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USS LCI(R)-341
ex
 USS LCI(L)-341 (1942 - 1945)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Tango - Victor
 NJTV
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
Personnel Awards

Navy Cross - LTjg Walter R. Rolf Commanding Officer USS LCI(L)-341. 6 September 1943 (posthumously)
Silver Star - Peterson PHM1/c and Fosse QM3/c, 16 February 1945
Bronze Star - Rutledge RM3/c, 16 February 1945
Purple Heart - LTjg Rolf, KIA 6 September 1943, Peterson PHM1/c, Fosse QM3/c and Rutledge RM3/c, WIA 16 February 1945
LCI-1 Class Landing Craft Infantry (Large):
  • Laid down, 3 October 1942, at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX.
  • Launched , 7 November 1942
  • Delivered and commissioned, USS LCI(L)-341, LTjg. Walter R. Rolf in command (KIA - 6 September 1943)
    Succeeding COs
    LTjg. Norman Wallin (assumed command 6 September 1943) -
    LTjg. Robert W. Van Keuren USNR - 12 August 1945 to 6 February 1946
  • Commissioned USS LCI(L)-341, 26 December 1942. LTjg. Walter R. Rolf in command
  • During WWII USS LCI(L)-341 was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Eastern New Guinea operation
    Lae occupation, 4 to 6 September 1943     		Manila Bay-Bicol operations
    Zambales-Subic Bay, 29 to 31 January 1945
    Mariveles - Corregidor, 15 to 28 February 1945
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 12 October to 29 November 1944     		Consolidation and capture of the southern Philippines
    Visayan Island landing, 26 to 28 March 1945
    Mindanao Island landings, 13 to 16 March 1945, 17 to 23 April 1945

  • USS LCI(L)-341 was converted to a Landing Craft Rockets in January 1944 but not officially redesignated LCI(R)-341 until 10 July 1945
  • Decommissioned, 6 February 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register in 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold 2 December 1946, fate unknown
  • USS LCI(L)-341 received four battle stars for WWII service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 216 t.(light), 234 t.(landing); 389 t.(loaded)
    Length 158' 5 1/2"
    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 3 Officers, 21 Enlisted
    LCI(R) Complement 3 Officers, 31 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 four single 20mm guns one forward, one amidship, two aft, two .50 cal machine guns
    LCI(R) Armament one 40mm gun, four 20mm guns, two .50 cal machine guns, six 5" rocket launchers
    Fuel Capacity 130 tons, lube oil 200 gal.
    Propulsion two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, BHP 1,600, twin variable pitch propellers
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS LCI(L)-341
    LCI(L)-341 763k From left to right:
    USS LCI(L)-340
    USS LCI(L)-338
    USS LCI(L)-341
    USS LCI(L)-71
    USS LCI(L)-337
    beached in the Philippine Islands after a day of invasion practice, date and location unknown.    		 Harry W. Ritzel CMOMM USS LCI(L)-341
    LCI(L)-341 132k LTjg Robert Rolf, Skipper of USS LCI(L)-341, and another American officer (far right) pose with troops of the Australian 9th Division (called "The Rats of Tobruk" in Africa) at Buna, New Guinea 2 or 3 September 1943. On 4 September 1943, as USS LCI(L)-341 approached the Lae, New Guinea landings with these troops, they were strafed by Japanese planes and took a direct hit from a bomb, killing many of the troops. They were able to hit the beach and unload the remaining troops and crew, but LCI(L)-341 would be out of commission for the next 13 months.
    A US National Archives photo from the USS LCI National Association's newsletter "The Elsie Item", February 2009 issue, courtesy Dennis Blocker.    		 Ardie Hunt
    LCI(L)-341 79k USS LCI(L)-341 at Tacloban, Leyte Gulf in August 1944 while outfitting the ship with new rocket racks in preparation for the invasion of Japan. Photos by Robert W. Van Keuren
    LCI(L)-341 61k
    LCI(L)-341 165k
    LCI(L)-341 81k
    LCI(L)-341 138k
    LCI(L)-341 151k
    LCI(L)-341 185k USS LCI(L)-341 officers, circa early-September 1944, Philippine Islands. Photos by Robert W. Van Keuren
    LCI(L)-341 225k USS LCI(L)-341 ship's cook, circa early September 1944, Philippine Islands. Note the rocket launching rack. Photos by Robert W. Van Keuren
    USS LCI(R)-341
    LCI(L)-341 61k USS LCI(R)-341 pounds the Leyte beaches with rockets during the Leyte landings, in October 1944. Photo from the USS LCI National Association's newsletter "The Elsie Item", August 2008 issue. A US Navy photo from the US National Archives, courtesy Dennis Blocker. Ardie Hunt
    LCI(L)-341 137k USS LCI(R)-341 at anchor at Tacloban, Leyte Gulf, Philippines Island, on V-J Day 2 September 1945. Photo by Robert W. Van Keuren
    LCI(L)-341 132k USS LCI(R)-341 at anchor at Tacloban, Leyte Gulf, Philippines Island, on V-J Day 2 September 1945. Photo by Robert W. Van Keuren
    The history for USS LCI(L)-341 / LCI(R)-341 is from USS LCI "Landing Craft Infantry", Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1995. (ISBN 1-56311-262-0)
    A Brief History Brief History of the USS LCI(R) 341 by LTjg. Robert W. Van Keuren, last C.O. of LCI(R)-341
    A History of LCI(L)-341 / LCI(R)-341, as told by crew member Leonard Ruffin
    Search and Rescue The search for survivors after the Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association
    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 and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 28 August 2009