Comments by "Dave Sisson" (@Dave_Sisson) on "USS Tacoma - Guide 235" video.

Those things were incredibly versatile. After the war Australia was short of ships, but they were keen to assert their claim on part of Antarctica and nearby islands. The only spare cargo ship their government had lying around was an LST. So in 1947 it got a quick renovation, was painted bright yellow and was sent off to establish a base on Heard Island. The ship was not designed for the huge seas of the Southern Ocean, but despite a multitude of creaks and bangs, LST 3501 managed to get to the Heard Island and off load the expeditioners and materials to build a base. It did a few more similar voyages but the beating it received in the mountainous seas became too much for it, as it eventually broke down and had to be towed back to Australia where it was later scrapped. Not a bad performance for a ship designed for single use in calm waters.
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@matthewrobinson4323 Personally I have trouble with the anthropomorphisation of things that are not alive, especially assigning them genders. But if we assume ships are actually living creatures, just yesterday I was chatting to a nice little frigate and it assured me that it was not a girl.
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