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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LCI(R)-338
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USS LCI(L)-338 (1942 - 1945)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Tango - Bravo
NJTB

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - Navy Unit Commendation - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (9) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
Personnel Awards

Purple Heart (2 KIA—Corregidor Island, Manila Bay, Philippines, 16 February 1945) - Philip L. Michel, SC(B)1/c(T), 611-10-22 - John R. Rauch, MoMM2/c(T), 645-66-91

LCI-1 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large):

Laid down, 22 September 1942, at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX.

Launched, 24 October 1942

Commissioned USS LCI(L)-338, 26 November 1942

During World War II USS LCI(L)-338 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Eastern New Guinea operation Lae occupation, 4 to 6 September 1943 Finschhafen occupation, 22 September 1943 Saidor occupation, 2 to 3 January 1944	Luzon operation Mindoro Landings, 12 to 18 December 1944 Lingayen Gulf landing, 4 to 18 January 1945
Bismarck Archipelago operation Cape Gloucester, New Britain, 26 to 27 December 1943	Manila Bay-Bicol operations Zambales-Subic Bay, 29 to 31 January 1945 Mariveles-Corregidor, 14 to 28 February 1945
Hollandia operation, 21 to 25 April 1944	Consolidation of the Southern Philippines Mindanao Island landings, 10 and 16 March 1945, 17 to 23 April 1945
Western New Guinea operation Toem-Wakde-Sarmi area operation, 17 May 1944 Biak Island operation, 27 to 28 May 1944 Noemfoor Island operation, 27 July 1944	Borneo operation Balikpapan operation, 26 June to 7 July 1945
Leyte operation Leyte landings, 12 October to 29 November 1944 Ormoc Bay landing, 7 to 8 December 1944

USS LCI(L)-338 was redesignated Landing Ship Infantry (Rocket) LCI(R)-338, 10 July 1945

Following World War II USS LCI(R)-338 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following period:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
29 September to 5 October 1945	29 September to 14 December 1945

Decommissioned, 16 April 1946

Struck from the Naval Register in 1946

USS LCI(L)-338 earned nine battle stars in addition to the Navy Unit Commendation for during World War II

Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 28 April 1948, for disposal

Registered in 1949 as fishing boat Betty Cole

Final Disposition, fate unknown

Specifications:
Displacement 216 t.(light), 234 t.(landing); 389 t.(loaded)
Length 158' 5 1/2"
Beam 23' 3"
Draft Light 3'1½" mean, Landing, 2' 8" forward, 4' 10"aft, Loaded, 5' 4" forward 5' 11" aft

Speed

16 kts (max.)

14 kts maximum continuous

LCI(L) Complement

3 Officers

21 Enlisted

LCI(R) Complement

3 Officers

31 Enlisted

LCI(L) Troop Capacity

6 Officers

182 Enlisted

LCI(L) Cargo Capacity 75 tons

Armor 2" plastic splinter protection on gun turrets, conning tower and pilot house

Endurance 4,000 miles at 12 kts, loaded, 500 miles at 15 kts; and 110 tons of fuel

LCI(L) Armament

four single 20mm guns one forward, one amidship, two aft

two .50 cal machine guns

LCI(R) Armament

one 40mm bow mounted gun mount

four 20mm guns

two .50 cal machine guns

six 5" rocket launchers

Fuel Capacity

Diesel 935 Bbls

lube oil 200 gal

Propulsion

two sets of 4 General Motors 6051 series 71 Diesel engines, 4 per shaft

single General Motors Main reduction gears

two Diesel-drive 30Kw 120V D.C. Ship's Service Generators

twin variable pitch propellers, 2,320shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
	70k	"Between two sisters, the USS LCI 226 lies tied up to a dock at Oro Bay on coast of New Guinea between USS LCI(L)-344, outboard, and USS LCI(L)-338, inboard. U.S. troops who took part in the capture of Salamaua crowd the upper deck." Photo caption from March 27, 1944 issue of "Life" magazine. Story by John Hersey. The story covered the history of LCI(L) 226 from commissioning on 14 December 1942 to the landings at Cape Gloucester, New Britain on 26 December 1943. Life Time photo, by O. Landon Miles	Ardie Hunt for his father Arden L. Hunt SM3/c USS LCI(R)-226, 20 July 1944 to 13 April 1945).
1015033807	216k	USS LCI 338 and USS LCI(L)-339 load troops, date and location unknown.	Tom Callahan
	302k	One of USS LCI(R)-338's Signalmen atop the conning tower, date and location unknown.	Jerry Gilmartin MMC(SW) USN Ret. Secretary AFMM LCI 713, Curator PT-658 Save the PT Boat Inc, courtesy Dennis Blocker LCI National Association Historian
	231k	USS LCI(R)-338 preparing to fire rockets into the beach during the operations at Leyte in the Philippines circa October-December 1944.	Jerry Gilmartin MMC(SW) USN Ret. Secretary AFMM LCI 713, Curator PT-658 Save the PT Boat Inc, courtesy Dennis Blocker LCI National Association Historian
	135k
	763k	From left to right: USS LCI(L)-340 USS LCI(L)-338 USS LCI(L)-341 USS LCI(L)-71 USS LCI(L)-337 beached in the Philippine Islands after a day of invasion practice, date and location unknown.	Harry W. Ritzel CMOMM USS LCI(L)-341
	77k	USS LCI(L)-338 firing a fusillade of rockets over a smoke screen into the Japanese defenses around Balikpapan, Borneo, in preparation for a landing by Australian forces on D-Day 1 July 1945. INP News Service Photo.	Hyperwar, U.S. Navy in World War II
	65k	USS LCI(L)-338 firing rockets at the beach preceding the Balikpapan, Borneo landing on 1 July 1945. The beach was bombarded with 3,000 tons of bombs, 38,000 shells, 114,000 automatic weapon rounds, and 10,000 rockets. There were dead Japanese but no beach opposition. This was the last major amphibious landing of World War II and the 56th landing of the Seventh Amphibious Force. A US National Archives photo from the USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association 2007 Calendar, courtesy of Bill Ringle.	Ardie Hunt