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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-21


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Bravo - Oscar
 NVBO
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 24 April 1944, at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX.
  • Launched, 14 May 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-21, 19 June 1944, LT. Clarence L. Crayne, USN in command
  • During World War II USS LSM-21 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 13 October to 29 November 1944
    Ormoc Bay landings, 7 to 8 December 1944     		Consolidation of the Southern Philippines;
    Mindanao Island landings, 10 March 1945, 17 to 23 April 1945, 3 May 1945
    Luzon operation;
    Mindoro landings, 12 to 18 December 1944
    Lingayen Gulf landing, 16 to 18 January 1945     		Borneo operation;
    Balikpapan operation, 26 June to 6 July 1945
    Manila Bay-Bicol operations;
    Mariveles-Corregidor, 14 to 28 February 1945     		 

  • Following World War II USS LSM-21 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 9 September to 16 November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 23 March 1946, at San Diego, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 12 April 1946
  • USS LSM-21 earned five battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 21 December 1946, to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, San Pedro, CA.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 520 t.(light), 743 t. (landing) 1,095 t.(fully loaded)
    Length 203' 6" (ovl)
    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 twin 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
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 1,225 Bbls
    Troop Accommodations
    2 officers
    46 enlisted
    Armor 10-lb. STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning station
    Endurance 4,900 miles @ 12kts.(928 tons displacement)
    Propulsion
    two Fairbanks Morse (model 38D81/8X10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) Diesel engines, direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm
    Ship's Service Generators
     two Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
     one Diesel-drive 20Kw 120V D.C.
    twin propellers, 2,800shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    LSM-21 47k USS LSM-21 underway, date and location unknown. Hyperwar US Navy in World War II
    LSM-21
    101402106    		 237k USS LSM-21 seen from USS LST-452 in convoy up Leyte Gulf, on the way to the Leyte Island, beachhead, 20 October 1944.
    US National Archives Identifier 80662621 - US Army Signal Corps photo # 255826    		 David Upton
    LSM-21 91k USS LSM-21 beached , on Red Beach, Leyte, Philippine Islands, D-Day, 20 October 1944. The LSM in the foreground is unidentified. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-21 81k USS LSM-21 beached , on Red Beach, Leyte, Philippine Islands, date unknown. John Ratomski
    LSM-19/21/22 81k USS LSM-22, LSM-21, and USS LSM-19 beached at Mindanao, Philippine Islands, 22 April 1945. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-257 98k USS LSM-21 and LSM-257 beached while off loading equipment, date and location unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-21 135k USS LSM-21 beached at Mindoro in the Philippines in November 1945 while a bulldozer builds a ramp to load vehicles. USS LSM-21 was part of the task force assigned to moving the US Army 866th Aviation Engineer Battalion from the Philippines to Yokohama, Japan.
    US Army Signal Corps photo - 866 Engineer Aviation Battalion History, pg.66    		 Greg Cockburn
    LSM-21 72k USS LSM-21 laid up at Long Beach Navy Yard, Long Beach, CA. LSM-21's port bow is visible in the lower left corner of this photo of USS LST-467.
    Photo by The Inman Co., Long Beach, CA.    		 Roy Coats to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    The history extract for USS LSM-21 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Crayne, Clarence Lloyd, USN19 June 1944 - December 1945
    02LTjg. Davis, Preston Bryan, USNDecember 1945 - 23 March 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Landing Ship Medium (LSM) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last updated 5 February 2021