Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-46


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Delta - Mike
 NVDM
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (Iwo Jima) - Navy Unit Commendation
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Individual Awards

Purple Heart (4-KIA, 13-WIA, 23 February 1945, Iwo Jima)
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 6 June 1944, at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX.
  • Launched, 30 June 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-46, 1 August 1944, LT. Frederick R. Edwards USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LSM-46 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

  • Decommissioned, 18 March 1946, at Norfolk, Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 12 April 1946
  • USS LSM-46 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Sold, 23 October 1948, to Charles N. Wilson, East Saint Johns, New Brunswick, Canada
  • Final Disposition, hulk abandoned in 1960 in the Musquash Estuary, New Brunswick, Canada
    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-46 44k USS LSM-46 pre-commissioning detail at Amphibious Training Base, Little Creek, VA. prior to picking up the ship at Houston. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 83k USS LSM-46 builders plate. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 70k USS LSM-46 underway, date and place unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-46 47k USS LSM-46 crew preparing to sit down to Christmas dinner, December 1944. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 88k USS LSM-46 Commanding Officer, LT. Edwards, inspects his crew during Captain's Inspection, date and location unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 60k US LSM-46 Commanding Officer, LT. Edwards, inspects his crew during Captain's Inspection, date and location unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 79k USS LSM-46 officers, date and location unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 80k USS LSM-46 part of crew at inspection, date and location unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 37k USS LSM-46 crew receiving pre-invasion briefing prior to landing at Iwo Jima. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 87k USS LSM-46 beached at Iwo Jima. 19 February 1945. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 47k USS LSM-46 unloads at tank onto the beach at Iwo Jima, date unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 47k US LSM-46 off the beachhead at Iwo Jima as Marines reload supplies from a larger ship into the LSM for the run into the beach, date unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 93k USS LSM-46 transporting wounded Marines from the beach to a hospital ship waiting off shore in the transport area at Iwo Jima, date unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 49k USS LSM-46 transporting wounded Marines from the beach to a hospital ship waiting off shore in the transport area at Iwo Jima, date unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    Samaritan 68k USS Samaritan (AH-10) off Iwo Jima in February 1945. USS LSM-46 has just shoved off after delivering wounded Marines to the hospital ship and is returning to the beach to collect additional wounded Marines. Photo was taken from LSM-46 by Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 87k USS LSM-46 beached at Iwo Jima, 19 February 1945. In the foreground 4th Division Marines are taking cover on the beach as best they can.
    US Navy photo # NH 65312 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-46 58k USS LSM-46 and LSM-145 beached at Iwo Jima, circa February 1945. Joe Helmstetter to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-46 62k USS LSM-46 beached at Iwo Jima, 1945. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-46 96k USS LSM-46 off-loading a tank at Iwo Jima, 1945. Joe Helmstetter to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-46 111k USS LSM-46 crew during stand down after the Iwo Jima campaign, date unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 58k Damage sustained by USS LSM-46 at Iwo Jima, date unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 61k USS LSM-46 in dry dock. Her starboard side being repaired after being hit by friendly fire from a disabled and abandoned tank. Part of the detonator was found in a mattress in the forward crew compartment Charles J. Sturm, USS LSM-46
    Photo Courtesy Jim Tusing USS LSM-372,
    Editor "Alligator Alley" The Newsletter
    of the USS LSM - LSMR Association
    LSM-46 82k USS LSM-46 underway while the crew stands down after the Invasion of Iwo Jima, date and place unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    LSM-46 28k Three USS LSM-46 crew members show off their souvenir Japanese flag from Iwo Jima, date and place unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. for his father Lawrence A. Miller QM2/c USS LSM-46
    The history extract for LSM-46 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Edwards, Frederick R., USNR1 August 1944 - September 1945
    02LTjg. Lincoln, Allen A., USNRSeptember 1945 - December 1945
    03LTjg. Legge, Philip A., USNRDecember 1945 - January 1946
    04LTjg. Hicks, Gene S., USNRJanuary 1946 - 18 March 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS LSM-46 Iwo Jima Action Report
    Mystery ships of the Musquash Estuary, New Brunswick, Canada (WWII Ships Found!) 75th anniversary
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Landing Ship Medium (LSM) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 4 September 2020