USS LSM-355 (original) (raw)

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LSM-1-class landing ship medium

USS LSM-355
History
United States
Name LSM-355
Builder Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston
Laid down 11 November 1944
Launched 2 December 1944
Commissioned 24 December 1944
Decommissioned 23 October 1946
Recommissioned 18 September 1950
Decommissioned 11 January 1954
Identification Callsign: NVMS
Honors andawards See Awards
Fate Transferred to France, 22 January 1954
History
FranceFrance
Name L9011
Acquired 22 January 1954
Commissioned 28 June 1954
Decommissioned October 1955
Fate Transferred to South Vietnam, October 1955
History
South VietnamSouth Vietnam
Name Hát Giang
Namesake Hát Giang
Acquired October 1955
Commissioned December 1955
Decommissioned 30 April 1975
Identification Pennant number: HQ-400
Fate Transferred to Philippines, 30 April 1975
History
PhilippinesPhilippines
Name Western Samar
Namesake Western Samar
Acquired 30 April 1975
Commissioned 17 November 1975
Decommissioned prior 1985[1]
Identification Pennant number: LP-66
Fate Sold to merchant service, 4 October 1977
General characteristics
Class and type _LSM-1_-class landing ship medium
Displacement 520 long tons (528 t) light 743 long tons (755 t) landing 1,095 long tons (1,113 t) full load
Length 203 ft 6 in (62.03 m) o/a
Beam 34 ft 6 in (10.52 m)
Draft 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) forward 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) aft Fully loaded : 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) forward 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) aft
Propulsion 2 × Fairbanks-Morse (model 38D81/8X10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) diesels. Direct drive with 1,440 bhp (1,074 kW) each @ 720 rpm, twin screws
Speed 13.2 knots (15.2 mph; 24.4 km/h)
Range 4,900 nmi (9,100 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h)
Capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs
Troops 2 officers, 46 enlisted
Complement 5 officers, 54 enlisted
Armament 6 × 20 mm AA gun mounts
Armour 10-lb. STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning station

USS LSM-355 was a _LSM-1_-class landing ship medium in the United States Navy during World War II. The ship was transferred to France as L9011, South Vietnam as RVNS Hát Giang (HQ-400) and Philippines as RPS Western Samar (LP-66).

Construction and career

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LSM-355 was laid down on 11 November 1944 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas, was launched on 2 December 1944 and commissioned on 24 December 1944.[2]

During World War II [[1]], LSM-355 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater. She was assigned to occupation service in the Far East from 2 September to 23 December 1945.[3]

LSM-355 was decommissioned on 23 October 1946,[2] but was recommissioned on 18 September 1950 amid the Korean War.[2][4] During the war, it supplied air force detachments in Korea and Japan. As such it was awarded battle stars for U.N. Summer-Fall Offensive 1952 (1 to 31 October 1952) and Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 (12 to 20 November 1952).[3]

She was put out of service on 11 January 1954 at the Pacific Reserve Fleet and loaned to the French on 22 January 1954.[5]

She was struck from the Navy Register.

The ship was commissioned into the French Navy on 28 June 1954 and renamed L9011. She later took part in the Indo-China War, chartering anti-Communist refugees.[5][3]

L9011 was then transferred to South Vietnam in December 1955 becoming the RVNS Hát Giang with the pennant number HQ-400, remaining in service during the Vietnam War. In 1966, Hát Giang was converted to a hospital ship.[6] The ship's armament was retained, and additional deckhouses built on Hát Giang's well deck.[7]

During the fall of Vietnam, she escaped to the Philippines on 30 April 1975. The ship was commissioned into the Philippine Navy on 17 November 1975 as RPS Western Samar (LP-66).[7] She was also briefly used as a Floating Medical Facility.

She was put out of service between 1985 and 1989 and sold to a private company to be used as a barge. Her fate is unknown.

LST-355 have earned the following awards:

  1. ^ "Three Stars and the Sun at War-Philippine Military and Naval History". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Friedman 2002, p. 534.
  3. ^ a b c "USS LSM-355". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 2 January 2022. citing LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Turner Publishing Company, 1997. ISBN 1-56311-389-9
  4. ^ Guðmundur Helgason. "USS LSM 355 (LSM 355)". uboat.net. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Further Information & Corrections: Warship Information Service". Warship International. 10 (3). International Naval Research Organization: 320–335. 1973. JSTOR 44890242.
  6. ^ Blackman 1971, p. 657.
  7. ^ a b Moore 1985, p. 400.