A BRIEF HISTORY OF LCS(L)(3) 46

by

Lt.(jg) W. P. McCarthy, Commanding Officer

 

 

          The U.S.S. LCS(L)(3) 46 was commissioned in Portland, Oregon at Commercial Iron Works on 9 November 1944. Lieutenant (then Lieutenant (jg) William P. MC CARTHY (D) USNR of 1724 E. 54th Street, Chicago, Illinois was given command of the ship after a brief ceremony, by Captain L. D. WHITGROVE. The following officers reported aboard for duty:

 

Ensign Wilhelm M. BECKERT (D) USNR

Executive Officer

Home address: 801 N. Chestnut St., Lansing, Michigan.

 

Ensign Howard D. COX, U.S. Navy

Engineering officer

Home address: 17 Main St., Gloucester, Mass.

 

Ensign Charles W. DIELY (D) USNR

Gunnery Officer

Home address: 438 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, New York.

 

Ensign Alan K. STOUT (D) USNR          

Communications Officer                                      

Home address: 115 Atkins Ave., Shreveport, La.

 

Ensign Walter H. MC BRIDE, JR. (D) USNR

First Lieutenant

Home address: 40.3 Highland Ave., Elgin, Ill.

 

We left for San Diego, California on 30 November 1944 after completing fitting out the ship and also after being tied up in quarantine for fifteen days. After an uneventful trip we arrived in San Diego on 5 December 1944.

 

The remainder of the month of December was devoted to training, inspections and general shakedown exercises according to the program established by the Amphibious Training Base of Coronado, California.  On 5 December Ensign Alan K. Stout, USNR, the Communications Officer, was transferred to the U.S. Naval Hospital, San Diego, California.  On 21 December Ensign John M. Austin (D) USNR of 6 Farman Street, Warsaw, New York, reported aboard to take over the duties of Communications Officer.

 

The first part of January, the crew was busy working on the ship during our availability.  Finally on 15 January 1945 we sailed for Pearl Harbor in company with LCSs 45, 47, 59, 60, 79 and 80, arriving at our destination on 24 January.

 

 The entire month of February 1945 was spent at Pearl Harbor at which time we all had a considerable amount of training.

 

          On 1 March we left Pearl Harbor acting as an escort for a flotilla of 36 LCTs.  After a brief stop at Majuro Atoll we arrived at Eniwetok Harbor on 25 March.  This was as far as our escort service was needed.  On 30 March the 46 left Eniwetok in company with LCSs 45, 47, 58, 59, 60, 79 and 80, with orders to report to the Commander of the Seventh Fleet at Leyte, Philippine Islands.  We were delayed at Kossol Passage, Palau Islands, from 6 April until 14 April to await an escort.  We finally arrived at San Pedro Bay, Leyte, P.I. on 17 April.  During the next few weeks we participated in some anti-aircraft practice under the direction of our Group Commander.

 

          On 4 May we left Leyte in a task unit for Morotai, Netherlands East Indies.  We arrived at our destination on 7 May and started training for our part in the invasion of Borneo in the Brunei Bay area by Australian troops.

 

On 2 June we departed from Morotai as part of the advanced echelon, containing minesweepers, hydrographic ships and small support craft such as ourselves.  We arrived in Brunei Bay on 7 June (Zebra Minus Three Day).  On 8 June we were assigned to work with the hydrographic survey unit, giving their small boat fire support as they went in to the area known as Green Beach.  No opposition was encountered.  That night we were assigned as one of the picket ships to protect the disabled AM 294 minesweeper, which sank at 2330.  On 9 June at 0900 we received orders from our hydrographic unit to support small boats going in to make a survey of beaches off Sapo Point.  We fired at possible enemy emplacements, destroying one grass house. No resistance was encountered. 

 

   We proceeded in the channel to Muara Harbor with small boats marking the channel up to the town of Brooketon.  The LCI(G) 23 went aground in the narrow channel and we were assigned to stay with her for protection.  At 2330 she managed to get off the mud bank and we went farther out to safer waters for the remainder of the night.  On 10 June we started our first rocket run at 0805.  We made our second run at 0903, and at 0915 the landing party hit the area known as Red Beach.  At 1255 we were assigned by our Task Unit Commander to escort the landing party up the Muara Channel to Yellow Beach in the vicinity of Brooketon.  We remained in this area as fire support ship for two days. 

 

During the next few days until 17 June we acted as picket ship to protect the larger ships at anchor in Victoria Harbor.  On 17 June we left the Brunei Bay area for the Lutong-Miri area.  We worked with minesweepers for two days, destroying eighteen mines.  On 20 June at 0911 we made a rocket run into the beach on the edge of the Lutong-Miri airfield with the landing party boats following us in.  When in the proximity of 400 yards away from the beach we ceased firing and let the small boats go by us to land the army.  The landing was highly successful after meeting only small arms resistance.  We returned to Brunei Bay on 22 June and remained there for the rest of the month. 

