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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-51


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Delta - Whiskey
 NVDW
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, 22 June 1944, at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, TX.
  • Launched, 24 July 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-51, 11 August 1944, LT. James O. Potts Jr. USN in command
  • During World War II USS LSM-51 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 19 to 29 November 1944
    Ormoc Bay landing, 7 and 8 December 1944     		Borneo operation
    Brunei Bay operation, 10 to 14 June 1945
    Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landing, 16 to 18 January 1945     		Consolidation and capture of the Southern Philippines
    Mindanao Island landings 12 July 1945
    Manila Bay-Bicol operations
    El Farile, Manila Bay, 13 April 1945     		 

  • Following World War II USS LSM-51 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 11 September to 13 November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 8 May 1946, at Terminal Island, San Pedro, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS LSM-51 earned five battle stars for World War II service
  • Sold, 11 February 1948, to Charles Weaver & Co., Detroit, MI., for conversion to a barge,
  • Final Disposition, ran aground, 29 March 1953, off Bodega Head, CA. and broke up
    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-18 50k USS LSM-51 at right and USS LSM-18 foreground at Ormoc Bay, Philippine Islands, circa 7-11 December 1944. Bill Brinkley and the USS LSM-LSMR Association
    LSM-51 20k USS LSM-51 at Lemery, Luzon, P.I., LTjg. Wilson Dickson standing on the ramp LSM-51 Web Site
    LSM-51 44k USS LSM-51 alongside Fort Drum in Manila Bay, 13 April 1945, during the assault on the fort. Note the two LCTs standing off waiting to transfer troops to the fort. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-51 51k USS LSM-51 alongside Fort Drum in Manila Bay, 13 April 1945 Yu Chu
    LSM-51 881k USS LSM-51 alongside Fort Drum in Manila Bay, 13 April 1945, during the assault on the fort.
    US National Archives photo # SC 205913, a US Army Signal Corps. photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Dave Kerr
    LSM-51 1196k USS LSM-51 alongside Fort Drum in Manila Bay, 13 April 1945 during the assault on the fort. Using a specially built ramp from the bridge of LSM-51 to the top of the wall, Infantrymen land at Fort Drum to cover Engineers during operations to eliminate Japanese on the island fortress of El Farile. Approximately 3,200 gallons of an oil and gasoline mixture was dumped into the fort and ignited with the explosion of a 600 lb. charge of TNT.
    US Army Signal Corps. photo # SC 205915.    		 Dave Kerr
    LSM-51 120k USS LSM-51 alongside Fort Drum in Manila Bay, 13 April 1945 during the assault on the fort. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-51 16k See USS LSM-51 web site for the story behind the "For Sale" painted on the starboard side of LSM-51 LSM-51 Web Site
    The history extract for USS LSM-51 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Potts Jr., James Oliver, USN11 August 1944 - December 1945
    02LTjg. Bryant, Robert E., USNRDecember 1945 - 8 May 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    USS LSM-LSMR Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS LSM-51
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last updated 13 June 2019