Caller question US Army Vessel Lt. Col. John U.D Page,

[Bombardier]

A question received via email

I served aboard the Page 1 960/61 but can't seem to find information about the ship prior to Veitnam where can I find any info as to her n this ship was put in t o service etc.

Thanks for your question Earl


John did not provide any more information about the ship he refers to so I assuming he means a US ship called
US Army Vessel Lt. Col. John U.D. Page

 

[Bombardier]

Not everybody is willing or capable of registering to simply ask a general question so I will create a prefix for these kind of posts 'Caller question' and title them with a descriptive text. I get many of these over the year and although I can answer most, it would be good to post them all in order that it may generate a new discussion. I will also create a tag of that name. Have a good day good people of MI.Net

 

[Bombardier]

I have completely misread the email and on further inspection it is a question regarding US Army Vessel Lt. Col. John U.D. Page
http://grambo.us/myers/page.htm

My apologies people

Title & tags edited

 

[BravoZulu]

@Bombardier I think it's a great idea to post these questions so that our members can have a go at addressing the requests, I think it's too much of an impost on your time to have to deal with them yourself old mate.

 

[Bombardier]

Thanks buddy as I said most of them I can deal with because they are usually about the site in general however when the question is military based I will throw the question open to you all .

 

[BravoZulu]

USAV John U D Page was an US Army Beach Discharge Vessel, "The Page entered service in 1958, and self deployed across both the Atlantic and the Pacific. She spent much of the Vietnam war in those waters, facilitating the delivery of cargo both from RO/RO ships and conventional cargo ships to unimproved ports. The Page was the only vessel of the class built, and she served until 1985."

"Many theaters, such as Vietnam, had only the most primitive port facilities, and often not even that. Another method of delivering the vehicles from ship to shore would be needed. The Army’s small LCM and LCUbeaching craft would simply unable to unload vehicles fast enough.

Accordingly, the Army (the lead DoD agency for Over The Shore Logistics) developed the Beach Discharge Lighter. Named the US Army Vessel John U.D. Page, the BDL was 338 feet long and displaced about 2000 tons. A flat, open vehicle deck supported a thin center island for the ships bridge and stack. A flat open area aft was designed to mate with the stern ramp of USNS Comet. A bow ramp was designed to discharge vehicles over a beach. Cyclodial propellers* gave the BDL excellent maneuverability, and the ability to turn within her own length."
http://xbradtc2.com/2013/11/04/usav-john-u-d-page/

Also this: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1559-3584.1968.tb05429.x

Also this: It's a booklet called "Progress" US Army Reports, a 1961 publication. https://books.google.com.au/books?i...Q#v=onepage&q=beach discharge lighter&f=false

An excellent YouTube vid is here:

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