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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

LSM-9

Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign: November - Victor - Alpha - Quebec
(WWII Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign: NEGAT(ive) - VICTOR - AFFIRM(ative) - QUEEN)
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down at Brown Shipbuilding Co, Houston, TX, 11 March 1944
  • Launched, 24 April 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-9, 27 May 1944, LTjg Robert E. Olson, USNR in command
  • During WWII LSM-9 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the:
  • Decommissioned, 20 December 1945, at Terminal Island, San Pedro, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, (date unknown)
  • Final Disposition, sold, 31 January 1947 to Ernest A. Judd, Long Beach, CA., fate unknown
  • LSM-9 earned one battle star for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 520 t.(light), 743 t. (landing) 1,095 t.(fully loaded)
    Length 203' 6" o.a.
    Beam 34' 6"
    Draft light, 3' 6" forward, 7' 8" aft, fully loaded, 6' 4" forward, 8' 3" aft
    Speed 13.2 kts. (max.), (928 tons displacement)
    Complement 5 officers, 54 enlisted
    Armament one single bow mounted 40mm gun, four single 20mm gun mounts
    Vehicle/Boat Capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVT's, or 9 DUKW's
    Troop Capacity 2 officers, 46 enlisted
    Armor 10-lb. STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning station
    Propulsion two Fairbanks Morse (model 38D81/8X10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) diesels. Direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm, twin screws, Endurance, 4,900 miles @ 12kts.(928 tons displacement)
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    By
    LSM-9 98k LSM-9's brass nameplate. Currently in the collection of Raymond A. Biswanger, Jr., LT. USN Ret. Raymond A. Biswanger, Jr., Ph.D., LT. USN Ret. USS LSM-9
    LSM-9 95k LSM-9's conning tower, with the CO, LT. Robert E. Olson at the conn. Note the ship's "Fighting Cat" insignia painted on the conning tower. Raymond A. Biswanger, Jr., Ph.D., LT. USN Ret. USS LSM-9
    LSM-9 69k LSM-9 enroute to Guam, late October-1944. Four of the five ship's officers on the conn, Left to right, LT. Rob Olson, Ens. Bob Sinclair, Ens. Van Fox, and Ens. Ray Biswanger. Not shown, Ens. Henry Badgett. Raymond A. Biswanger, Jr., Ph.D., LT. USN Ret. USS LSM-9
    LSM-9 56k LSM-9 beached at Manus, Admiralty Islands, with a non-war casualty, a drowned tank destroyer that didn't make it aboard, loading up for Lingayen Gulf, Christmas Day, 1944. Note the stern of LSM-14 is visible in the background.(See further details under "Personal Narrative.") Raymond A. Biswanger, Jr., Ph.D., LT. USN Ret. USS LSM-9
    LSM-9 119k LSM-9 early-April 1945, beached high and dry on the coral reef off Okinawa. For four days DUKW's and Army trucks hauled off our full load of ammunitions. Submersible pumps supplied needed water for our generators, and for flushing and fire fighting, through fire hoses. Photo by the late Seymour M. Fimoff, QM2/c, USS LSM-9, submitted by Raymond A. Biswanger, Jr., Ph.D., LT. USN Ret. USS LSM-9
    LSM-9 60k LSM-9 beached at Tinian, mid-June 1945. Raymond A. Biswanger, Jr., Ph.D., LT. USN Ret. USS LSM-9
    LSM-9 86k LSM-9 beached at Tinian, mid-June 1945. D.J. Martin SM3/c USS LSM-9 to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-9 98k LSM-9 early-July 1945. Solomon Islanders greet the ship at Tulagi. Raymond A. Biswanger, Jr., Ph.D., LT. USN Ret. USS LSM-9
    LSM-9 104k LSM-9 departing Hawaii for California, 21 September 1945. Note the 60-foot-long "Homeward Bound" pennant flying from her mast and the canvas tent erected over the well deck for the shelter of the 120 sailor passengers heading home to the States with the crew of LSM-9 Raymond A. Biswanger, Jr., Ph.D., LT. USN Ret. USS LSM-9
    LSM-9 39k LSM-9 underway, date and place unknown. Photo courtesy Albert T. Harris USS LST-71 collection
    The DANFS history extract for LSM-9 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9) .
    Click here for a "Personal Narrative" of the History of LSM-9 by Raymond A. Biswanger, Jr. Ph.D., LT. USN Ret.
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS LSM / LSMR Association
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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