History
United Kingdom
Name	LST-402
Ordered	as a Type S3-M-K2 hull, MCE hull 922[1]
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Yard number	2174[1]
Laid down	21 August 1942
Launched	9 October 1942
Commissioned	9 December 1942
Decommissioned	24 September 1946
Reclassified	LSE-53
Identification	Hull symbol: LST-402 Hull symbol: LSE-53
Fate	Returned to USN custody, 24 September 1946
United States
Name	LSE-53
Acquired	24 September 1946
Stricken	10 June 1947
Fate	Sold for scrap
General characteristics [2]
Class and type	LST-1-class tank landing ship
Displacement	4,080 long tons (4,145 t) full load 2,160 long tons (2,190 t) landing
Length	328 ft (100 m) oa
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	Full load: 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward; 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft Landing at 2,160 t: 3 ft 11 in (1.19 m) forward; 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) aft
Installed power	2 × 900 hp (670 kW) Electro-Motive Diesel 12-567A diesel engines 1,700 shp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion	1 × Falk main reduction gears 2 × Propellers
Speed	12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range	24,000 nmi (44,000 km; 28,000 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) while displacing 3,960 long tons (4,024 t)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 or 6 x LCVPs
Capacity	2,100 tons oceangoing maximum 350 tons main deckload
Troops	163
Complement	117
Armament	Varied, ultimate armament 1 × QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun 6 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannon 4 × Fast Aerial Mine (FAM) mounts
Service record
Part of:	1st flotilla Mediterranean
Operations:	Invasion of Sicily Salerno landings Anzio landing Normandy landings

HMS LST-402/LSE-53 was a United States Navy LST-1-class tank landing ship that was transferred to the Royal Navy during World War II. As with many of her class, the ship was never named. Instead, she was referred to by her hull designation.

LST-402 was laid down on 21 August 1942, under Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 922, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; launched 9 October 1942; then transferred to the United Kingdom and commissioned on 9 December 1942.^[3]

LST-402 was active in the Mediterranean during the Invasion of Sicily, the Salerno landings, and the Anzio landing. She later took part in the Normandy landings in the English Channel.^[2]

LST-402 was converted to LSE-53 for the 65th Maintenance Mobile Unit at the Wallsend-on-Tyne slipway.^[2]

In the summer of 1945, she was assigned to service in the Far East.^[2]

LST-402 saw no active service in the United States Navy. The tank landing ship was decommissioned and returned to United States Navy custody on 24 September 1946, and struck from the Navy list on 10 June 1947. She was subsequently sold for scrap, and dismantled in Gibraltar.^[3][2]

• List of United States Navy LSTs

Citations

• Photo gallery of LST-402 at NavSource Naval History