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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LCI(L)-735


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Whiskey - Tango - Lima
 NWTL
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
LCI-351 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large):
  • Laid down, 7 January 1944, at Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR.
  • Launched, 8 February 1944
  • Commissioned USS LCI(L)-735, 18 February 1944, LT. R. W. Frazier USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LCI(L)-735 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LCI Flotilla Thirteen, CDR. M. B. Brown USN (33);
     LCI Group Thirty-Seven, LCDR. P. W. Howard;
     LCI Division Seventy-Four and participated in the following campaign;

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944

  • Following World War II USS LCI(L)-735 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    25 September to 16 December 194525 September to 16 December 1945

  • Decommissioned, date unknown
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS LCI(L)-735 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Sold, 12 December 1946 to National Metal & Steel Corporation of Terminal Island, CA. engines and machinery removed
  • Sold to W.S. Hume of Cabrillo Beach for use as a fishing barge, moored off Dana Point CA. in April of 1948
  • Final Disposition, Dragged anchor during a storm, 28 April 1944, coming to rest on the rocky shore, considered a total loss
  • Pulled off the shore by tugs and while under tow towards San Pedro/Long Beach harbor, determined to be a menace to navigation and was sunk by the USCGC CG-83337 about 7 miles south of the San Pedro/Long Beach breakwater
    Specifications:
    Displacement 236 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
    Complement
    4 officers
    24 enlisted
    Troop Capacity
    6 officers
    182 enlisted
    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 knots; and 110 tons of fuel
    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
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 860 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 Source
    LCI(L)-735 477k Launching of LCI(L)-735, 8 February 1944, at Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR. Dave Sangster for his father James P. Sangster QM1 LCI(L)-735
    LCI(L)-735 449k USS LCI(L)-735 commissioning day crew photo taken at Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR., 18 February 1944. Second from the bottom on the ladder is Ensign Forrest H. Sprowl, USNR. (1919-1988), father-in-law of photo contributor Doug Diehl. LT. Doug Diehl, CEC, USNR
    LCI(L)-735 335k USS LCI(L)-735 underway in the Malakal Channel in the Palawan Islands after the conclusion of the Western Caroline Islands operation. Note all the mortar ammunition boxes and the mortar covered with a tarp. Dave Sangster for his father James P. Sangster QM1 LCI(L)-735
    LCI(L)-735 307k USS LCI(L)-735 mortar crew practice firing with phosphorus shells. The mortar team and the helm coordinated to set a series of craters on the beach for the marines to have holes to jump into after disembarking. The ship speed and changes in the inclination were made to create the pattern. In the photos, the foremast is tilted to starboard to open the area up above the mortar. The ship was assigned a specific uninhabited rock island to hit and runs were made at it at invasion speed. On one occasion, a mortar round fell on the floor of the troop well. That caused some panic, but the round would not have been expected to go off. Dave Sangster for his father James P. Sangster QM1 LCI(L)-735
    LCI(L)-735 373k
    LCI(L)-735 275k
    The history for USS LCI(L)-735 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
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Frazier, R. W., USNR14 February 1944 - ?
    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
    California Wreck Divers - Ace 1
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) Photo Index
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    This page is created by David Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 30 June 2017