 

On 1 July we left the Borneo area for Subic Bay, Luzon, P.I. in convoy with Commander LCS Flotilla One in LCI(L) 778.  We arrived in Subic on 5 July.  On 16 July we had the pleasure of going to Manila for liberty and recreation, but were disappointed, as the town was a mass of debris.  We returned to Subic on 18 July.  On 26 July we left for San Fernando Bay, Luzon, P.I. and arrived there the next day.  For the rest of the month and until 17 August we were training with Attack Troop Transports for making assault landings.  We were ordered back to Subic Bay after the end of hostilities.  On 30 August we left Subic for Okinawa.

 

On the trip from Subic our unit ran into a typhoon, and was forced to retire to the westward of Luzon.  This delayed our arrival at Okinawa so that the original landings in Korea were missed, but our unit did arrive at Inchon (Jinsen), Korea on 12 September.

 

Since numerous drifting mines were being sighted in the Yellow Sea, the Close Support Group, of which the 46 was a member, was directed to search the Yellow Sea and sink or destroy all mines sighted.  In the four-day period from 16 to 20 September a total of four mines was destroyed by the 46.  On 26 September we left Inchon for Tangku, port of Tientsin, North China, where we arrived on 28 September.  The 1^st Marine Division Reinforced arrived in Transport Squadron 17 on the morning of 29 September, and the LCI(L) 778 led the occupational troops up the Hai Ho River to Tangku where they were disembarked.  We remained there as a fire support ship.  

 

On 8 October we were released from duty at Tangku and proceeded to Chefoo where we were told that the landings had been postponed and that we were to return to Inchon, where we arrived on the 11^th.

 

On the 16^th of October Commander LCS(L) Flotilla One left Inchon with the LCI(L) 778 and the LCSs 27, 28, 29, 44 and 46, and established an anti-smuggling patrol off Mokpo, Korea.  The patrol lasted four days, and on the third day the LCSs 44 and 46 stopped two Korean motor craft and found 749,000 yen, a considerable amount of tobacco, silks, linen and miscellaneous merchandise, all contraband.  This contraband was confiscated, and on return to Inchon, turned over to the military government personnel for disposition.  We arrived in Inchon on 21 October. 

 

On 30 October, with Capt. Parker, U.S. Navy, aboard as a passenger, we started for Chinkai, Korea, in company with the LSM 5.  On 1 November we intercepted a distress call from the U.S.S. Bridge.  We went alongside the Bridge with LSM 5 and LCS 42 and connected our various pumps into the flooded compartments of the sinking ship.  We managed to raise the ship at least two feet and started to tow her into port.  At 2130 the U.S.S. Bridge dropped her anchor in the outer harbor of Fusan, Korea.  We stayed moored alongside and continued pumping.  The next day we proceeded into the inner harbor where the Bridge had gone aground.  After a change of tide we managed to get the Bridge alongside the dock at Fusan with the help of a tug.  We stayed tied up continuing our pumping until relieved by a salvage tug.  For our work in this salvage operation the ship received a “WELL DONE” from Admiral Kinkaid.  It was with pleasure that this command sent a commendatory letter to the Bureau of Naval Personnel for the splendid work done by officers Lt.(jg) Howard D. Cox and Ensign Walter H. McBride, during the salvage work. 

 

On 4 November we left Fusan for Chinkai, Korea, arriving there at 1600.  On 5 November we proceeded further up the Chinkai Channel to Masan where we inspected and turned over thirty two captured Japanese boats to the army base.  Returning to Chinkai that same night and staying there the next day, we left for Inchon, Korea on the 7^th of November with the LCSs 8 and 48.

 

We arrived in Inchon on 9 November and left on 15 November with the LCS 42 for Taku, China, arriving there on 17 November.  After acting as radio guard ship moored to the dock at Tangku, China for one day, we proceeded up the river for Tientsin for liberty.  We left the Tangka-Tientsin area to return to Korea on 24 November.  We arrived at our destination on 26 November and were immediately directed to proceed to Tsingtao, China with the LCS 47 on 28 November.  After arriving at our port on 30 November we reported for duty and were given a dock space in the inner harbor.

 

          On 11 December we left Tsingtao, China for Pearl Harbor, T.H. in company with LCS Flotilla One.  We arrived at Saipan on 21 December and left for Eniwetok, our next port of call enroute to Pearl Harbor, on 27 December.  We arrived at Eniwetok on 1 January 1946.

 

          LCS 46 was decommissioned on 28 October 1946, stricken from the Navy list on 23 June 1947, and sold.