USS Sumter (LST-1181)

USS Sumter (LST-1181)
History
United States
NameUSS Sumter
NamesakeSumter, South Carolina
Ordered29 December 1965
BuilderPhiladelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Laid down14 November 1967
Launched13 December 1969
Commissioned20 June 1970
Decommissioned30 September 1993
Stricken23 July 2002
IdentificationLST-1181
FateTransferred to Taiwan through the Security Assistance Program (SAP), 29 September 2000
Badge
Taiwan
NameROCS Chung Ping
Acquired29 September 2000
Commissioned8 May 1997
IdentificationLST-233
StatusIn service
General characteristics as built
Class and typeNewport-class tank landing ship
Displacement
  • 4,793 long tons (4,870 t) light
  • 8,342 long tons (8,476 t) full load
Length
  • 522 ft 4 in (159.2 m) oa
  • 562 ft (171.3 m) over derrick arms
Beam69 ft 6 in (21.2 m)
Draft17 ft 6 in (5.3 m) max
Propulsion
Speed22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) max
Range2,500 nmi (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Troops431 max
Complement213
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 2 × Mk 63 GCFS
  • SPS-10 radar
Armament2 × twin 3-inch/50-caliber guns
Aviation facilitiesHelicopter deck

USS Sumter (LST-1181) was the third of twenty Newport-class tank landing ships in service with the United States Navy, which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). Sumter was constructed by Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was launched in 1969. The ship entered service in 1970, was assigned to the Pacific coast of the United States and deployed to the western Pacific twice during the Vietnam War. In 1973, Sumter was reassigned to the Atlantic coast and took part in operations in along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean Sea. The LST was decommissioned in 1993.

In 1995, Sumter was acquired on loan by the Republic of China Navy (ROCN). The vessel was taken to Newport News Shipbuilding to be refitted before re-commissioning into the ROCN in 1997 as ROCS Chung Ping. The LST was acquired outright in 2000 and remains in active service.