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{{Short description|1944 LST-542-class tank landing ship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Mineral County LST-988.jpg
|Ship caption=''Mineral County'' underway, circa 1950s
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1957}}
|Ship name= USS ''LST-988''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Boston Navy Yard]], [[Massachusetts]]
|Ship laid down=10 February 1944
|Ship launched=12 March 1944
|Ship acquired=

|Ship commissioned=25 April 1944
|Ship decommissioned=13 June 1950
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=7 June 1951
|Ship decommissioned=11 October 1957
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=USS ''Mineral County'' (LST-988), 1 July 1955
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship struck=27 September 1957
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=1 [[battle star]] (World War II)
|Ship fate=Sunk as a target
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|LST-542|tank landing ship}}
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1625|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} light
*{{convert|4080|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full
|Ship length={{convert|328|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft=*''Unloaded'' :
*{{convert|2|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}} forward
*{{convert|7|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} aft
*''Loaded'' :
*{{convert|8|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} forward
*{{convert|14|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on}} aft
|Ship depth=
|Ship propulsion=2 × [[General Motors]] [[EMD 567|12-567]] [[diesel engine]]s, two shafts, twin rudders
|Ship speed= {{convert|12|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship boats= 2 × [[LCVP (United States)|LCVP]]s
|Ship troops=16 officers, 147 enlisted men
|Ship complement=7 officers, 104 enlisted men
|Ship armament=*8 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm guns]]
*12 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm guns]]
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''USS ''Mineral County'' (LST-988)''' was an {{sclass|LST-542|tank landing ship}} built for the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]]. Named after [[Mineral County, West Virginia]], she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Originally laid down as ''LST-988'' at the [[Boston Navy Yard]] on 10 February 1944, the ship was launched on 12 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Winfred K. Buckmaster, and commissioned on 25 April 1944.

==Service history==

===World War II, 1944–1945===
Following shakedown out of [[Little Creek, Virginia]], ''LST-988'' departed the Norfolk area on 2 June 1944 in a convoy bound for [[Bizerte]], [[Tunisia]]. Arriving on the 22nd, she discharged her [[Seabee (US Navy)|Seabee]] passengers and equipment and took on troops and [[rolling stock]] to be transported to [[Italy]]. She anchored at [[Naples]] on 2 July and for the next month shuttled troops and equipment along the Italian coast, to [[Sicily]] and to [[Corsica]].

On 12 August, with [[United States Army|Army]] personnel as passengers and their tanks and other vehicles as her cargo, she departed Naples for the [[Operation Dragoon|invasion of southern France]]. By 0800, on 15 August, she stood off [[Saint-Raphaël, Var|Saint-Raphaël]] awaiting her first beaching on enemy held shores under fire. Moving in at 1745, she had completed unloading by 1945. The following day she headed for Corsica and until 6 October shuttled troops, American and French, from [[Ajaccio, Corsica]] and [[Oran]], [[Algiers]] to Saint-Raphaël and [[Marseille]]. During October she completed runs to Italy and Tunisia, returning in November to the [[Corsica]]-[[Marseille]] route. She completed her final [[Mediterranean]] assignment, Marseille-Bizerte-Oran, in mid-December and on the 28th got underway for [[Norfolk, Virginia]]. Arriving on 14 January 1945 she steamed to [[New York City|New York]] for overhaul, returning to [[Virginia]] in March to take on vehicles for [[Pearl Harbor]].

Underway on 1 April, she joined a convoy for the [[Panama Canal Zone]], thence, on 15 May, steamed north to [[San Francisco]] where she loaded explosives and ammunition for use in the western [[Pacific]]. By the end of June she had discharged her [[Hawaii]]an cargo and by 6 July was en route to [[Eniwetok]] and [[Guam]]. After off-loading her dangerous cargo at the latter island, she received word of the [[Japanese surrender]] and orders to continue transportation services in the [[Marshall Islands|Marshalls]] and [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]].

