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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-138


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Kilo - Papa
 NVKP
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (2)
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 15 March 1944, at US Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.
  • Launched, 1 May 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-138, 10 June 1944, LT. Merle Prinkey USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LSM-138 was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 11 October to 29 November 1944
    Ormoc Bay landings, 7 to 8 December 1944     		Borneo operation
    Brunei Bay operation, 10 to 14 June 1945
    Luzon operation
    Mindoro landings, 12 to 18 December 1944
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 16 to 18 January 1945     		Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines
    Mindanao Island landings, 10 March and 17 to 23 April 1945
    Manila Bay operation
    Mariveles-Corregidor, 14 to 28 February 1945     		 

  • Following World War II USS LSM-138 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 7 September to 10 December 1945
  • Decommissioned, 12 April 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS LSM-138 earned five battle stars for World War II service
  • Transferred to he Maritime Commission, 4 September 1947
  • Sold, to Jeffersonville Boat and Machine Co., Jeffersonville, IN.
  • 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 Source
    LSM-138 98k USS LSM-138 beached at Seeadler Harbor, Los Negros, Admiralty Islands Group, while loading rations, small arms ammunition, and trucks, 7 October 1944. US Army Signal Corps photo # SC 196081-S. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-133/18 136k USS LSM-138 and USS LSM-18 unloading over the beach at Zamboanga, Mindanao, 1 April 1945.
    US National Archives Photo # 80-G-359833, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives. Courtesy Ken Roberts.    		 Bill Brinkley and the USS LSM-LSMR Association
    LSM-138 77k USS LSM-138 beached at Iloilo, Panay Island, P.I. while unloading equipment, 8 September 1945. US Army Signal Corps photo # SC 350409. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-138 101k USS LSM-138 and LSM-139 beached in the Philippines, date and location unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-138 60k USS LSM-138 moored at Gulfport Shipyard, Port Arthur, TX, circa 1946-47. In the adjacent slip a harbor tug looking very much like a Navy 1,000 HP GM 16-278A Diesel electric tug. Note the housing with the stack fitted on the dock, lifted off for engine room work. LSM-138 was transferred to the Maritime Commission, 4 September 1947. Jim Swank
    The history extract for USS LSM-138 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9) .
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Prinkey, Merle, USNR10 June 1944 - 26 October 1944
    02ENS. Friedrichs, Donald Edwin, (XO acting as CO) USNR26.10.1944 - 9 January 1945
    03LT. Arnold, Walter G., USNR9 January 1945 - February 1946
    04LTjg. Cross, Theodore J.,February 1946 - 12 April 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    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
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 29 June 2018