Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Hunting (E-AG-398)
ex
 USS LSM-398 (1945 - 1954)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 16 December 1944, at Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, S.C.
  • Launched, 6 January 1945
  • Commissioned USS LSM-398, 6 August 1945, LT. Louis L. Walters, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LSM-398 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LSM Flotilla Fourteen, LCDR. W. R. McCaleb;
     LSM Group Forty-Two;
     LSM Division Eighty-Three
  • Converted to a Sonar Research Ship, 1 October 1954
  • Named and Redesignated Hunting (E-AG-398), 13 June 1957
  • Decommissioned, 23 November 1962
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 30 July 1963, to Commercial Manufacturing Corp. Kansas City, MO., scrapped between 1980 and 1989
    Specifications:
    Displacement 520 t.(light), 743 t. (landing) 1,095 t.(fully loaded)
    Length 203' 6" (ovl)
    Beam 34' 6"
    Draft
    light, 3' 6" forward, 7' 8" aft
    fully loaded, 6' 4" forward, 8' 3" aft
    Speed 13.2 kts. (max.), (928 tons displacement)
    Complement
    5 officers
    54 enlisted
    Armament
    one twin bow mounted 40mm gun
    four single 20mm gun mounts
    Vehicle/Boat Capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVT's, or 9 DUKW's
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 1,225 Bbls
    Troop Accommodations
    2 officers
    46 enlisted
    Armor 10-lb. STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning station
    Endurance 4,900 miles @ 12kts.(928 tons displacement)
    Propulsion
    two General Motors (model GM 16-278A, reversible with hydraulic clutch) Diesel engines, direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm
    Ship's Service Generators
     two Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
     one Diesel-drive 20Kw 120V D.C.
    twin propellers, 2,800shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS LSM-398
    LSM-396 88k LSM-308, and LSM-396 at the fitting out piers at US Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C. Other ships in this photo include LSM-309, LSM 389, LSM-390, LSM-391, LSM-392, LSM-393, LSM-394, LSM-395, LSM-397, LSM-398, Ray K. Edwards (APD-96), Arthur L. Bristol (APD-97), Truxtun (APD-98) and Upham (APD-99).
    US Navy Yard Charleston photo # 132-46, dated 10 January 1945.     		USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-398
    101439806    		 219k USS LSM-398 beached at Jeffersonville Bridge and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN., date unknown. Bill Glass
    LST-261
    1016026102    		 289k USS LST-261 moored along with USS LSM-398 and USS LCI(L)-47 and two unidentified PT Boats at Jeffersonville Bridge and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN., date unknown. Notice the cut down masts to facility passing under bridge that span the river. Bill Glass
    LST-261
    1016026103    		 388k
    LST-261 85k USS LSM-398 moored along with USS LST-261 and USS LCI(L)-47 at Jeffersonville Bridge and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN. Notice the cut down masts to facility passing under bridge that span the river, date unknown. Tommy Trampp
    LSM-398 57k USS LSM-398 beached, while off loading troops during Exercise "Seminole," near Panama City, FL., circa 1947.
    US Navy photo # NH 91270 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-398
    101439805    		 251k U.S. Army Engineers disembarking from USS LSM-398 at Greenland in October 1952.
    TimeLife_image 794347 For personal non-commercial use only.    		 David Upton
    LSM-398 98k USS LSM-398 underway, 29 February 1956, location unknown. Note: in this photo she is in her EAG configuration but still carried on Navy roles as an LSM in 1956. Bill Brinkley and the USS LSM-LSMR Association
    LSM-398 93k USS LSM-398 underway, date and location unknown.
    A Ted Stone photo.    		 Bill Brinkley and the USS LSM-LSMR Association
    USS Hunting (E-AG-398)
    LSM-398 47k USS Hunting (E-AG-398) was converted from USS LSM-398 in 1954 as an experimental ship for testing advance sonar equipment for the Naval Research Laboratory. During her conversion Hunting had an internal well (30' X 12') installed for handling scientific equipment through the center of the ship, a unique feature for US research vessels at the time. Her career unfortunately was plagued by mechanical problems leading to her decommissioning in 1962.
    US Navy photo.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    USS LSM-398 / E-AG-398 Hunting
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Walters, Louis L. USNR6 August 1945 - April 1946LSM-398
    02LTjg. McBride, John T. USNRApril 1946 - July 1946LSM-398
    03LT. Mercer, James Wilson, USNJuly 1946 - November 1947LSM-398
    04LT. Moss, Richard Norman, USNNovember 1947 - January 1950LSM-398
    05LT. Roohan Jr., James Francis, USNJanuary 1950 - June 1951LSM-398
    06LT. Cortez Jr., Ezekiel Casmirio, USNRJune 1951 - May 1952LSM-398
    07LT. Edwards Jr., John Arthur USNMay 1952LSM-398
    08LT. Thiele, Karl Revere, USN (USNA 1948-B)1955 - 1956LSM-398
    09LT. Dickins, Richard Amos, USN1956 - 16 April 1958LSM-398/Hunting (E-AG-398)
    10LT. Williams, Ralph Tabor, USN16 April 1958 - 18 June 1959Hunting (E-AG-398)
    11LT. Cheney, Donald Arthur, USN June 1959 - 21 December 1960Hunting (E-AG-398)
    12LT. Creighton Jr., Perry Franklin, USN21 December 1960 - 23 November 1962Hunting (E-AG-398)
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Landing Ship Medium (LSM) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 4 January 2025