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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-444

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

USS LSM-444 was transferred to Chile and named Aspirante Morel (LSM-92)

LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:

Laid down, 1 March 1945. at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE.

Launched, 17 April 1945

Commissioned USS LSM-444, 12 May 1945, LTjg. Loren B. Waller USNR in command

During World War II USS LSM-444 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LSM Flotilla Fourteen, LCDR. W. R. McCaleb;
LSM Group Forty-Two;
LSM Division Eighty-Three

Following World War II USS LSM-444 was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
12 September to 29 November 1945	15 July 1946 to 2 August 1946
4 to 15 July 1946	23 to 26 August 1946
4 July 1946 to 1 September 1947	4 July 1946 to 1 September 1947
3 to 22 August 1946	30 August to 4 September 1946
27 to 29 August 1946	8 September 1946 to 28 July 1947
5 to 7 September 1946	6 October 1947 to 26 April 1949
28 April to 3 May 1949

Decommissioned in 1949, at San Diego, CA.

Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet

Reactivated and transferred, 13 November 1957, to the Atomic Energy Commission

Returned to US Navy custody in August 1960

Transferred, 2 September 1960, to Chile, named Aspirante Morel (LSM-92)

Converted in 1977 by Chilean Navy to a floating brig

Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown

Final Disposition, hulk sold for scrapping by Chilean Navy in 1981

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 General Motors (model GM 16-278A, 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
USS LSM-444
	48k	*LSM-444* launching at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE., 17 April 1945.	USS LSM / LSMR Association
	92k	USS LSM-444 grounded at Okinawa as a result of Typhoon "Louise", 5 October 1945.	Paul Burket USS LSM-341 and C. Scott Harris to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
	57k	USS LSM-444 moored inboard of USS LSM-447 and outboard of USS LSM-381 pierside at Tsingtao, China.	Ken Jankowski for his father John "Ski" Jankowski MOmm2/c USS LSM 381
	52k	USS LSM-444 underway in the China Sea, circa 1947	Paul Burket USS LSM-341
	76k	The unarmed ex-USS LSM-444 passing Point Loma as she departs San Diego, CA., in the mid-1950's. *LSM-444* was on loan to the Atomic Energy Commission when this photo was taken. Photo courtesy US Naval Institute.	USS LSM / LSMR Association
Aspirante Morel (LSM-92)
	5k	*Namesake* Juan Antonio Morel Zegers was born in Santiago (Chile) on 13 June 1865; died on 6 December 1880. He served in the Chilean Navy for a year and four months. This young officer died at the age of 15, in a clash between Chilean torpedo boats and Peruvian gunboats during the blockading of the port of Callao in 1880. Contribution of Francisco Javier Santos Vázquez.	Fabio Pena
	45k	Ex-USS LSM-444 in Chilean service as Aspirante Morel (LSM-92) at Punta Arenas, Chile, November 1967. Ricardo Rivera standing on the conning tower.	Eduardo Rivera for his father Ricardo Rivera Aspirante Morel
	76k	Aspirante Morel (LSM-92) beaching at Tres Puentes, Punta Arenas, Chile, November 1967 to pickup lambs. The *Aspirante Morel* was not used exclusively for military exercises but also assisted civilians by providing transportation for livestock, etc, especially in the in the south of Chile.	Eduardo Rivera for his father Ricardo Rivera Aspirante Morel
	151k	Aspirante Morel (LSM-92) loading wool bundles at Estancia Róbalo, the letters on the bundle "III ZN" stand for the Third Naval Zone (III Zona Naval).	Eduardo Rivera for his father Ricardo Rivera Aspirante Morel
	41k	Aspirante Morel (LSM-92) at Punta Arenas, Chile, November 1967, starboard view of conning tower.	Eduardo Rivera for his father Ricardo Rivera Aspirante Morel
	172k	Aspirante Morel (LSM-92), November 1967. Crew members working in the tank deck. Note the heterogeneous seaman's dress that was common in Chilean naval service vessels in the 1970's.	Eduardo Rivera for his father Ricardo Rivera Aspirante Morel
	64k	Aspirante Morel (LSM-92) moored to the seawall at Punta Arenas, Chile in 1967. Note the dent in the bow.	Eduardo Rivera for his father Ricardo Rivera Aspirante Morel
	58k	Aspirante Morel (LSM-92) underway, date and location unknown. Official Chilean Navy photo from "Jane's Fighting Ships 1967-1968.	Mike Green and Robert Hurst