USS ''LCI(L)-339'' was an amphibious assault ship (

Landing Craft Infantry The Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) were several classes of landing craft used to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches during the Second World War. They were developed in response to a British request for seagoing amphibious assault ...

– Large), commissioned in 1942 by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

. She participated in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...

's 9th Division's

landing at Lae The Landing at Lae was an amphibious landing to the east of Lae and then the subsequent advance on the town during the Salamaua–Lae campaign of World War II. Part of Operation Postern, which was undertaken to capture the Japanese base at ...

on 4 September 1943, where she was abandoned after being hit during a Japanese air attack. The bomb exploded on the deck forward of the bridge, killing Lieutenant Colonel R. E. Wall, the commander of the 2/23rd Battalion and 6 others, and wounding 28. Her hulk was beached, until sometime later, when her hull was towed off the beach and cast adrift, becoming a wreck on a nearby reef.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lci(L)-339 1942 ships Landing craft Shipwrecks of Papua New Guinea Ships sunk by Japanese aircraft Maritime incidents in September 1943