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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-323


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Kilo - Golf
 NVKG
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive-Iwo Jima 19 to 21 Feb. 1945) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippine Liberation Medal
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 18 May 1944, at Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Company, Chicago, IL.
  • Launched, 11 August 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-323, 16 September 1944, LTjg. James C. Watt USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LSM-323 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LSM Flotilla Five, CDR. W. H. Carpenter USN (26);
     LSM Group Fifteen, flagship, LCDR. A. H. Hall USNR;
     LSM Division Thirty and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 to 21 February 1945

  • Following World War II USS LSM-323 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 4 September to 2 October 1945
  • Decommissioned, 20 May 1946
  • Struck From the Naval Register in 1946
  • USS LSM-323 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Sold, 12 August 1947, to Norfolk, Baltimore and Carolina Line Inc., Norfolk, VA., renamed MV Edward Hogshire
  • Resold, date unknown, Panamanian Registry
  • Final Disposition, 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-74
    101407402    		 216k Task Unit 53.4.2 LSMs including USS LSM-74 and USS LSM-323 en route to the assembly area off Iwo Jima, D-Day 19 February 1945.
    US Navy photo COMBPHIBGTP 2 taken from USS Auburn (AGC-10), photo by Wallace Page    		 Dave Way, Historian / Artifact Collections,
    Pacific Battleship Center |
    National Museum of the Surface Navy at the Battleship IOWA
    LSM-323 66k USS LSM-323 off Blue Beach # 1 at Iwo Jima on D-Day, 19 February 1945. LSM-74 0906 log entry "Took position in the line of departure 4,000 yards off Blue Beach # 1. LSM-74, 70, 323 dispatched in 7th wave to beach, speed 12 knots." Tom Lange to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-323 208k USS LSM-323 beached, date and location unknown. Photo Courtesy Jim Tusing LSM-372,
    Editor "Alligator Alley" The Newsletter
    of the USS LSM - LSMR Association
    LSM-323 78k USS LSM-323 beached, date and location unknown. Photo Courtesy Jim Tusing LSM-372,
    Editor "Alligator Alley" The Newsletter
    of the USS LSM - LSMR Association
    The history extract for USS LSM-323 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officer
    01LTjg. Watt, James C., USNR16 September 1944 - December 1945
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    A History of LSM-323 (Interview of the first CO of LSM-323, LTjg James C. Watt, by Dale Jackson (2011)
    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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    Last Updated 13 May 2022