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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-83


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Golf - India
 NVGI
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 (1)
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, 22 August 1944, at Brown Ship Building Co., Houston, TX.
  • Launched, 15 September 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-83, 8 October 1944, ENS. Albert F. Christener USN in command
  • During World War II USS LSM-83 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LSM Flotilla Nine, CDR. D. L. Francis, USN (23);
     LSM Group Twenty-Five, LCDR. L. Brouwer, USN;
     LSM Division Forty-Nine and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 30 June 1945
  • Following World War II USS LSM-83 was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    11 to 24 September 1945
    7 October to 24 November 1945

  • Decommissioned, 22 March 1946, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS LSM-83 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Sold, 10 November 1947, to Capitol Salvage & Sales Co., Edgewater, N.J. for commercial service
  • Final Disposition, scrapped in 1961
    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-83 65k USS LSM-83 underway, date and location unknown. Ken Roberts to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-83
    101408303    		 99k USS LSM-83, 31 March 1945. Nagannu Shima (a group of four small islands), about five miles west of Naha, Okinawa, Japan. U.S. Army M-4 High Speed Tractors deploy 155mm Long Tom guns of the 420th Field Artillery Group.
    Select frames from a short film titled "Iceberg", Keishe Shima (Four Coral Islands About 5 Miles from Okinawa Near Town of Naha, Ryuku Islands) NAID: 17780 Local ID: 111-ADC-3978. Department of the Army    		 David Upton
    LSM-83
    101408304    		 118k
    LSM-83
    101408305    		 125k
    LSM-83
    101408306    		 99k
    LSM-83
    101408307    		 148k
    LSM-137 316k USS LSM-137 at Cebu, P.I., to transport the US Army Americal Division to Yokohama, Japan 30 August 1945. In the background are; USS LSM-256, USS LSM-107, USS LSM-177, USS LSM-212, USS LSM-83, USS LSM-82, USS LSM-134, USS LSM-4, and USS LSM-17, Photo was taken from USS LSM-186 Photo by Ken Roberts Engineering Officer USS LSM-186
    LSM-83 51k USS LSM-83 moored to port of USS LST-53 at Kerama Rhetto, circa late-May early-June 1945. Off the starboard side of the LST is the hulk of the decommissioned USS Barry (APD-29) and the fleet ocean tug USS Lipan (ATF-85). Barry was used as a decoy ship to lure suicide planes into burned out ships. Lipan's job was to tow her. Ken Roberts Engineering Officer USS LSM-186
    The history extract for USS LSM-83 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01ENS. Christener, Albert F., USN8 October 1944 - December 1945
    02LTjg. Johnson, Van H., USNRDecember 1945 - 22 March 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 1 August 2025