Bureau of Ships. (1945). Ships’ Data, U.S. Naval Vessels, Vol. II. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
Division of Naval Intelligence. (1945). United States Naval Vessels: The Official United States Navy Reference Manual Prepared by the Division of Naval Intelligence. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military History.
We thank Mrs. Barbara File for her generous donation of this collection.
Signalman Donald T. File
WWII Letters
Scope and Content: The collection contains letters numbered 1 through 154 written by Signalman Donald T. File to his parents and occasional other recipients during World War II. File served aboard USS LCI (G) #568 and wrote his letters between 7 September 1943 and 25 February 1946.
About LCI (G) #568: LCI (G) stood for Landing Craft, Infantry (Gunboat). Those numbered above 351 had a crew of five officers and sixty-five men, were 160’ 3 ¾” length overall by 23’ 3”, had a full load displacement of 385 tons, and reached a maximum speed of 15.5 knots. They were used to provide close-in fire support for landing operations. File’s ship, LCI (G) #568, was first launched on 2 March 1944.
Transcription: Return address: D.T. File SM 3/C [Signalman Third Class], USS LCI (G) #568, Flot [flotilla] G Group 16, c/o FPO San Francisco, Cal. Postmark: US Navy, Aug 4, 1944. Via Air Mail. Stamped: Passed by Naval Censor. Addressed to: Mrs. H. File, 3115 Sedgwick Ave., Bronx, 63, New York, NY.
Use and Reproduction Policy: Manuscripts are unavailable for loan and must be consulted in the library. Photocopying of manuscripts is generally prohibited, though the use of digital cameras by researchers to reproduce non-copyrighted materials is permitted.
