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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

RFS Vire (L9003)
ex
HM LST-347 (1944 - 1946)
USS LST-347 (1943 - 1944)

Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Quebec - Xray
NZQX

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, 10 November 1942, at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA.

Launched, 7 February 1943

Commissioned USS LST-347, 7 February 1943

During World War II USS LST-347 was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and participated in the:

**Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Sicilian occupation, July 1943	Invasion of Normandy, June 1944
Salerno landings, September 1943	.

Decommissioned and transferred to the United Kingdom, 19 December 1944

Royal Navy History
Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-347, 19 December 1944
Underwent refitting at Cardiff, Wales
HM LST-347 operated in the Far East making calls at Singapore, Port Swettenham, Java.
Paid off at Singapore, 23 January 1946

Transferred (leased) to France, at Singapore, 23 January 1948, named RFS Vire (L9003)

Sold outright to France, 21 March 1949

Struck from the Naval Register, 28 April 1949

Final Disposition, scrapped in 1957

USS LST-347 earned three battle stars for World War II service

Specifications: (as reported by Office of Naval Intelligence-1945)
Displacement 1,625 t.(lt), 4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)
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)
Speed 12 kts. (maximum)
Endurance 24,000 miles @ 9kts. while displacing 3960 tons
Complement

9 officers, 120 enlisted
Troop Accommodations

14 officers, 131 enlisted
Boats 6 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
Propulsion two General Motors 12-567, 900hp diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Source
USS LST-347
	1964k	USS LST-358 maneuvering in the harbor at Termini-Imerese, Sicily, 13 September 1943 in support of the Salerno landings. USS LST-347, USS LST-359 and USS LST-350 (broadside view background) are also moored in the harbor. American troops are preparing to board LCI’s to reinforce the 5th Army on the Italian mainland. US National Archives photo # III-SC 182815, Box 187, a US Army Signal Corps. photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Dave Kerr
	1411k	Left to right; USS LST-358 (invasion loading ID number 24) USS LST-347 (invasion loading ID number 23), USS LST-359 (invasion loading ID number 22) and USS LST-350 (invasion loading ID number 25) moored in the harbor at Termini-Imerese, Sicily, 13 September 1943, while loading supplies to reinforce the 5th Army at Salerno. US National Archives photos Box 187, # III-SC 182826, a US Army Signal Corps. photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Dave Kerr
	31k	USS LST-347 beached, date and location unknown.	John Freedlund for his father Harold Freedlund USS LST-347
RFS Vire (L9003)
	79k	Ex-*LST-347* in service as the Republic of France ship *RFS Vire* (LST-347)** beached at either Saigon or Haiphong, French Indochina circa 1948-49 while disembarking an old english Truck "THORNY". Note she still carries side number 347 vice 9003 on this date. Photo source is the French review magazine "la Charte".	André Pilon
	47k	*RFS Vire* (L9003)** entering the harbor at Toulon, France, circa 1952.	André Pilon for Murice Minot matelot mecanician, RFS Vire
	82k	*RFS Vire* (L9003)** loading/unloading equipment at Port Etienne, Morocco, in 1955	Photo by Marcel Picard, matelot mecanician, RFS Vire submitted by André Pilon.
	62k	*RFS Vire* (L9003)** loading/unloading equipment at Port Etienne, Morocco, in 1955	Photo by Marcel Picard, matelot mecanician, RFS Vire submitted by André Pilon.