USS LCI(L)-339
History
United States
Name USS LCI(L)-339
Builder
Commissioned 30 December 1942
Stricken Unknown
Fate Lost in action on Red Beach during landing at Lae [ 1]
General characteristics
Class and type LCI(L)-351 -class large landing craft
Displacement 216 t.(light), 234 t.(landing), 389 t.(loaded)
Length 158 ft 5.5 in (48.298 m)
Beam 23 ft 3 in (7.09 m)
Draft
Light, 3 ft 1.5 in (0.953 m) mean
Landing, 2 ft 8 in (0.81 m) fwd, 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m) aft
Loaded, 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) fwd, 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) aft
Propulsion 2 sets of 4 General Motors diesels , 4 per shaft , BHP 1,600, twin variable pitch propellers
Speed
16 knots (30 km/h) (max.)
14 knots (26 km/h) maximum continuous
Endurance 4,000 miles at 12 knots , loaded, 500 miles at 15 knots; and 110 tons of fuel
Capacity 75 tons cargo
Troops 6 Officers, 182 Enlisted
Complement 3 officers, 21 enlisted
Armament
Armor 2" plastic splinter protection on gun turrets, conning tower , and pilot house
USS LCI(L)-339 was an amphibious assault ship (Landing Craft Infantry – Large), commissioned in 1942 by the United States Coast Guard . She participated in the Australian Army 's 9th Division 's landing at Lae on 4 September 1943, where she was abandoned after being hit during a Japanese air attack. The bomb exploded on the deck forward of the bridge, killing Lieutenant Colonel R. E. Wall, the commander of the 2/23rd Battalion and 6 others, and wounding 28. Her hulk was beached, until sometime later, when her hull was towed off the beach and cast adrift, becoming a wreck on a nearby reef.
References
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in September 1943
Shipwrecks
3 Sep: I-25
4 Sep: USS LCI(L)-339
5 Sep: USS YP-279
7 Sep: Maloja , Velella
8 Sep: Calitea II , Etna , U-983 , Vesuvio
9 Sep: Antonio Bajamonti , Cattaro , Conte Verde , Ermanno Carlotto , FR 22 , FR 118 , Lepanto , USS Nauset , Nicolò Zeno , Roma , Taranto
10 Sep: HMS Abdiel , Argo , Piero Foscari
11 Sep: Conte di Savoia , Giuseppe La Masa , Pegaso , USS Rowan
12 Sep: Ametista , USS Navajo , U-617
13 Sep: Terra Nova
14 Sep: Giuseppe Sirtori , Katsonis , Newfoundland
15 Sep: Ro-101
16 Sep: Heisternest
18 Sep: Francesco Rismondo
19 Sep: Kansai Maru , U-341
20 Sep: HMCS St. Croix , U-338 , U-346
21 Sep: HMS Polyanthus
22 Sep: U-229
23 Sep: Gaetano Donizetti
24 Sep: Francesco Stocco
25 Sep: Giuseppe Sirtori , USS Skill
26 Sep: HMS Intrepid , Vasilissa Olga
27 Sep: Ardena , Enrico Cosenz , U-161 , U-221
28 Sep: USS Cisco
30 Sep: Sanct Svithun
Unknown date: HMS Gallant , USS Grayling , I-20 , I-182 , USS LCT-209 , K-1 , USS Pompano , Sebastiano Caboto , U-669
Other incidents