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USS LCI(G)-348
ex
 USS LCI(L)-348 (1943 - 1944)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Whiskey - Foxtrot
 NJWF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Iwo Jima) - Presidential Unit Citation - Navy Unit Commendation
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (6) - World War II Victory Medal
Individual Awards

Navy Cross (LTjg. Alvin E. Rosenbloom, USNR, CO LCI(G)-348)
LCI-1 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large):
  • Laid down, 7 November 1942, at Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, TX.
  • Launched 21 December 1942
  • Commissioned USS LCI(L)-348, 27 January 1943
  • Redesignated Landing Craft Gunboat LCI(G)-348, 15 June 1944
  • During World War II USS LCI(L)-348 / LCI(G)-348 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LCI Flotilla Three CDR. R. Eikel Jr. USNR;
    LCI Group Nine, LCDR. C. J. Starkus USN (Ret);
    LCI Division Eighteen and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Marshall Islands operation
    Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 31 January to 8 February 1944     		Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of Southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 20 June to 16 July 1944     		Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 17 February to 16 March 1945
    Capture and occupation of Tinian, 10 July and 24 to 28 July 1944 Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and capture of Okinawa Gunto, 29 May to 30 June 1945

  • Decommissioned, date unknown
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 June 1946
  • Transferred in 18 March 1948, to the Maritime Commission for disposal
  • USS LCI(L)-348 / LCI(G)-348 earned six battle stars for WWII service in addition to the Presidential Unit Citation for operations at Iwo Jima, 17 February 1945 and the Navy Unit Commendation as a member of LCI(G) Flotilla 3 (31 January to 28 July 1944) for Occupation of Kwajalein and Eniwetok Atolls in the Marshall Islands and Capture and occupation of Saipan, Guam and Tinian in the Marianas
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 246 t.(light), 264 t. (landing), 419 t.(loaded)
    Length 158' 5½"
    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
    4 Officers
    24 Enlisted
    LCI(G) Complement
    5 Officers
    65 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
    five single 20mm guns, one bow mounted, one each port and starboard forward of wheelhouse, one each port and starboard aft of wheelhouse
    on some LCIs two .50 cal machine guns were added
    LCI(G) Armament
    two 40mm AA gun mounts
    four 20mm AA gun mounts
    six .50cal machine guns
    ten MK7 rocket launchers
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 800 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
    LCI(L)-348 93k USS LCI(G)-348 beached with her ramps down, date and location unknown. Bill Brinkley
    LCI(L)-348 138k USS LCI(G)-348 and USS LCI(G)-346 departing USS ABSD-1 at Guam, Marianas Islands. These were initial Central Pacific conversions, recognizable by the square gun tub forward of the bridge. They had two single 40 AA mm guns forward plus three 20 mm in the usual positions atop the superstructure and right aft), six 0.50" Cal. machine guns, and ten Mk 7 rocket launchers. USS LCI(L)-346 was a press boat for the Iwo Jima operation, rushing copy from war correspondents aboard ships to a communication ship that radioed it home.
    US Navy photo. Text from "U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History" by Norman Friedman.    		 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
    LCI(G)-345
    1015034504    		 503k USS LCI(G)-345
    USS LCI(G)-346
    USS LCI(G)-449
    USS LCI(G)-437
    USS LCI(G)-348
    USS LC(FF)-423 alongside USS Seaward (IX-209) and LCT(6)-1314 at anchor in the far distant background at Naval Station Guam in July 1945.
    TimeLife_image 115952714 by J. R. Eyerman. Life Magazine. For personal non-commercial use only.     		David Upton
    LCI(L)-348 78k USS LCI(G)-348 moored, 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
    LCI(L)-348 447k USS LCI(G)-348 crew photos, 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
    LCI(L)-348 87k
    LCI(L)-348 112k USS LCI(G)-348 underway in harbor easing past USS Hughes (DD-410) and an unidentified cruiser, circa October 1945, location unknown.
    Photo by Chester Bradley.    		 John Chiquoine
    The history for USS LCI(L)-348 / LCI(G)-348 is from USS LCI "Landing Craft Infantry", Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1995. (ISBN 1-56311-262-0)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 5 November 2021