Australian landing ship Clive Steele
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | LSM-547 |
Builder | Houston, Texas |
Commissioned | 25 January 1946 |
Decommissioned | 5 July 1955 |
Fate | Sold to Australia |
Australia | |
Name | Clive Steele (AV 1356) |
Namesake | Major General Sir Clive Steele |
Acquired | 26 January 1960 |
Decommissioned | 30 September 1971 |
Fate | Sold to commercial interests, abandoned in Mekong Delta after rocket attack on 6 July 1973 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium |
Displacement | 638 tons |
Length | 203 ft (62 m) |
Beam | 34 ft (10 m) |
Draft | 6 ft (1.8 m) light, 5 ft (1.5 m) loaded |
Propulsion | two Fairbanks Morse 18 cylinder opposed piston diesels, each 1,900 hp (1,400 kW), twin screws |
Speed | 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h) |
Range | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) |
Capacity | Up to 306 tons, including four Centurion tanks |
Complement |
|
Sensors and processing systems | Radar |
Armament | 1 × 40mm gun, 4 × 20mm gun mounts |
Armour | 10-lb. STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning station |
The Australian landing ship medium Clive Steele (AV 1356) was a
The ship was built by the
The ship was purchased by the Australian Army on 26 January 1960 and was named Clive Steele (AV 1356) in honour of the Australian
The ship was deployed to
Service
Clive Steele was laid down at
Australian Army
In 1959, the Australian Army purchased four Landing Ship Medium (LSM) from the US Navy in Japan. These vessels were veterans of the Pacific Campaigns in World War II and the Korean War. They served extensively with 32 Small Ship Squadron in New Guinea and the South West Pacific and two of them served in Borneo during the confrontation with Indonesia in 1964. 32 Small Ship Squadron was disbanded in early 1972, after which the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) became responsible for all seagoing activities of the Defence Force.[3]
She was one of the four Australian Army LSMs to serve in Vietnam. The Australian Army held one LSM vessel on station in Vietnam during the Australian involvement in support of both Australian and US forces operating mainly between Saigon,
Design
Crew
Each LSM carried a crew of 4 officers and 47 other ranks, when on operations in
Ship conditions
The LSMs were built for short-term use landing supplies in the Pacific during World War II. As such the facilities for the crew were extremely basic. All accommodation spaces were below deck with poor ventilation with several sections of three tiered bunks in cramped and crowded conditions giving no room to roll over. Above the bunks were pipes lagged with asbestos, which would rain down on the sleeper during heavy seas, covering him in white dust. Toilet facilities were an open tray with a row of seats and no privacy. The Forrard Mess was the eating, meeting and relaxing place in each LSM. The flat-bottomed ships did not travel well in rough seas. When committed to the Vietnam War, the LSMs were already old ships in need of constant maintenance. On the Clive Steele's final voyage to Vietnam in 1970 one of the bow doors fell off whilst in transit. The LSM ships had to return to Sydney for repairs before taking up station in Vietnam.[4]
Fate
Clive Steele was decommissioned by the Australian Army in 1972 and sold to the Pacific Logistics S.A., Philippines. On 6 July 1973, she was struck by Communist rockets in the Mekong Delta where she was beached and abandoned. Her final resting place is unknown. USS LSM-547 Clive Steele earned four battle stars for her service in the Korean War alone. Clive Steele was also the only Australian LSM to sustain battle damage during the Vietnam War. Attacked in the Mekong Delta while sailing between Can Tho and Vung Tau on 5 January 1969, the ship was hit by three B40 RPG rockets. The water distilling plant and the refrigeration system were damaged, but there were no casualties amongst the crew.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Dept of Veterans' Affairs, Australia
- ^ a b "Army small ships DPR/TV/431". Australian War Memorial. n.d. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
- ^ a b "32 Small Ship Squadron RAE Association". 29 July 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
Further reading
- Gillett, Ross (2001). "Australia's Medium Landing Ships. The Galloping Green Ghosts". Australian Warship Review (9). Marrickville, New South Wales: Topmill. OCLC 222140485.