Landing Ship Medium Explained

A Landing Ship Medium (LSM) was originally an amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy in World War II. Of a size between that of Landing Ships Tank and Landing Craft Infantry, 558 LSMs were built for the USN between 1944 and 1945. Most of vessels built on this frame were regular transports, while several dozen were converted during construction to specialized roles. Most LSMs were scrapped during the Cold War, but several were sold by the United States Department of Defense to foreign nations or private shipping companies.

OPNAV N95 established a new LSM program in 2020. The new LSM will be 350to long, able to operate at 22 knots and have a range of . The cost will be much lower than traditional amphibious shipping, according to a story in the March 2023 Marine Corps Gazette. The piece suggests that a MLR (Marine Littoral Regiment) would need nine LSMs.^{[1] [2] [3]} As a comparison the Jason-class of the Greek Navy is about long, with a top speed of 18 knots

LSM-1-class Landing Ship Medium (Transport)

List of LSM-1-class ships

In total, 558 LSM ships were launched. Some notable examples include:

Name	Year launched	Fate	Short summary
		Sold on November 15, 1974
		Sank on December 5, 1944
		Scrapped after 1998
		Sold on October 23, 1948
		Sold on October 23, 1948
		Scuttled on July 25, 1946
		Sold on December 10, 1958
		Scrapped on June 9, 1976
		Sold on December 29, 1946
		Scrapped on October 4, 1977
		Sank on May 25, 1945
		Grounded on December 5, 1944
		Sank in September 1958	Transferred to Nationalist China in 1949, recommissioned as Mei Le, sunk by Red Chinese artillery 9/1958
		Scrapped on August 14, 1972
USS Oceanside (LSM-175)		Scrapped in 1989
		Scrapped in 1960
		Scrapped in 1972
		Sold in February 1947
		Sank on June 16, 1969	Transferred to Nationalist China in 1949, recommisioned as Mei Hua, sunk in a collision with M.V. Ta Tung 16/6/69
USS LSM-275		Scrapped in 1976	Later renamed and reclassified
		Scrapped in 1958
USS LSM-315
USS LSM-319		Sank in 1971
		Scuttled on September 17, 2006
			Later USNS LSM-335 (T-AG-335) Assigned Ryukyuan shuttle.^[4]
		Scrapped
		Waiting for preservation
		Sold in November 1958
USS Hunting (LSM-398)		Scrapped after 1983	Later reclassified (E-AG-398)
		Scuttled on February 1, 2003
USS LSM-477		Sank in 1971
USS LSM-547		Abandoned by 1972

LSM(R)-188-class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket)

LSM(R)-401-class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket)

• (LSM(R)-401), later reclassified (LFR-401)
• (LSM(R)-402)
• (LSM(R)-403)
• (LSM(R)-404), later reclassified (LFR-404)
• (LSM(R)-405), later reclassified (LFR-405)
• (LSM(R)-406)
• USS Chariton River (LSM(R)-407)
• (LSM(R)-408)
• USS Clarion River (LSM(R)-409), later reclassified (LFR-409)
• (LSM(R)-410)
• (LSM(R)-411)
• (LSM(R)-412), later reclassified (LFR-412)

LSM(R)-501-class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket)

• (LSM(R)-501), later reclassified (IX-501)
• (LSM(R)-502)
• (LSM(R)-503)
• (LSM(R)-504)
• (LSM(R)-505)
• (LSM(R)-506)
• USS Greenbrier River (LSM(R)-507)
• USS Gunnison River (LSM(R)-508), later reclassified and renamed USS Targeteer (YV-3)
• (LSM(R)-509)
• (LSM(R)-510)
• (LSM(R)-511)
• (LSM(R)-512), later reclassified (LFR-512)
• (LSM(R)-513), later reclassified (LFR-513)
• (LSM(R)-514)
• (LSM(R)-515), later reclassified (LFR-515)
• (LSM(R)-516)
• USS Pee Dee River (LSM(R)-517)
• (LSM(R)-518)
• USS Powder River (LSM(R)-519)
• (LSM(R)-520)
• (LSM(R)-521)
• (LSM(R)-522), later reclassified (LFR-522)
• (LSM(R)-523)
• USS Saint Croix River (LSM(R)-524)
• USS St. Francis River (LSM(R)-525), later reclassified (LFR-525)
• (LSM(R)-526)
• USS St. Joseph's River (LSM(R)-527)
• USS St. Mary's River (LSM(R)-528)
• USS St. Regis River (LSM(R)-529)
• (LSM(R)-530)
• (LSM(R)-531), later reclassified (LFR-531)
• (LSM(R)-532)
• (LSM(R)-533)
• (LSM(R)-534)
• (LSM(R)-535)
• USS White River (LSM(R)-536), later reclassified (LFR-536)

