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-103


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Hotel - Victor
 NVHV
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
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 30 September 1944, at Brown Ship Building Co., Houston, TX.
  • Launched, 21 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-103, 12 November 1944, LT. Samuel H. Lay USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LSM-103 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LSM Flotilla Fourteen, LCDR. W. R. McCaleb;
     LSM Group Forty-Two;
     LSM Division Eighty-Four
  • Following WWII USS LSM-103 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 23 September 1945 to 9 December 1945
  • Decommissioned, 18 December 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Sold, 5 November 1947, to Southwest Steel Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.
  • Final Disposition, scrapped 1966
    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-103 76k USS LSM-103 under way during maneuvers in the Chesapeake Bay, circa 1944-45. Practice landings were made in Maryland with aircraft providing close air support. This photo was taken prior to the ship being outfitted with dual 40mm AA guns. USS LSM-103 was initially employed as a LSM training platform on the East Coast prior to being loaded with 2 14" and one 16" rifle barrels and sent to Pearl Harbor. Photo - Bill McGill to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    Caption - Bob Plew SM3/c USS LSM-103
    LSM-103 206k USS LSM-103 beached at Mindanao in 1945 after the end of hostilities. Photo by Louis L. Hall, 124th Infantry Regiment, 31st Infantry Division, US Army Paul Webber
    LSM-499
    101449905    		 409k Left to Right: USS LSM-253, USS LSM-499, USS LSM-122, Unknown LSM, USS LSM-103, beached at Matsuyama, Skikokyu, Japan, 18 October 1945 Paul Barrett for his father LTjg. Richard L Barrett, USNR USS LSM-499
    LSM-103 68k USS LSM-103 drydocked at Alameda, CA., July 1946. Frank Locke to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    The history extract for USS LSM-103 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Lay, Samuel Houston, USNR12 November 1944 - December 1945
    02LTjg. Todd, Hoyt H., USNRDecember 1945 - June 1946
    03LTjg. Harris, Robert P., USNRJune 1946 - September 1946
    04ENS. Baldwin, Lawrence Cloyd, USN (USNA 1946)September 1946 - 18 December 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
    Action Report - Landing of Occupation Forces, Nagasaki Japan, September 1945
    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 12 March 2021