USS LST-348

USS LST-348 was a United States Navy LST-1-class tank landing ship that was built and deployed during World War II. The ship was constructed throughout late 1942 and early 1943 before being deployed to the European theater, where it undertook supply operations in support of Allied troops in North Africa and Italy. It was sunk by a German U-boat in February 1944.

LST-348 at Portsmouth, February 1943
History
United States
Name: LST-348
Builder: Norfolk Navy Yard
Laid down: 10 November 1942
Launched: 7 February 1943
Commissioned: 9 February 1943
Honours and
awards:		 2 battle stars (World War II)
Fate: Sunk 20 February 1944
General characteristics [1]
Class and type: LST-1-class tank landing ship
Displacement:
  • 1,625 long tons (1,651 t) light
  • 4,080 long tons (4,145 t) full (sea-going draft with 1675 ton load)
Length: 328 ft 0 in (99.97 m)
Beam: 50 ft (15 m)
Draft:
  • Light:
  • 2 ft 4 in (0.71 m) forward
  • 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) aft
  • Sea-going:
  • 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) forward
  • 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
  • Landing (with 500 ton load):
  • 3 ft 11 in (1.19 m) forward
  • 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) aft
Propulsion: 2 General Motors 12-567 900 hp (671 kW) diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed: 11.6 knots (21.5 km/h; 13.3 mph)
Range: 24,000 nmi (44,000 km) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried:		 2 × LCVPs
Complement: 13 officers, 104 enlisted
Armament:
  • 2 × twin 40 mm gun mounts
  • 4 × single 40 mm gun mounts
  • 12 × single 20 mm gun mounts

Construction

LST-348 was constructed at the Norfolk Naval Yard beginning on November 10, 1942, to be used for convoy operations in the European theater. The ship was launched on February 7, 1943 and commissioned two days later.[2] Under the command of Lieutenant Stephenson Jennings, an officer in the United States Naval Reserve,[3] the ship was assigned to the European theater.[2]

Service history

LST-348 joined the Italian Campaign of World War II by July 1943 deploying supplies and reinforcements throughout North Africa and Italian coastline in support of the Allied invasion of Sicily.[1] In September 1943, the ship supported Operation Avalanche, the landings at Salerno.[4] On January 22, 1944, LST-348 was assigned to support the Anzio beachhead.[1] In late January, the ship was heavily attacked by Axis aircraft while operating around the beachhead, resulting in several near misses. After moving further south, the ship came under heavy bombardment from shore-based artillery before being relieved by LST-377 in early February.[5]

On February 20, 1944, while sailing from Nisida to Anzio,[6] LST-348 was struck on her port side by a torpedo fired from the German U-boat U-410. LST-348 was struck once more on her port side before orders were received to abandon ship. The ship was the ordered to be scuttled starting a large fire on board which would be extinguished once a third and final torpedo would sink the ship. Twenty-four members of the ship's crew perished, while 79 were rescued. Two battle stars were awarded to the ship for its World War II service.[7] Following the ship's sinking, an investigation found that at the time of the attack, LST-348 had not been at the required readiness condition. Her guns had not been manned and only limited lookouts had been stationed. Jennings was subsequently reprimanded for these oversights.[8]

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References

Citations
  1. "USS LST-348". NavSource. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  2. "LST-348". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  3. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Crew list from USS LST-348 (American Landing Ship)". Uboat.net. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  4. Tomblin 2004, pp. 252–253.
  5. Tomblin 2004, pp. 353–354.
  6. Tomblin 2004, p. 356.
  7. Helgason, Guðmundur. "USS LST-348". Uboat.net. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  8. Tomblin 2004, pp. 356–357.

Bibliography
  • Tomblin, Barbara (2004). With Utmost Spirit: Allied Naval Operations in the Mediterranean, 1942–1945. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813123387.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading
  • Rottman, Gordon (2012). Landing Ship, Tank (LST) 1942–2002. Osprey. ISBN 9781782004585.
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