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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-38


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Charlie - Whiskey
 NVCW
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippine Liberation Medal (4)
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down (date unknown) at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX.
  • Launched (date unknown)
  • Commissioned USS LSM-38, 20 July 1944, LT. H. S. Hooper, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LSM-38 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the:
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Leyte operation
    Ormoc Bay landings, 11 to 13 December 1944    		 Consolidation of the southern Philippines
    Sulu Archipelago landings, 2 to 4 April 1945 and 9 to 11 April 1945
    Manila Bay-Bicol operations
    Mariveles-Corregidor, 14 to 28 February 1945    		 Borneo operations
    Balikpapan operations, 26 June to 6 July 1945
    Luzon operation
    Mindanao Island landings, 10 March 1945    		 .

  • Decommissioned, 28 October 1945
  • Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown)
  • Final Disposition, sold, 18 May 1948, to Jefferson Boat & Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN, for conversion to a barge, fate unknown
  • USS LSM-38 earned five battle stars for World War II service
    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 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)
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    LSM-52 70k USS LSM-38 and USS LSM-52 beached at Corregidor Island, Philippines, 17 February 1945. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-38 46k USS LSM-38 beached, date and location unknown. Eugene Campbell to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-267 95k USS LSM-267, USS LSM-42 and USS LSM-38 beached at Morotai, Dutch East Indies, 16 June 1945 Robert Benner to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-38 37k USS LSM-38 beached at Morotai, 21 June 1945. Members of the Australian 2/6 Field Regiment building a ramp of sandbags between LSM-38 and the shore at Red Beach. Units of the Australian 7 Division assembled at embarkation areas on Morotai for embarking on transports and landing craft for "OBOE II", the landing at Brunei Bay, Borneo, in June 1945. Australian War Memorial
    LSM-375 128k USS LSM-38 and USS LSM-375 beached, date and location unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-38 63k USS LSM-38 at anchor date and location unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-38 63k USS LSM-38 at anchor date and location unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-38 65k USS LSM-38 LT. Carl Zehnder, date and location unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    The DANFS history extract for USS LSM-38 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS LSM / LSMR Association
    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
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 16 May 2008