The nation’s oldest landing craft, the LST-201 Chung Hai, will be retired today in a ceremony scheduled to take place at the Navy’s Sin Pin Pier (新濱碼頭) to mark its formal retirement.
“Those who served [on the craft] can be proud to have been part of it because of the reputation it gained through its decades of service,” said Commander Kuo Heng-wei (郭恆為), commanding officer of the Chung Hai.
Kuo said sailors onboard the 67-year-old craft faced greater challenges than those on other ships because of the outdated equipment and environment on board the Chung Hai.
“This ship is slow. There are no modern living quarters for sailors. We do not even have enough firepower or weapons on this vessel. But we still have to be as good, if not better, than sailors on board other, newer vessels,” Kuo said. “I am proud to say we never failed.”
A former boatswain’s senior chief petty officer on board the Chung Hai who wished to remain anonymous said that serving on the vessel was an unforgettable experience. There were always mice and cockroaches on the ship and it required a lot of regular maintenance.
“I mean, we hated it and will miss it all the same,” he said.
Kuo said the ship’s top speed was no more than 10 nautical miles per hour (18.5kph), adding that a total of eight 40mm and eight 20mm guns were the only weapons on the craft.
“Sailors also joked about the ‘LST’ [landing ship, tank], saying it should be an acronym for ‘large slow target.’ But we Navy men still made good use of it,” Kuo said.
Two major maintenance projects were carried out by the Navy on its LSTs in 1966 and 1990. The 1966 project refurbished the LST engines and the 1990 project replaced their electrical equipment, including installation of air conditioners.
The Chung Hai used to be called USS LST-755, a County-class tank landing craft built on July 11, 1944. It was commissioned on Aug. 3 later that year. The ship performed occupation duties in the Far East and saw service in China until May 1946, when it was still under the US Navy’s command. The LST-755 also earned two battle stars from its World War II service.
The LST-755 was decommissioned on May 29, 1946, and was transferred to the Taiwanese Navy. It was renamed LST-201 Chung Hai.
Under Taiwanese Navy command, the Chung Hai served in the Aug. 23, 1953 artillery bombardment of Kinmen and Matsu. It was struck by a torpedo that caused serious damage to the ship and killed eight sailors.
The Navy received 28 landing craft from the US Navy, 17 of which were abandoned in China during the Chinese Civil War in 1945 and later became a part of the Chinese Navy fleet. That leaves Taiwan with 10 LSTs after the Chung Hai’s retirement today.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by