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USS LCI(L)538 Deck Log 4 June 1944
USS LCI(L)538 History leading to the invasion of Normandy D Day
Deck Log Entries LCI(L)538 for 4 June 1944 leading up to D Day
The information contained on this page is from the LCI(L)538 Ships Deck Log for the week leading
up to D-Day. The deck log is the paperwork filled out by the ships Commanding Officer, it is done on
a daily basis. The deck log heading has the ships Name, Ships Identification number, Ships Location,
the date the deck log was filled out, Zone description, and Commanders name. The USS LCI (L)538 ships Deck log that I have runs from June 3, 1944 to June 10, 1944. Some of the other information
contained on the ships deck log are the hour broken up in a chart with spaces for all 24 hours of the day. For each hour
of the day, the All Shaft Average Revolutions, Nautical Miles by Revs, Nautical Miles by Hour, Course, Wind Direction, and
wind speed are documented. Other items on the chart include the Barometer height in inches, Air Temperature by dry bulb
, Weather by Symbols, Clouds are broken down by formation at low, middle and high, ceiling, moving from in degrees, Total number
of sky covered by tenths, and visibilty. Further down the page is a spot to put the Ships position by hour, for 0800,
1200 and 2000 hrs by Latitude and Longitude, Fuel Received, Fuel Expended and Fuel on hand. Water distilled, water received
water expended and water on hand, the Magazine Temperature, General Drills and Exercises. The LCI(L)538 ships deck log also has an area to log per hour the Sea temp surf, Sea From, Sea Points, and Swell Amount.
Some of the pages that is filled out, others it not with IN HARBOR written across the chart. The is also a section for Hydrographic and
Meteorological Remarks, this section on these deck logs was never filled out. After the pagewith all the charts which is
labeled the Deck Log - Columnar Sheet Confidential is a second page. The second page is labeled Deck Log Remarks Sheet, and looks
to have been typed out freehand and then signed by the officer that typed the remarks. On the first date I have as an example
the remarks sheet has remarks for 0-4, 4-8 etc. It looks like the remarks were broken down into four hour blocks because
the sheet was moored in harbor and there wasn't alot of activity to document. Each four hour block has the typed name and
signature of the officer that made that entry into the remarks sheet on the deck log. On the top of the remarks page is an area for
the ships Name or Identifier and Date, and on the bottom a spot for the Commanding Officer to sign. Right belows where
the LCI(L)538 ships Commander signs it has printed, To Be Forwarded Direct To The Bureau Of Naval Personnel At
The End Of Each Month, U.S. Government Printing Office 1944.
LCI(L)538 Deck Log Entries for June 4, 1944 leading up to D Day
For the days leading up the D Day Invasion I will not include every hourly temperature, cloud cover etc, for the LCI(L)538
but I will list them a few times, so you can have an idea of the weather throughtout the day for which the ship was encountering.
The Deck Log for the USS LCI(L)538 has Identification 51538, Commanded by C. R. Chishol, lt(jg) USN, Sixty Eighth Division Group 34,
Twelfth Flotilla, Twelfth Fleet. Ships log of the United States Ship LCI(L)538, Indentification Number 51538,
At Plymouth, Devon, England, Sunday 4 June 1944, Zone 2, Colin R Chisholm LT(JG) USN Commanding
- Course 325 by Mag
- Wind Direction was 240 degrees at 2 Knots
- Barometer Height in Inches was 29.90
- Air Temperature by Dry bulb was 62
- Low Clouds Form SC, moving from 248 degrees
- Visibility 7
- Course 263 by Mag
- Wind Direction was 250 degrees at 3 Knots
- Barometer Height in inches was 29.78
- Air Temperature by Dry bulb was 62
- Low Clouds Form SC, moving from 250 degrees
- The Visibility was 7
As of 0800 hours the LCI(L)538 Ship position was Latitude 500 N and Longitude was 40 N. The positions of the ship LCI(L)538 never changed for the day, it remained in port. The documention for the LCI(L)538
- Fuel Received 0
- Fuel Expended 236
- Fuel on Hand 3778
- Water Distilled 0
- Water Received 0
- Water Expended 700
- Water On Hand 4912
The Magazine temperature maximum for the day was
67.5 degrees and the Magazine Temperature minimum for the day was 51 degrees.
The Remarks sheet for the LCI(L)538 are as follows:
0-4
Anchored in North Jenny Cliffs Anchorage, Plymouth England with 21 fathoms cable to stern anchor in 4 fathoms of water. Various members of Allied Forces present.
4-8
Anchored as before
8-12
Moored as before. 0800 Mustered crew at quarters, no absentees. 0805 Made preparations to get underway. 0823 Underway, proceeding
various courses and speeds up Plymouth Harbor Channel. 0840 Passed S Winters buoy abeam to starboard. 0842 Passed N.W. Winters buoy
to starboard. 0843 Passed Asia buoy abem to port, distance 50 yards. 0845 Passed N Drakes Island buoy abem to port, distance 50
yards. 0851 Passed Cremyll Shoal light and buoy abeam to port, distance 50 yards. 0913 passed Bull Point abeam to starboard, distance
150 yards. 0918 Passed under Alberts Bridge. 0938 Moored at Trot 19, Tamar River, Plymouth, England with 5/8 inch Cable.
Various members of Allied Fleets present. 0948 LCI(L)537 moored to starboard. 1000 LCI(L)403 moored alongside to port.
12-16
Anchored as before.
16-20
Anchored as before
20-24
Anchored as before.
The first three entries were by E. L. Womack, Ensign, U.S.N.R., the next three entries were by T.W. Jay Ensign USNR, and the
report was confirmed and signed by Commanding Officer C. R. Chisholm Lt(jg) USN.
On the next page I will have information from the Deck Log entries from the LCI (L)538 ship for June 5, 1944. Just click on what chapter you want to read in the table of contents to
go to the next section regarding the ship.