===Post-war activities, 1945–1946===
On 14 September she departed [[Saipan]] for the [[Philippines]] to begin duty with the 3rd Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet. From the 26th until 19 November, she operated between [[Subic Bay]] and [[Yokohama]], carrying Army occupation personnel and their equipment on the first leg of their journey to their assigned stations in the former enemy's home islands. ''LST-988'' then commenced occupation service of her own, the transportation of cargo and passengers amongst various Japanese ports from [[Honshū]] to [[Kyūshū]]. Detached 11 April 1946, she began to make her way back to the United States. She arrived at San Francisco on 27 May, thence steamed through the [[Panama Canal]] and arrived at New York City on 13 July.

===Naval Reserve training vessel, 1946–1950===
Under orders from the commandant, [[3rd Naval District]], she decommissioned and was placed in reserve on 25 July and, after overhaul, was placed in service on 13 January 1946 for employment as a [[United States Navy Reserve|Naval Reserve]] training vessel for the New York area. On 6 April 1950 she reported for inactivation at [[Philadelphia]], and on 13 June was officially designated out of commission, in reserve. Towed to [[Florida]] the following week, she was berthed at [[Green Cove Springs]] as a unit of the [[Atlantic Reserve Fleet]].

===Cargo and personnel carrier, 1951–1957===
Shortly after her berthing at Green Cove Springs, the reopening of hostilities in Asia and high tension in Europe and the [[Middle East]] resulted in an increased demand for ships of her type. ''LST-988'' was ordered reactivated. On 7 June 1951 she recommissioned and 13 days later reported to [[ServLant]] for duty as a troop and cargo carrier. Her assignments during the next year took her as far east as the Mediterranean and as far north as sailing beyond the arctic circle on 9 July 1952.<ref>Fidler, H.J. Lt. United States Navy. Granting a Blue Nose Certificate to A.C. Boyan for Crossing the Arctic Circle on LST 988. 9 July 1952. Print.</ref> In May 1952 she was fitted out with a [[helicopter]] pad and then ordered to [[Iceland]] for special projects with the [[United States Air Force]]. Returning to Norfolk in September, she prepared for her first extended oversea deployment since World War II, six months with the [[United States Sixth Fleet|6th Fleet]] in the Mediterranean, after which she resumed operations for the [[United States Second Fleet|2nd Fleet]].

[[File:LST 988 Blue Nose Certificate Granted to A.C. Boyan on 9 July 1952.jpg|thumb|LST 988 Blue Nose Certificate Granted to A.C. Boyan on 9 July 1952<ref>Fidler, H.J. Lt. United States Navy. Granting a Blue Nose Certificate to A.C. Boyan for Crossing the Arctic Circle on LST 988. 9 July 1952. Print.</ref>]]

In November 1953 she commenced work as cargo and personnel carrier, helicopter supply ship, and LORAC team unit for the Navy's [[Hydrographic Office]], then engaged in scientific research in and resurvey of the Atlantic. Renamed '''USS ''Mineral County'' (LST-988)''' on 1 July 1955, she continued to serve the Hydrographic Office until the spring of 1957 when she was ordered to prepare for inactivation.

===Decommissioning and disposal===
On 8 July 1957, at Norfolk, she was placed in reserve. On 27 September the ship was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]], and on 11 October she decommissioned and was ordered to be stripped preparatory to use to destruction as a [[target ship|target vessel]] for the [[USLANTFLT|Atlantic Fleet]].

==Awards==
''LST-988'' received one [[battle star]] for World War II service.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DANFS}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l28/lst-988.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040314015427/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l28/lst-988.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 March 2004 |work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships|title=LST-988 |access-date=2009-09-29 }}
* {{cite web|title=''Mineral County''|work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m11/mineral_county.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121212220501/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m11/mineral_county.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 December 2012|access-date=14 August 2007}}
* {{cite web|title=LST-988 ''Mineral County''|website=NavSource
|url=http://www.navsource.net/archives/10/16/160988.htm|access-date=14 August 2007}}

{{LST-542 class tank landing ship|900}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mineral County (Lst-988)}}
[[Category:LST-542-class tank landing ships]]
[[Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Mineral County, West Virginia|USS Mineral County (LST-988)]]
[[Category:Ships built in Boston]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]

USS Mineral County - Revision history

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