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LT-5 in dry dock for hull repair, Hamilton, Ontario

Built in 1943 at the Jacobson Shipyard in Oyster Bay, New York, the ocean-going LT-5 (Major Elisha K. Henson) saw duty during the Normandy Invasion of WWII ferrying supplies and ammunition across the English Channel. During this mission German fighter planes attacked the convoy she was part of and her gunners shot down one of the planes.

Following the war, the tug - renamed "Nash" - returned to the U.S. and served as a working tug on the Great Lakes for 30 years.

The LT-5, now a National Historic Landmark, is the last known unmodified Large Tug still in operation from the Normandy Invasion. Most were either scrapped or destroyed.

Visitors today can board the LT-5 when it is in port, between May and October, and examine the original brass, mahogany, teak and stainless steel fittings on three decks. The tour includes a look at the crew quarters (11 men during WWII - one U.S. Army signal corpsman, two Navy gunners and eight civilian sailors, possibly Norwegian), engine room and bridge.

SPECS

length - 115 feet width - 28 feet
draft - 14 feet engine type - Enterprise 8 cylinder diesel
fuel capacity - 40,000 gallons fuel consumption - 2.5 gallons per minute
top speed - 11-12 knots (13 mph) prop diameter - 8.5 feet

CURRENT CREW

Captain - Lance Knapp
Engineer - Rocco Longo Engineer - Don Smith
Electrician - Loren Knapp  
Deck - Keith Bateman Deck - Chris Pitcher
Deck - Adam Schremph Deck - Bill Bateman

  Once the Museum acquired the LT-5, it raised $60,000 to cover the costs of necessary dry dock repairs to the hull and other systems in Hamilton, Ontario.

Under the direction of former U.S. Navy salvage and rescue diver Captain Lance Knapp, a volunteer crew worked for 3 years to restore the vessel to fully operational condition.

Now step aboard for a tour of the LT-5's interior...

 

 The LT-5's galley is fitted out in stainless steel and includes large refrigerated units

Below the porthole in one corner are more recent small appliances

 

 Crew quarters are snug but comfortable, and fitted with high quality materials - teak, mahogany, brass - to withstand the rigors of life on the open oceans.

Bunks are at immediate right, bath at far right.

Porthole windows can be secured against inclement weather with hinged steel covers that swing down and clamp in place.

   

 Visible at left are three of the LT-5's eight enormous diesel cylinder heads - note the metal stairway at right for scale

Photo at right shows brass-mounted compass, one of several pieces of working, mid-late 20th century navigational equipment on the ship's bridge - 3 stories above the waterline

 

 

The captain and crew take their ease, during a break in restoration work, on the fantail. Note the size of the LT-5's three-bladed propeller.

 

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