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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-139


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Kilo - Romeo
 NVKR
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 - Philippine Liberation Medal (2
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 4 April 1944, at US Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.
  • Launched, 1 May 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-139, 10 June 1944, LT. James H. Decker USNR in command
  • During WWII LSM-139 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Leyte operation;
    Leyte landings, 11 October to 29 November 1944
    Ormoc Bay landings, 7 to 8 December 1944     		Consolidation of the southern Philippines;
    (a) Mindanao Island landings, 10 March and 17 to 23 April 1945
    Luzon operation;
    Mindoro landings, 12 to 18 December 1944
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 16 to 18 January 1945     		Borneo operation;
    (a) Brunei Bay operation, 10 to 14 June 1945
    Manila Bay-Bicol operations;
    Mariveles-Corregidor, 14 to 28 February 1945     		 

  • Following World War II USS LSM-139 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 7 October to 28 November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 23 April 1946, at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 June 1946
  • USS LSM-139 earned five battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold, 8 March 1948, to Dica Inc., New York, NY, 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 Source
    LCM-258 65k USS LSM-258 and USS LSM-139 approach the beach at Leyte on A-Day, 20 October 1944.
    US Navy photo # 59508, released 6 November 1944.    		 Richard Miller USS LSM-47 to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-139
    101413903     		255k USS LSM-139 landing US Army personnel ashore at Leyte, Philippine Islands, 20 October 1944.
    US National Archives Identifier # 80662621, - US Army Signal Corps photo # 200198 now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 David Upton
    LSM-139 76k USS LSM-139 seen here in the right background as General Douglas MacArthur wades ashore at White Beach during the Leyte landings, 20 October 1944, during the Philippines Liberation. This photo was published in Life magazine's November, 13, 1944 issue, courtesy of Perry T. Egger who was on the bridge of USS LSM-139 at the time and who was given copy of the photo by Life. Photo Courtesy Jim Tusing USS LSM-372, Editor "Alligator Alley" The Newsletter of the USS LSM - LSMR Association
    LSM-139 162k USS LSM-139 loaded with trucks, date and location unknown. Photo Courtesy Jim Tusing USS LSM-372, Editor "Alligator Alley" The Newsletter of the USS LSM - LSMR Association
    LSM-138 101k USS LSM-139 and USS LSM-138 beached in the Philippines, date and location unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    The history extract for LSM-139 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 - Navy Log
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Decker, James H., USNR10 June 1944 - 4 November 1944
    02ENS. McKenzie, Donald Eugene, USN4 November 1944 - 7 January 1945
    03LT. Mapes, Lowell Robert, USNR7 January 1945 - December 1945
    04LTjg. Ethier, Theodore Joseph, USNRDecember 1945 - 2 March 1946
    05LTjg. Dickerson, Thomas J., (temporary) USNR2 March 1946 - 9 March 1946
    06LTjg. Wilson, Henry D., USNR9. March 1946 - 23 April 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    USS LSM-LSMR Association
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 5 February 2021