Landing Ship, Tank. The LST was essentially the ship’s equivalent of an over-sized cargo plane. Primarily used in amphibious operations, it was used to run aground large quantities of vehicles, soldiers and supplies. Cynics nicknamed them “Large, Slow Targets,” though in reality they fared pretty well—losing less than one in 40 to battle and less than one in 85 to typhoons, through the course of the entire war.