>From the “Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships,” (1969) Vol. 4, p.527 (1970) Vol. 5, pp.179-180. OSAGE A branch of the Sioux Indian tribe living in Missouri. LSV-3 Displacement: 4,626 t. Length: 458’ Beam: 60’ Draft: 20’ Speed: 21 k. Complement: 472 Troop Capacity: 1,358 Armament: 2 5”; 8 40mm; 20 20mm Class: OSAGE OSAGE CLASS STATISTICAL SUMMARY LSV-3 through 6 Length Overall: 458’ Extreme Beam: 60’3” Full-load Displacement: 9,040 t. Accommodations: Officer: 122 Enlisted: 1,236 Armament: 2 single 5”/38 4 twin 40mm Design Speed: 20.3 k. Engines: 2 General Electric, geared turbine drive Boilers: 4 Combustion Engineering, 2-drum The second OSAGE was laid down as net laying ship AN-3, l June 1942, by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss., redesignated transport AP-108, 1 May 1943, launched 1 December 1943; sponsored by Mrs. J. A. McHenry; redesignated vehicle landing ship LSV-3, 21 April 1944; and commissioned 30 December 1944, Capt. H. H. Keith in command. Following shakedown off the Texas coast, OSAGE loaded CB units at New Orleans and steamed south to Panama, whence she continued on to Pearl Harbor for further amphibious training. On 17 March, she sailed west with 10th Army units embarked. At Ulithi she joined TF 51 and continued on to Okinawa, arriving 11 April. Despite repeated enemy air attacks, offloading was completed within 5 days and on the 16th she sailed for Saipan. Employed in shifting men and materiel in the Marianas for the next two months, she departed Guam, 11 July, for San Francisco. On 27 August, she was underway for the western Pacific again, this time with replacement troops embarked. On 3 October, she arrived in Tokyo Bay, and, after discharging her passengers and cargo at Yokohama, joined "Magic Carpet" to carry veterans back to the United States. The new year, 1946, found OSAGE undergoing repairs at Portland, Ore., after which she was assigned to west coast duties while awaiting inactivation. On 1 May, she departed San Pedro and transited the Panama Canal enroute to the 8th Naval District. After overhaul at Mobile, she was towed to Orange, Tex., decommissioning and joining the Atlantic Reserve Fleet there 16 May 1947. Reclassified mine countermeasures ship MCS-3, 7 February 1955, she remained a unit of that fleet until struck from the Navy List and transferred to the Maritime Administration 1 September 1961. Since then, into 1970, she has been laid up at Beaumont as a unit of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. OSAGE received one battle star for service in World War II. Transcribed by Michael Hansen mhansen2@home.com