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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-220


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Charlie - Foxtrot
 NVCF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Okinawa)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, date unknown, at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE.
  • Launched, (date unknown
  • Commissioned USS LSM-220, 20 August 1944, LT. John Van Wie Zaugg, USNR in command
  • During WWII USS LSM-220 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign:
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 April to 30 June 1945
  • Decommissioned, 23 July 1946, at Terminal Island Navy Yard, San Pedro, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register in 1946
  • Sold, 11 February 1948, to Charles Weaver & Co., Detroit, MI.
  • Converted to a river towboat by St. Louis Shipbuilding Co., in 1949, for Commercial Barge Lines, Inc., of Evansville, IN., renamed M/V Commercial Dispatch
  • Resold to Canaveral International Miami, FL., chartered to MSTS for use as a supply ship for the US Air Force Eastern Test Range
  • Final Disposition, ran aground and wrecked, 10 January 1970, at Samana Cay, Bahamas
  • USS LSM-220 earned one battle star 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 Accommodations 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
    USS LSM -220
    LSM-220 43k USS LSM-220 beached at Okinawa, 1 April 1945. Photo courtesy Albert T. Harris USS LST-71 collection
    LSM-220 130k USS LSM-220, USS LST-1000, LCT-1415, LCT-1265 and LCT-1049 along with another unidentified LCT unloading at Yellow Beach, Okinawa.
    US Navy photo # NH 91387 for the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    LCT-1179 58k USS LSM-220 and LCT-1179 beached at Okinawa, date unknown.
    Photo from US National Archives Tape No. NPC-101-11306.    		 Bill Brinkley
    LSM-220 98k USS LSM-220 off-loading at Okinawa. Bill Karosi
    Courtesy Jim Tusing USS LSM-372,
    Editor "Alligator Alley" The Newsletter
    of the USS LSM - LSMR Association
    LSM-220 51k USS LSM-220 beached, date and location unknown. John Finch USS LSM-26
    Courtesy Jim Tusing USS LSM-372,
    Editor "Alligator Alley" The Newsletter
    of the USS LSM - LSMR Association
    LSM-134 92k USS LSM-134 flanked by USS LSM-220 and USS LSM-24 off her starboard side and USS LSM-15 off her port side, on the invasion beaches at Okinawa, circa early-August 1945.
    US Navy photo    		 John Finch USS LSM-26
    Courtesy Jim Tusing USS LSM-372,
    Editor "Alligator Alley" The Newsletter
    of the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-220 68k USS LSM-220 underway, date and location unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-220 69k USS LSM-220 in the harbor at Sasebo, Japan, circa 31 October 1945 to 5 March 1946. Paul Phipps USS Coasters Harbor
    Commercial Service
    LSM-220 83k Ex-LSM-220 in service as the Commercial Barge Lines towboat M/V Commercial Dispatch at Loch 41 on the Ohio River. Loch #41 was at Louisville, KY, and was done away with sometime around 1962. Photo circa 1948-52. Capt. Jeffrey L. Yates
    LSM-220 66k M/V Commercial Dispatch on the Ohio River, date unknown. Capt. Jeffrey L. Yates
    LSM-220 67k M/V Commercial Dispatch on the Ohio River, date unknown. Boat Photo Museum, Dan Owen
    LSM-220 71k M/V Commercial Dispatch on the Ohio River, date unknown. Boat Photo Museum, Dan Owen
    The DANFS history extract for USS LSM-220 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 12 May 2008