "Operation SUNAC" (Support of North Atlantic Construction), venturing into the [[Labrador Sea]], [[Davis Strait]], and [[Baffin Bay]] to assist in the building of radar outposts along the eastern shore of Canada and western Greenland.

Struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]], on 1 September 1961, ''T-LST-325'' was transferred to the [[Maritime Administration]] (MARAD) for lay up in the [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]].

===Hellenic Navy, 1964-1999===
''T-LST-325'' was sent to [[Greece]] on 1 September 1964, as part of the grant-in-aid program. She served in the [[Hellenic Navy]] as RHS ''Syros'' (L-144) from 1964 to 1999.

==USS LST Ship Memorial Museum==
The USS LST Memorial, Inc., a group of retired military men, acquired ''Syros'' in 2000. They travelled to Greece, made the necessary repairs to the ship and sailed her back to the [[United States]], arriving in [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile Harbor]] on 10 January 2001. In 2003, ''LST-325'' made a sentimental journey up the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] and [[Ohio River|Ohio rivers]]. The 10-day stop in [[Evansville, Indiana]], allowed more than 35,000 people to take a tour. In May and June 2005, she sailed up the east coast under her own power for a 60-day tour of several ports, visiting [[Alexandria, Virginia]], and [[Buzzard's Bay]], [[Boston]], Gloucester, Massachusetts. ''LST-325'' is one of only two navigable LSTs in operation in the U.S. The only other is {{USS|LST-510}} in daily use as a ferry between [[Orient, New York]] and [[New London, Connecticut]]. Formerly the list included the dredge [[USS LST-987|MV ''Columbia'']] which was scrapped in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Columbia - Trailing suction hopper dredgers - Equipment {{!}} Dredging Database |url=https://www.dredgepoint.org/dredging-database/equipment/columbia |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=www.dredgepoint.org}}</ref> On 1 October 2005, Evansville, Indiana, became her home port (although she still visits other ports each year).

===Evansville===
During [[World War II]], the [[Evansville, Indiana]], riverfront was transformed into a {{convert|45|acre|ha|sing=on}} shipyard to produce LSTs. At its peak, the [[Evansville Shipyard]] employed a workforce of over 19,000 and completed two of these massive ships per week, becoming the largest inland producer of LSTs in the US. Although the Evansville Shipyard was originally contracted to build 24 ships, the city would eventually produce 167 LSTs and 35 other vessels. ''LST-325'' is now home ported in Evansville as a memorial [[museum ship|museum]] to LSTs and the city's war effort.

===Relocation===
In 2018, plans were announced to relocate ''LST-325'' from her Marina Pointe location to Riverfront Park across from [[Bally's Evansville]], a spot previously occupied by the casino's riverboat, which retired in 2017 when the casino was allowed to move onshore. On 13 June 2020, ''LST-325'' moved to her new port on Riverside Drive in Evansville.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.courierpress.com/story/news/2020/06/13/lst-325-welcomed-new-downtown-evansville-home/5346324002/ |title=LST 325 welcomed to new Downtown Evansville home |work=[[Evansville Courier & Press]] |first=Isaiah |last=Seibert |date=13 June 2020 |access-date=15 June 2020}}</ref>

<gallery widths=180>
Image:LST 182.jpg|''LST-325'' in Evansville
Image:LST 002.jpg|The ship's bridge
Image:Multiple Gun Motor Carriage.jpg|A restored [[M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage|M16 MGMC]]
Image:LST 017.jpg|A typical troop compartment
Image:LST 036.jpg|The ship's crew, c.1945
Image:LST 043.jpg|The engine room
Image:LST 049.jpg|The tank deck, looking forward
Image:LST 054.jpg|A graphic painted on the ship by the Greek crew
Image:LST 069.jpg|The ship's crew from trans-Atlantic crossing
Image:LST 100.jpg|A 40&nbsp;mm AA gun tub
Image:LST 131.jpg|The LST's deck, from the wheelhouse deck
Image:Annunciator.jpg|Ship's wheel and [[engine order telegraph]]
Image:LST 325 Ship's awards.jpg|''LST-325''{{'}}s ribbons: [[American Campaign Medal]], [[European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]] with two [[service stars]], [[World War II Victory Medal]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Evansville Wartime Museum]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l15/lst-325.htm}}
* {{Naval Vessel Register|{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=LST325}}}}
* {{navsource|10/16/160325|USS LST-325}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.lstmemorial.org The USS LST Ship Memorial]
* {{hnsa|uss-lst-325}}
* [http://www.cargolaw.com/presentations_lst325.html Details of LST-325's journey home]
* {{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-l/lst325.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010218222751/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-l/lst325.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 February 2001 |publisher=[[Naval History & Heritage Command]] |title=Online Library of Selected Images: USS LST-325 (1943-1964)}}

{{LST-1 class tank landing ship}}
{{Evansville, Indiana}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lst-0325}}
[[Category:Museum ships in Indiana]]
[[Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]
[[Category:LST-1-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in Indiana]]
[[Category:Museums in Evansville, Indiana]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Indiana]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Evansville, Indiana]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Evansville, Indiana]]