Bamberg County (LST-209)
1955-1958
A county in the southwestern part of the state of South Carolina.
(LST-209: displacement 4,080 (full load.); length 328'0"; beam 50'0"; draft 14'1"; speed 11.6 knots (trial); complement 119; troops 147; armament 7 40 millimeter, 12 20 millimeter; class LST-1)
LST-209 was laid down on 7 September 1942 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.; launched on 29 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. C. A. Dalton; placed in reduced commission at her builder's yard on 4 June 1943; placed in full commission at New Orleans on 10 June 1943, Lt. Frank J. Oberg, D-V(S), USNR, in command.
LST-209 (q.v.) served in World War II, participating in the invasion of Normandy (6-25 June 1944). While operating with the mine force, based at Charleston, S.C., LST-209 was named Bamberg County on 10 July 1955.
Decommissioned at Green Cove Springs, Fla., on 10 December 1956, Bamberg County never again saw active service with the Navy. Deemed “unfit for further naval service” on 28 October 1958, her name was stricken from the Navy List on 1 November 1958.
Sold to Tolchester Lines, Inc., of Arlington, Va., soon thereafter, she was acquired by the Dravo Corp. of Pittsburgh, Pa., on 23 February 1961 for use at that firm's Baton Rouge, La., facility.
Robert J. Cressman
Updated, 25 January 2024
