Evansville, IN Day 6

Miles Traveled 0                                                                                                                 

Total Miles Traveled 7044

Day 375

We took a tour of the USS LST 325 moored here at Evansville, Indiana located in front of the marina.  The ship is a decommissioned tank landing ship of the United States Navy.  Called the ship that won the war by Churchill, the LSTs were essential in sea-to-land invasions and many were built in Evansville, Indiana.  At it's peak, the Evansville Shipyard employed a workforce of over 19,000 and completed two of these massive ships per week, becoming the largest inland producer of LSTs in the nation.

The LST 325 is 328 ft. long, 50 ft. wide and 1625 tons of steel power.  This floating piece of history was on site in Normandy on D-day.  She is also the “Last of the Class,” meaning she is the only operational LST in existence.  Tours are led by dedicated and learned crew members, some who served on LSTs.  The LST 325 occasionally leaves port for cruises on other waterways, and is scheduled to leave port October 17^th for Cape Girardeau Missouri, then to Vicksburg Mississippi.

Doors on the front of the ship open to allow cargo to be loaded or unloaded.

This cargo bay could hold 20 Sherman Tanks

Crews Quarters

Officers mess hall