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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-63


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Echo - Victor
 NVEV
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 (4)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 14 July 1944, at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX.
  • Launched , 5 August 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-63, 30 August 1944, LT. Robert B. Hinze USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LSM-63 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 9 January 1945     		Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines
    Palawan Islands landings, 28 February 1945
    Visayan Island landings, 18 to 19 and 26 to 29 March 1945
    Manila Bay-Bicol operation
    Zambales-Subic Bay operation, 29 to 31 January 1945     		Borneo operation
    Brunei Bay operation, 10 to 14 June 1945
  • Decommissioned, 7 May 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS LSM-63 earned four battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold 5 November 1947, to Robert P. Miller, McAllen, TX,, fate unknown
    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-63 90k USS LSM 63 at Lingayen Gulf, P.I. along with USS LST-463 and numerous other ships on D-Day, 9 January 1945. In the foreground is a downed Japanese aircraft brought down by anti-aircraft fire from the invasion fleet.
    US photo # NH 91270 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-63 60k USS LSM 63 beached, 26 June 1945, at Labuan Island, Borneo while unloading her cargo of Jeeps.
    Australian War Memorial, Photo No. 018707    		 Mike Green
    LSM-63 28k Australian personnel and equipment of the 7th Division are being loaded aboard USS LSM 63 and USS LSM-64 at No. 1 dock jetty at Morotai, Borneo, 10 June 1945. These ships, and the Army Air Force B24 Liberators, overhead, are part of Operation OBOE 2.
    Australian War Memorial, Photo No.109864    		 Mike Green
    LSM-63 66k USS LSM 63 underway in San Francisco Bay, circa 1945-46.
    US photo # NH 79849 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy D.M. McPherson,1974.    		 Dale Piper to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-52,64,63,13 41k Photo taken from USS LSM 52 as she "nested" with (from left to right) USS LSM-64, USS LSM-63 and USS LSM-13.
    Photo from the George F Crouse Collection, photo No, a78.    		 Submitted by Gary F. Crouse, in honor of his deceased father
    George F. Crouse who served as a MoMM 1 (Motor Mechanist Mate First Class) in LSM-52
    The history extract for LSM-63 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Hinze, Robert B., USNR30 August 1944 - January 1946
    02LTjg. Suber, George E., USNRJanuary 1946 - 7 May 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    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
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last updated 19 May 2018