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 LST-338


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Yankee - Mike - Uniform
 NYMU
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 17 July 1942, at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth VA.
  • Launched, 8 November 1942
  • Commissioned USS LST-338, 20 December 1942, LT. Darrell A. Stratton, USN, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-338 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and participated in the following Campaigns:

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Sicilian occupation, 9 to 15 July 1943 Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944
    Salerno landings, 9 to 21 September 1943  
  • Decommissioned, 6 May 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 23 June 1947
  • USS LST-338 earned three battle stars for World War II service
  • Sold to the Southern Trading Co., Philadelphia PA., 3 December 1947, for conversion to merchant service
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement
    1,625 t.(lt)
    4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
    2,366 t. (beaching displacement)
    Length 328' o.a.
    Beam 50'
    Draft
    light 2' 4" fwd, 7' 6" aft
    sea-going 8' 3" fwd, 14' 1" aft
    landing 3' 11" fwd, 9' 10" aft (landing w/500 ton load)
    limiting 11' 2"
    maximum navigation 14' 1"
    Speed 11.6 kts. (trial)
    Endurance 24,000 miles @ 9kts. while displacing 3960 tons
    Complement
    13 officers
    104 enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    16 officers
    147 enlisted
    Boats 2 LCVP
    Cargo Capacity (varied with mission - payloads between 1600 and 1900 tons)
    Typical loads
    One Landing Craft Tank (LCT), tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment and military supplies. A ramp or elevator forward allowed vehicles access to tank deck from main deck
    Additional capacity included sectional pontoons carried on each side of vessel amidships, to either build Rhino Barges or use as causeways. Married to the bow ramp, the causeways would enabled payloads to be delivered ashore from deeper water or where a beachhead would not allow the vessel to be grounded forward after ballasting
    Armament (varied with availability when each vessel was outfitted. Retro-fitting was accomplished throughout WWII. The ultimate armament design for United States vessels was
    2 - Twin 40MM gun mounts w/Mk. 51 directors
    4 - Single 40MM gun mounts
    12 single 20MM gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 4,300 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two General Motors 12-567A, 900hp Diesel engines
    single Falk Main Reduction Gears
    three Diesel-drive 100Kw 230V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    two propellers, 1,700shp
    twin rudders
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    LST-338
    1016033809    		 241k USS LST-338 commissioning crew, 20 December 1942, Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth VA.
    Photo courtesy Gary Zearott    		 Tommy Trampp
    LST-337 39k LST-338 and LST-337 soon after launch at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth VA.
    US Navy photo.    		 Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    LST-337 118k USS LST-337 and USS LST-338 beached at Amphibious Training Base Camp Bradford, VA., circa 1943.
    US Navy photo postcard         		Tommy Trampp
    LST-338 1251k USS LST-338 laying off the Gela beachhead, 10 July 1943, as a group of DUKS prepare to land.
    US Army Signal Corps photo # III SC 180446, by Osborne, from the US Army Signal Corps Collection now in the US National Archives.    		 Dave Kerr
    LST-338 255k USS LST-338 and USS LST-344 beached at Red Beach Gela Sicily, 10 July 1943. USS LST-338 is unloading tanks across a pontoon causeway.
    US Army Signal Corps photo.    		 Raymond Cvetovich, Ph.D.
    Blanco County 913k Sicily Invasion, July 1943 - USS LST-344, (left) and USS LST-338 (right) unloading troops and supplies on the Gela invasion beaches on "D-Day", 10 July 1943. Broached LCVP at right is from USS Barnett (APA-5). Next LCVP to the left is from USS Monrovia (APA-31).
    US Army Signal Corps photo # III SC 180443, by Paris, from the US Army Signal Corps Collection now in the US National Archives.    		 Dave Kerr
    LST-338
    III SC 181044    		 698k USS LST-338 beached at Gela, Sicily, 10 July 1943, unloading vehicles across a causeway. Original caption reads "View of beach, Gela, Sicily, with Landing Ship Tanks unloading along with assault craft of smaller types"
    US National Archives photos # III-SC 18043, Box 181, # III-SC 18044, Box 181 and # III-SC 18045, Box 181 US Army Signal Corps photos now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Dave Kerr
    LST-338
    III SC 181043    		 1386k
    LST-338
    III SC 181045    		 1249k
    LST-338 840k USS LST-338 beached at the Gela beachhead, 10 July 1943, while unloading men and materials.
    US Army Signal Corps photo # III SC 180452, by Osborne, from the US Army Signal Corps Collection now in the US National Archives.    		 Dave Kerr
    Blanco County 947k USS LST-338 and USS LST-344 beached at the Gela beachhead in Sicily, 10 July 1943, while unloading men and materials.
    US Army Signal Corps photo # III SC 180453, by Osborne, from the US Army Signal Corps Collection now in the US National Archives.    		 Dave Kerr
    LST-338
    1016033808    		 257k USS LST-338 unloading vehicles across a pontoon causeway at Salerno, Italy, 9 to 21 September 1943.
    US National Archives Identifier 205578959 Local Identifier 26-G-09-24-43(2). US Coast Guard photo # 92443-2.    		 David Upton
    LST-338
    1016033810    		 43k USS LST-338 unloading at the Normandy beachhead in June 1944
    US Navy photos now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    Photos courtesy Gary Zearott    		 Tommy Trampp
    LST-356
    1016035606    		 32k USS LST-356 and USS LST-338 testing loading/unloading railroad cars, probably at Mayflower Park Southampton, England, date unknown. Dr Andy Russel BA PhD MCIFA
    Archaeology Unit Manager
    Southampton City Council
    Tommy Trampp
    LST-338
    1016033811    		 44k
    LST-338 62k USS LST-338, equipped with Brodie gear, at anchor off NAB Little Creek, VA., circa 1946. Photos by Ens. W.R. Santschi USS LST-509
    USS LST-338
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Stratton, Darrell Arthur, USN20 December 1942 - April 1945
    02LT. Daubenspeck, L. R., USNRApril 1945 - August 1945
    03LT. Catoe Jr., Earl V., USNRAugust 1945 = December 1945
    04LT. Riker, A. S., USNDecember 1945 - 6 May 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    George David Zearott, Jr., Boggs Run, Marshall County, WV - World War II
    The Brodie System - Runway On A Rope
    Brodie System YouTube video
    Brodie Landing System
    The Saga of the Seasick US Army Piper Cubs on the Navy's Smallest Aircraft Carriers
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Home Port
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Tank Landing Ship (LST) 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 5 May 2023