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Kuo said sailors onboard the 67-year-old craft faced greater challenges than those on other ships because of the outdated equipment and environment on board the Chung Hai.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.
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