USS LCI(L)-339
| Career (U.S.) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS LCI(L)-339 |
| Builder: |
Brown Shipbuilding Company Houston, Texas |
| Commissioned: | 30 December 1942 |
| Struck: | 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: | 4 × 20 mm AA guns 2 × .50" machine guns |
| 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 an enemy 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.