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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-43


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Delta - Golf
 NVDG
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Iwo Jima) - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

USS LSM-43 was transferred to the Republic of China (Taiwan)
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 6 June 1944, at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX.
  • Launched, 30 June 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-43, 26 July 1944, LT. Charles R. Hooff Jr. USNR in command
  • During World War II LSM-43 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LSM Flotilla Five, CDR. W. H. Carpenter USN (26);
    LSM Group Thirteen, LCDR. T. F. Griswold USNR;
    LSM Division Twenty-Five and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 16 March 1945

  • Following World War II USS LSM-43 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    15 September 1945 to 28 April 194629 April to 4 June 1946

  • Decommissioned, 3 June 1946, at Shanghai, China, and transferred the same date to Republic of China
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS LSM-43 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, seized in October 1949 by Communist Chinese, 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-43 331k USS LSM-43 lands supplies on the Iwo Jima shore as U.S. forces build up their strength on the island, circa late February 1945. Note LVT and DUKW amphibious vehicles at work on and off shore, and the cluttered condition of the beach. Taken by an Edward Steichen Unit photographer.
    US National Archives, Photo # 80-G-412499, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    LSM-43 80k Scene on a Iwo Jima beach, as supplies are unloaded and trucked inland, circa late February 1945. Note USS LSM-43 and USS LSM-47 at right, mobile crane at left and truck in the center foreground. The original print came from Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison's World War II history project working files. It was provided to Morison by Admiral William H.P. Blandy, USN.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo #104307.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    LSM-141 104k Unloading supplies on Iwo Jima, 25 February 1945. View looks north from Beach Red One. Note the steel mat roadway in the foreground, trucks parked at left and mobile cranes working near the shoreline. Among the ships present are (from right to center): USS LSM-141, USS LSM-43 and USS LSM-47.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # 104197.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    LSM-242 121k Aerial view of the Iwo Jima beachhead, circa February 1945. Ships that can be identified include USS LST-715, USS LST-790, USS LST-724, USS LST-224, USS LST-784 and USS LST-779. LSM's include USS LSM-242, USS LSM-140, USS LSM-47 and USS LSM-43. LCTs include LCT-892 and LCT-1029. The one lone LCI that is identifiable is LCI(L)-1077.
    USMC photo # 110582    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-43 87k USS LSM-43 underway, date and location unknown. The LSM in the distance is possibly USS LSM-140. Joe Helmstetter to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    The history extract for LSM-43 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Hooff Jr., Charles R., USNR26 July 1944 - December 1945
    02LTjg. Loders, Francis James, USNDecember 1945 - 3 June 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last updated 5 May 2018