USS LST-574 was a LST-542-classtank landing ship in the United States Navy during World War II. Commissioned in 1944, she participated in some of the last amphibious landings of the war. Following World War II, she served in China and the occupation of Japan before being decommissioned in 1946. She was transferred to the Republic of China Navy in 1949 as ROCS Chung Yung (LST-210) and participated in the final phases of the Chinese Civil War. She was decommissioned again in 1997 and sunk as an artificial reef in 2002.
During World War II, LST-574 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater. She participated in the Leyte landings from 5 to 18 November 1944. In 1945, she took part in the Lingayen Gulf landings from 4 to 18 January and Mindanao Island landing from 10 to 11 March. She was assigned to China and the occupation of Japan from 2 September 1945 to 25 May 1946.[1]
She was decommissioned on 17 June 1946 and struck from the Naval Register on 3 July 1946. She was sold to the Philippines for commercial service on 5 November 1947 but was later resold to the Republic of China in March 1949 and renamed Chung Yung (LST-210).[1]
Service in the Republic of China Navy
Chung Yung participated in the Battle of Guningtou in October 1949, where she used her significant firepower (2x2 40mm guns, 6x1 40mm guns, 8x1 20mm guns) to destroy beached PLA landing craft. The ship was scheduled to leave a day before the battle after offloading its cargo, but she remained, officially due to "bad weather". The real reason for why the ship remained in the area was that it was running a side business of smuggling brown sugar from Taiwan island in exchange for peanut oil. However, there was not enough peanut oil on the whole island for the deal, so the ship was forced to stay for another day while waiting for more peanut oil to be produced, making it the accidental hero of the battle.[2]
Chung Yung was decommissioned on 16 October 1997 and sunk as an artificial reef on 10 November 2002 off Pingtung County.[citation needed]
In 2003, underwater observations by Wu Musheng and others on 18 September and 3 December found that the ship was completely seated on the seabed. There were cement block reefs on the bow and stern, and the electric pole reefs in the cabin were also intact and undamaged. No discarded fishing nets were found in the reef. They noticed large numbers of marine life living around the reef.[3]
There are many medium and large benthic fishes gathered in the reef area, and migratory fish schools have also been found. Some local fishermen formed a "Warship Reef Area Protection Patrol Team" to protect the integrity of the reef and prevent illegal fishing practices, achieving good results and receiving the support of other fishermen.[3]
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