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direction. Each station was manned around the clock by a handful of ships ranging from destroyers down to minesweepers. Their job was to sound the alarm and vector fighters to intercept before the
Japanese could attack the fleet anchored off Okinawa and the Allied forces and supply dumps ashore. Unfortunately, some of the eager-to-die Japanese wanted to attack the first American ships they saw: the pickets. Dennis L. Francis LSM Commander, Flotilla Nine for the period 2 – 20 April, Action Report indicated that these ships are not particularly suited for picket duty. Since their primary function is to deliver rockets during invasion operations, it seems feasible that subjecting them to continual enemy air attack will allow this secondary duty to seriously affect their ability to perform their primary function due to damage. They have no great value in combating enemy air craft due to the absence of air search radar, adequate director control for the 5"/38 main battery, and director control for the 40mm single guns. The fact that they carry a considerable quantity of explosive rockets in their magazines presents another hazard. In general, it is believed that assigning them to picket duty should be avoided since it means risking the operation of a limited number of specialized ships which could be performed by any number of other landing craft whose primary function is more closely coincident with screening operations. Before these recommendations were implemented
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was
Commander of Amphibious Forces Pacific and was to be in charge of operations until the beachhead was established. The Kerama Retto islands were a small chain of islands 15 miles west of the southwest tip of Okinawa. The invasion of the Kerma Retto was an opportunity to break in all twelve of the
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On 3 May 1945 the 188-class LSM(R)s were put to the test and were not found wanting. The action at the picket stations proved that the courage and punishment endured by US Navy personnel was unrelated to the size of the ship. The
Japanese launched their fifth kikusui attack on 3 May. Picket station
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The
American plan for defense against the kamikazes was to have fighters intercept the Japanese as early as possible. Sixteen radar picket stations were established around the island, in some cases almost 100 miles out, to give early warning of the Japanese planes which might be coming from any
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188-class LSM(R)s. One of the reasons that
Admiral Turner wanted to capture Kerama Retto was his knowledge that the Japanese Sea Raiding Units had suicide boats hidden there. On the morning of 29 March three of these boats attacked the
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was hit by a series of six kamikazes, suffering 45 killed or missing and 49 wounded. The ship survived, but was later decommissioned because it wasn't worth repairing. About the same time, approximately 20 planes attacked destroyer
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had to be abandoned and, after being ripped by heavy explosions, sank. The following day the ordeal for the LSM(R)s reached its tragic climax. The day dawned bright and ominous.
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but were promptly destroyed. The northern half of the six-mile-wide invasion beach was assigned to Task Force 53, under the command of Rear
Admiral
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and the Little was likewise crashed by a kamikaze. The crash started her rockets exploding and knocked out the fire main and auxiliary pumps.
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She was crashed by four of them and sank within 12 minutes of the first hit. She lost 30 dead or missing and 79 wounded.
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was patrolling at Picket
Station 12. Not long after sunrise the anticipated kamikazes arrived and were met by American
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During World War II the ship was assigned to the Asia-Pacific theater. At that time the fleet was under the command of
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Francis, Dennis L.,Commander C.T.G. 52.21 LSM Flotilla NINE, USS LC(FF) Flagship April 1945
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was facing the same fate at Picket
Station 1. GM1c Joseph A. Staum crewman of the
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was sunk, carrying 126 of her 312 officers and men with her. At the same time as
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5,000 nmi (9,300 km) at 7 kn (13 km/h; 8.1 mph)
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was also on Picket
Station 10 and while rushing to the aid of
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World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
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10 was the hardest hit. Shortly before dusk, the destroyer
44:(background) firing rockets off Tokishi Shima, March 1945
194:, 2,800 shp (2,088 kW), direct drive, 2 screws
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was sunk on 4 May 1945 with 13 killed and 23 wounded.
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was sunk on 4 May 1945 with 13 killed and 18 wounded,
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was sunk on 3 May 1945 with 9 killed and 16 wounded,
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List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships
264:was a US amphibious assault ship, laid down at
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8:
268:. It was commissioned on 12 December 1944.
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673:Ships built in Charleston, South Carolina
174:5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) forward
413:was killed off Okinawa on 1 April 1945.
417:Okinawa Radar Picket Line(C.T.G. 52.21)
307:. The northern support craft included
462:James M. Stewart (Self-Published) 2003
251:85 × Mk. 51 automatic rocket launchers
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663:LSM(R)-188-class landing ships medium
177:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) aft
54:
7:
472:Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD
454:LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces Volume II
156:203 ft 6 in (62.03 m)
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405:was fighting her final battle,
206:(24.4 km/h; 15.2 mph)
470:US Amphibious Ships and Crafts
1:
456:, Turner Publishing Co. 1997
513:-class landing ships medium
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450:at NavSource Naval History
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611:
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132:
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272:Service history (Turner)
222:5 officers, 76 enlisted
133:General characteristics
128:Sold, 11 September 1947
301:Lawrence F. Reifsnider
164:34 ft (10 m)
289:Richmond Kelly Turner
234:5-inch/38-caliber gun
266:Charleston Navy Yard
460:90 Day Naval Wonder
146:Landing Ship Medium
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391:combat air patrol
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83:13 September 1944
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466:Friedman, Norman
278:Admiral Spruance
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282:Fifth fleet
119:Battle Star
678:1944 ships
657:Categories
627:LSM(R)-401
602:LSM(R)-199
595:LSM(R)-198
588:LSM(R)-197
581:LSM(R)-196
574:LSM(R)-195
567:LSM(R)-194
560:LSM(R)-193
553:LSM(R)-192
546:LSM(R)-191
539:LSM(R)-190
532:LSM(R)-189
525:LSM(R)-188
511:LSM(R)-188
448:LSM(R)-196
438:References
411:LSM(R)-196
407:LSM(R)-194
403:LSM(R)-190
395:LSM(R)-190
386:LSM(R)-190
380:LSM(R)-195
376:Aaron Ward
372:LSM(R)-195
354:Aaron Ward
343:LSM(R)-199
336:LSM(R)-198
329:LSM(R)-197
323:LSM(R)-196
318:LSM(R)-195
311:LSM(R)-194
296:LSM(R)-189
261:LSM(R)-196
219:Complement
190:Cleveland
184:Propulsion
142:LSM(R)-188
112:Honors and
74:LSM(R)-190
42:LSM(R)-199
38:LSM(R)-190
34:LSM(R)-196
21:LSM(R)-196
384:USS
361:USS
352:USS
341:USS
334:USS
327:USS
316:USS
309:USS
294:USS
80:Laid down
432:LSMR-194
428:LSMR-190
424:LSMR-195
399:USS Luce
227:Armament
148:(Rocket)
88:Launched
468:(2002)
446:of USS
248:AA guns
144:-class
50:History
363:Little
339:, and
321:, USS
153:Length
114:awards
629:class
620:class
618:LSM-1
246:20 mm
211:Range
204:knots
202:13.2
199:Speed
169:Draft
244:3 ×
238:2 ×
232:1 ×
161:Beam
125:Fate
117:One
72:USS
69:Name
19:USS
659::
367:.
346:.
332:,
325:,
314:,
284:.
188:GM
502:e
495:t
488:v
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
