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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-143

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Kilo - Zulu
NVKZ

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 20 February 1945, Iwo Jima)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal

LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
Laid down, 17 April 1944, at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.

Launched, 10 May 1944

Commissioned USS LSM-143, 30 June 1944, LT. Robert C. White USNR in command

During WWII USS LSM-143 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LSM Flotilla Five, CDR. W. H. Carpenter USN (26);
LSM Group Fifteen, LCDR. A. H. Hall USNR;
LSM Division Twenty-Nine and participated in the following campaign:

Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
Iwo Jima operation Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima 20 February to 16 March 1945

Decommissioned, 14 June 1946, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA.

Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown

USS LSM-143 earned one battle star for World War II service

Final Disposition, sold, February 1947, to Elloit Chemical Cleaning Co., San Francisco, CA., 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

landing, 5' 3"

fully loaded, 6' 4" forward, 8' 3" aft

Speed 12.5 kts. (max.), (928 tons displacement)

Endurance 4,900 miles @ 12kts.(928 tons displacement)

Complement

5 officers

54 enlisted

Armament

one twin bow mounted 40mm AA gun mount

six single 20mm gun mounts

Vehicle/Boat Capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVT's, or 9 DUKW's

Troop Accommodations

2 officers

46 enlisted

Armor 10-lb. STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning station

Fuel Capacity Diesel 1,225 Bbls

Propulsion

two General Motors 16-278A (non-reversible with airflex clutch) Diesel engines,. direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm
Ship's Service Generators
two Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
two Diesel-drive 20Kw 120V D.C.

twin propellers 2,800shp

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
218k	USS LSM-143 christening bottle holder, now in the collection of USS Yorktown Museum, Patriots Point, Charleston, S.C.	Robert Hall USS Tidewater
300k	USS LSM-143 beached, date and location unknown.	Mike Running for his grandfather Delmar Garforth SM3c USS LSM-143
62k	Only the stern of USS LSM-143 is visible in this photo of her beached at Iwo Jima, date unknown. USS LSM-143 is up the beach beyond the LCVP in the foreground. Also of note is the seaplane in the harbor.	USS LSM / LSMR Association
107k	USS LSM-143 with USS PC-590, left, and an unidentified YMS, right, aground on a reef at Okinawa, 9 October 1945 during Typhoon "Louise".	Photo by David Sweeten USS Mona Island contributed by Henry Carr. Donation of David Sweeten Family.
75k	USS LSM-143 under way in San Francisco Bay, 1945-46. US Navy photo # NH 79857 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy D.M.McPherson, 1974.	USS LSM / LSMR Association

Commanding Officers
01	LT. White, Robert C., USNR	30 June 1944 - December 1945
02	LTjg. Merschel, John A., USNR	December 1945 - March 1946
03	ENS. Bowden, Francis J., USNR	March 1946 - 14 Juune 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

Last Updated 29 June 2018