LST-542 / Chelan County class tank landing ship

Representative image: USS Orleans Parish (LST-1069) underway, date and place unknown.Official US Navy photograph taken from https://www.navsource.net/archives/10/16/1016106903.jpg · Public domainImage source

TypeTank Landing Ship, Landing Ship, Tank

CountryUnited States

NavyUnited States Navy / Allied services

EraWorld War II and Cold War

Ships completed611

Ships planned611

Construction began1943-11-29

Overview and historical setting

LST-542, later named Chelan County, headed the 611-vessel final and largest WWII Type II LST class block.

The class belongs to the history of amphibious warfare ships and served during World War II and Cold War. Amphibious ships connect naval movement with operations ashore. Their design may emphasize beaching, ramps, landing craft, well decks, aviation facilities, vehicle capacity, troop accommodation, command spaces, or some combination of those features. The mission therefore depends on how the ship moves people and equipment from sea to land, not simply on its defensive armament. For LST-542 / Chelan County class tank landing ship, the documented mission set included transport and support of amphibious forces, landing of vehicles and heavy equipment, and delivery of cargo directly to a beach.

Development and design

The class remained essentially similar to the earlier Type II ships but NavSource records six principal changes: interdeck ramps instead of elevators, hydraulic bow-door machinery, more landing-craft davits, reinforced main deck structure for LCT carriage, an elevated conning station and revised stowage/accommodations. NHHC also notes heavier armament and a water-distilling plant. The program chronology records construction beginning in 1943-11-29. Program totals list 611 planned, 611 ordered, 611 laid down, 611 completed, and 0 cancelled. These dates and totals distinguish the design program from the number of ships that were actually completed and entered service.

The design evidence for LST-542 / Chelan County class tank landing ship identifies bow doors, bow ramp, interdeck ramps, landing craft davits, and beachable hull and transport and support of amphibious forces, landing of vehicles and heavy equipment, and delivery of cargo directly to a beach. These features connect the class's technical arrangement to the work it was expected to perform for United States Navy / Allied services. Later refits, revised sensors, new weapons, and changes in doctrine could alter the practical capabilities of individual members without changing their class identity.

Technical character

The LST-542 / Chelan County class improved Type II wartime fit configuration, dated from 1944, is presented as wartime fit. The recorded armament is Ramps replaced elevators between main and tank decks; landing-craft davits increased from two to six and the main deck was reinforced to carry LCTs.; Hydraulic bow-door machinery replaced screw gear; a conning station above the pilot house improved visibility over deck cargo. The figures describe one documented state and may not apply unchanged throughout the subject's service life.

Technical data for LST-542 / Chelan County class tank landing ship is most useful when tied to a date and mission. Displacement changed with fuel, ammunition, electronics, weapons, and later modifications; speed and range depended on operating conditions; and sensors or armament could vary substantially between members and periods of service.

Ships of the class

The documented roster contains 611 members. These include USS LST-542 (LST-542), USS LST-543 (LST-543), USS LST-544 (LST-544), USS LST-545 (LST-545), USS LST-546 (LST-546), USS LST-547 (LST-547), USS LST-548 (LST-548), USS LST-549 (LST-549), USS LST-550 (LST-550), and USS LST-551 (LST-551), with 601 additional documented members. The available sources support this as the complete class roster.

Individual ship histories are needed to show how a common design diverged through construction differences, refits, damage, transfers, new assignments, and final disposition. For a ship-level view of the class in service, see USS LST-542, whose profile follows the evidence available for one member of LST-542 / Chelan County class tank landing ship.

Service history

The class roster extends from LST-542 through the final wartime construction blocks. LST-1069 later served as Orleans Parish and MCS-6, illustrating how members could change names and classifications. Some late-war construction numbers require additional source work to establish exact commissioning and redesignation chronologies. Many members later received new names, served foreign navies, entered Army or Military Sea Transportation Service assignments, or converted to auxiliary roles. The shared design created a common starting point, while individual ships could accumulate different deployments, combat damage, modernization work, transfers, and end states.

Historical significance

Together with LST-1 and LST-491, this class completes the class-level accounting for all 1,052 WWII U.S.-built Type II LSTs. Its documented design relationships identify predecessors LST-491 class tank landing ship. Its significance is best assessed through the relationship between mission, technical choices, production scale, and the service experience of its members.

For LST-542 / Chelan County class tank landing ship, the most useful points of comparison are the requirement for transport and support of amphibious forces, landing of vehicles and heavy equipment, and delivery of cargo directly to a beach, the use of bow doors, bow ramp, interdeck ramps, landing craft davits, and beachable hull, and a program recorded as 611 planned, 611 ordered, 611 laid down, 611 completed, and 0 cancelled. Those factors help explain what the class offered United States Navy / Allied services, how it differed from predecessors or contemporaries, and why ships built to the same design could still have different careers.

Understanding LST-542 / Chelan County class tank landing ship across time requires separating the design as approved, the configuration in which individual ships entered service, and later changes made after operational experience. For United States Navy / Allied services, that distinction matters because a refit could alter weapons, sensors, aviation facilities, command arrangements, or mission without creating a new class. The class history defines the common baseline; dated ship histories show how each member changed within it.

Ships in this class

Showing 611 recorded class members.

Sources and further reading

Tank Landing Ship (LST) Index ↗NavSource Naval History · accessed 2026-09-20
LST-542 ↗Naval History and Heritage Command · accessed 2026-09-20
Landing Ships, Tank — LST 401 through LST 796 ↗ShipbuildingHistory.com · accessed 2026-09-20
Landing Ships, Tank — LST 797 through LST 1155 ↗ShipbuildingHistory.com · accessed 2026-09-20

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