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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-257


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Foxtrot - Alpha
 NVFA
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 (3) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 23 March 1944, at Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newark, N.J.
  • Launched, 12 May 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-257, 30 May 1944, LTjg. Edward C. Nuter USNR in command
  • During WWII USS LSM-257 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 13 October to 29 November 1944
    Ormoc Bay landings, 7 to 8 December 1944     		Borneo operation;
    Balikpapan operation, 26 June to 6 July 1945
    Consolidation of the Southern Philippines;
    Mindanao Island landings, 10 March 1945, and 17 to 23 April 1945     		 

  • Following World War II USS LSM-257 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 7 October to 1 December 1945
  • Decommissioned, 7 May 1946, at San Diego, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 June 1946
  • USS LSM-257 earned three battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping in November 1946, to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, CA.
    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-257
    101425702    		 153k USS LSM-257 underway, 8 July 1944 off the United States Alantic coast.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-239222, a US Navy photo taken by an Airship Patrol Squadron ZP-24 airship based at Weeksville, North Carolina.    		 Rick Davis
    LSM-257 171k USS LSM-257 beached at Ormoc Bay, P.I., 7 December 1944 Submitted by Adrain K. 'for educational purposes'
    Source-"Pictorial History of Australia at War 39-45",
    5 Volumes. 1959
    LSM-257 98k USS LSM-257 and LSM-21 beached while off loading equipment, date and location unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-257
    101425704    		 64k USS LSM-257 beached, 20 October 1944, at Leyte Island, Philippines.
    Select frame from a short film called "Philippine Operations, Leyte, Philippine Islands, October 20, 1944" Dept. of Defense, Department of the Army. US National Archives and Records Administration Identifer NAID: 16878, Local ID 111-ADC-3075    		 David Upton
    The history extract for USS LSM-257 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01LTjg. Nufer, Edward Charles, USNR30 May 1944 - 15 October 1945
    02LTjg. Whitcomb, Leslie Julius, USN15 October 1945 - 7 February 1946
    03LTjg. Henderson, Robert Harold, USNR7 February 1946 - 7 May 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    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 13 December 2024