Gypsy-class salvage lifting vessels

• , authorized as LSM-549
• USS Mender (ARS(D)-2), authorized as LSM-550
• USS Salvager (ARS(D)-3), authorized as LSM-551, later reclassified to YMLC-3
• USS Windlass (ARS(D)-4), authorized as LSM-552, later reclassified to YMLC-4

Production

Dates are launch dates.^[5]

• Brown Shipbuilding: Houston, TX: 254 (May 1944 - Apr 1946)
  • purpose-built yard for the war effort
• Charleston Navy Yard, North Charleston, SC: 121 (May 1944 - Nov 1945)
  • traditional military yard
• Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE: 65 (Apr 1944 - May 1945)
  • purpose-built yard for the war effort
• Pullman Company, Chicago, IL: 44 (May 1944 - May 1945)
  • traditional rail car manufacturer
• Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newark, NJ: 42 (May 1944 - Feb 1945)
  • traditional civil and military yard
• Western Pipe and Steel, San Pedro, CA: 32 (Aug 1944 - Mar 1945)
  • traditional civil yard

Delivery:^[5]

• Q2 1944: 74
• Q3 1944: 129
• Q4 1944: 132
• Q1 1945: 111
• Q2 1945: 58
• Q3 1945: 30
• Q4 1945: 15
• 1946: 9

Legacy

One LSM,, survived in its original configuration until around 2010. It was in storage at Marine Station Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It was slated to become the centerpiece of the Museum of the Marine, but due to changed plans, was scrapped between 2010 and 2014.

Light Amphibious Warship (LAW)

As of February 2023 the US Marine Corps has proposed the purchase of 18 to 35 modern LSMs; this LSM concept was previously known as the Light Amphibious Warship (LAW).^{[6] [7]}

See also

• List of United States Navy Landing Ship Mediums
• Landing Ship, Infantry
• Mark 8 Landing Craft Tank

References

1. Web site: Acquisition Costs of the Navy’s Medium Landing Ship . 11 April 2024. Congressional Budget Office.
2. Web site: Navy launches LSM contract competition . InsideDefense.com.
3. Web site: Marines, Navy near agreement on light amphibious warship features. Megan. Eckstein. 5 October 2022. Defense News.
4. August 1964 . Meet the Fleet – USNS LSM-335 . Sealift Magazine . 14 . 8 . Washington, D.C. . Military Sea Transportation Service . 24 . 29 December 2020.
5. Web site: 6 January 2018 . Landing Ships, Medium - LSM, LSM(R), LSV . Shipbuilding History.
6. News: Marine Corps Requirements Call for 9 Light Amphibious Ships per Regiment . February 2023 . Mallory . Shelbourne . USNI News . United States Naval Institute .
7. News: SECNAV Del Toro 'Excited' About New Landing Ship Mediums . February 2023 . John . Grady . USNI News . United States Naval Institute .

• LSM-LSMR: WWII Amphibious Forces, Turner Publishing Co.; Paducah, Kentucky,
• Jane's Fighting Ships, 1980–81
• US Navy, ONI 226, Allied Landing Craft and Ships, April 1944

External links

• USS LSM/LSMR Association
• NavSource Photo Archives
• Landing Ships ibiblio.org
• My Life Aboard the LSM-319 by Eugene Carey
• The Navy's Smallest Aircraft Carrier, July 1958, Popular Mechanics small article on conversion of LSM-445 to a target drone launching vessel