The remains of the LST-342 can still be seen beached off Tulagi Island. The name/number is listed in Wikipedia, but nothing else.
It was commissioned December 15, 1942 and was a landing ship for tanks. It was flat-bottomed so it could get up close to the beach. They could hold twenty Sherman tanks. Crews called then "Large Slow Targets."
The Japanese submarine R0106 sank it off the island of New Georgia. After it was hit, the bow was towed and beached so the equipment could be salvaged.
There are many pictures of the remains of the LST-342 and LST-325 at http://richard-seaman.com.
Like I Said, Interesting Story. --Old Coot
Showing posts with label LST-342. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LST-342. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
LST-342 Disaster
The July 11th Orange County Register had an article about the loss of the LST-342 with 121 deaths and 158 survivors on July 18, 1943. Survivors of the attack met at the Hometown Buffet in Santa Ana.
This was organized by Lyon Harrer, 87, who wason a different ship that night, but has since become an expert on it. Three years ago, he realized that he didn't know a single man on the LST-342 and started to do research and even flew back to the Solomon Islands to view the wreck.
On that July night, no one aboard was happy to be cruising in Iron BottomSound, so-named for all the ships sunk there. Gunners Mate Theron MacKay had just begun the 2 am watch and clearly saw the torpedo wake.
Seaman Jim Cogswell had justloaded 325 tonsof ammunition into the hold. There were three explosions that night and by the time he reached topside, the stern was gone and men were jumping overboard. He jumped as well, but returned when he sawthe forward section was still floating.
At dawn, an APc 27 US troop transport came across them and picked up the survivors. They asked for two survivors to stay with the remaining hull and Cogswell volunteered.
Like Most Other Stories, I'd Never Heard of This One Either. --Da Coot
This was organized by Lyon Harrer, 87, who wason a different ship that night, but has since become an expert on it. Three years ago, he realized that he didn't know a single man on the LST-342 and started to do research and even flew back to the Solomon Islands to view the wreck.
On that July night, no one aboard was happy to be cruising in Iron BottomSound, so-named for all the ships sunk there. Gunners Mate Theron MacKay had just begun the 2 am watch and clearly saw the torpedo wake.
Seaman Jim Cogswell had justloaded 325 tonsof ammunition into the hold. There were three explosions that night and by the time he reached topside, the stern was gone and men were jumping overboard. He jumped as well, but returned when he sawthe forward section was still floating.
At dawn, an APc 27 US troop transport came across them and picked up the survivors. They asked for two survivors to stay with the remaining hull and Cogswell volunteered.
Like Most Other Stories, I'd Never Heard of This One Either. --Da Coot
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)