Mediterranean, 1943 After fitting out at
Boston, LST-306 loaded supplies and ammunition before proceeding to the
Chesapeake Bay for shakedown training. While there, her crew conducted beach maneuvers, practiced lowering small boats, and held communications and gunnery drills. She then took on supplies and cargo in
Norfolk, Virginia before proceeding independently to
Bermuda in March 1943. Underway in convoy for
Europe later that month, she arrived at
Arzeu,
Algeria on 13 April. After joining a convoy carrying supplies to
Bone, Algeria in support of the
Tunisian campaign, the LST spent the next six weeks ferrying troops and equipment between
Oran,
Mers-El-Kebir, and
Bizerte. In June, the tank landing ship lay in
Tunis Bay, preparing for "
Operation Husky," the planned landings on
Sicily. As part of Task Group (TG) 86.1 in the "Joss" Attack Force, LST-306 got underway on 7 July and arrived off
Licata,
Sicily early in the morning of 11 July. Assigned to reserve transport duty, she helped relieve port congestion by transferring supplies ashore at
Gela and its environs until 17 August when she sailed to Bizerte. There she began preparations for "
Operation Avalanche," the landings at
Salerno. After loading British troops and equipment, LST-306 departed
Tunis on 7 September and joined TG 85.1, the Northern Attack Force, for the voyage to
Italy. After passing into the
Gulf of Salerno, and avoiding several drifting
mines, the tank landing ship anchored south of Salerno at 1215 on 9 September to await a clear beach lane. After pulled off the beach, LST-306 dropped her bow ramp at 1655 that afternoon. Under intermittent enemy shell fire, the tank landing ship disembarked 279 British soldiers and 57 vehicles before retracting to the anchorage at 1831. During the evening, enemy
bombers attacked the beachhead twice, but no bombs fell near the LST. The next morning, LST-306 took on British casualties for evacuation and departed the area. Joining a Bizerte-bound convoy, the tank landing ship moored in that port on the 12th. She then spent two months operating in the central
Mediterranean area, ferrying supplies between
North Africa and ports in Sicily and southern Italy. Ordered north at the end of November, the LST passed through the
Strait of Gibraltar and sailed to England, arriving at
Milford Haven on 17 December.
Invasion of France, 1944 After unloading tank deck cargo, the LST moved to
Falmouth for drydocking and a complete overhaul. After those repairs were completed on 10 January 1944 the tank landing ship began nearly five months of work in preparation for the cross-
channel invasion of Europe. First, she engaged in three weeks of "Rhino ferry" (
pontoon barge) practice landings in the Falmouth area. LST-306 continued this type of operation for the next four months, conducting various training maneuvers (such as troop landings, small boat exercises, antiaircraft gunnery practice, and communication drills) off the southwestern coast of England between
Plymouth and Falmouth. Assigned to convoy B-3 in Task Force (TF) 126.4, the LST embarked troops and equipment at Falmouth on 1 June. After a false start on the 4th, LST-306 got underway in convoy the next day with a pontoon causeway and a small tug in tow. While en route to France, the LST collided with a
buoy, snapping off a blade from her port propeller. As the convoy's speed was already slow (5 knots), the damage did not prevent the tank landing ship from continuing her mission. Just after noon on 7 June, the tank landing ship cast off her tow at
Utah Beach before proceeding to
Omaha Beach where she anchored for the night. During this time, the ship's two
LCVPs delivered medical supplies ashore. The next afternoon, the LST disembarked 218 Army engineers and unloaded mine-clearing equipment to LCTs for transfer to the beach. At 1917, the LST beached and, over the next eight hours, unloaded the remaining 115 troops and the rest of her cargo of 52 trucks. Pulling off the beach on the morning of 9 June, LST-306 proceeded to
Southampton, England for repairs. She remained there, waiting for an availability, until 17 June when she moved to Plymouth for repairs. With a new propeller in place on the 22nd, the LST moved to
Portland Harbour on 26 June, loaded Army trucks and personnel, and carried them to Utah Beach the next day. After dropping them off, she returned to Southampton with 900 German prisoners. Over the next ten months, LST-306 made dozens of shuttle trips across the Channel, carrying troops, ammunition, and supplies from England to the French ports of
Rouen,
Le Havre, and
Cherbourg.
Return to the US, 1945 On 11 May 1945 the LST joined one of the first convoys to head home after hostilities ended in
Europe and arrived in
Norfolk, Virginia on 31 May. After unloading her cargo, the tank landing ship proceeded to
New York for major alterations in preparation for further combat duty in the
Pacific. Entering a berth at Sullivan's Shipyard,
Brooklyn on 11 June, LST-306 was in the yard when the crew heard the news of the
end of the war on 15 August. Upon completion of the repair work on the 29th, the LST conducted a short shakedown cruise to Norfolk before returning to New York to load an LCT. Departing New York on 2 October, she sailed to
Green Cove Springs on the
St. Johns River in
Florida, where she joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet on 6 October 1945.
Decommissioning and sale, 1946–1959 LST-306 was decommissioned there on 13 June 1946. Although named '
USS Bernalillo County
(LST-306)' on 1 July 1955 she never returned to active Navy service; her name was struck from the
Naval Vessel Register on 1 February 1959. On 22 October 1959 the tank landing ship was sold to Ships, Inc., of
Miami, Florida for scrapping.
LST-306 earned three
battle stars for World War II She was re-commissioned in 1951 during the Korean War and participated in practice landings with Marines while in the Atlantic Fleet. She also made visits to Venezuela, Curaçao, Cuba, Greenland, etc. in various exercises. ==References==