USS York County
1957 De Soto County-class tank landing ship
USS York County (LST-1175) was a De Soto County-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during the late 1950s. The lead ship of her class of seven, she was named after counties in Maine, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
York County was designed under project SCB 119 and laid down on 4 June 1956 at Newport News, Virginia by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company; launched on 5 March 1957; sponsored by Mrs. William C. France; and commissioned on 8 November 1957.
Service history
1957–1959
The new tank landing ship was fitted out and underwent ready-for-sea trials at Port Everglades, Florida and conducted shakedown training out of her home port, Little Creek, Virginia, which she completed on 17 May 1958. She conducted various operations in the Virginia area until 15 July, when all training was cancelled due to the Lebanon Crisis and York County prepared for extended operations. But the Lebanon Crisis lessened, and the ship proceeded to Vieques, Puerto Rico, for amphibious exercises. On 7 August York County returned to her home port and began preparations for a regularly scheduled deployment to the Mediterranean. She arrived at Gibraltar in late September 1958; then visited Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, and Italy. She returned to Little Creek on 25 March 1959.
The public source identifies “USS York County” as 1957 De Soto County-class tank landing ship. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around York, County and Soto.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “USS York County”, the useful work is to connect “1957 De Soto County-class tank landing ship” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3656614. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1175, 1956, 1957 and 1959.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “USS York County”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow USS York County primary sources, USS York County archive and York research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “USS York County” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.