View source for LSM(R)-188-class landing ship medium

{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image = [[File:Uss LSMR-194.jpg|300px]]
|Ship caption= {{USS|LSM(R)-194}}, a ''LSM(R)-188''-class ship
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=Landing Ship Medium (Rocket)
|Builders=[[Charleston Navy Yard]]
|Operators={{navy|United States}}
|Class before=
|Class after=
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range= September–October 1944
|In service range=
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|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=12
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=3
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
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|Ship class=
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|758|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}} light
*{{convert|983|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} attack
*{{convert|1175|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} fully loaded
|Ship length= {{convert|203|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|34|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft=*{{convert|5|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}} light
*{{convert|5|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}} attack
*{{convert|7|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}} fully loaded
|Ship propulsion=2 × [[General Motors]] Cleveland diesels, {{convert|2800|shp|0|abbr=on}}, 2 screws
|Ship speed= {{convert|13.2|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= {{convert|5000|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|7|kn|abbr=on}}
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=5 officers, 76 enlisted
|Ship sensors=
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|Ship armament=*1 × [[5"/38 caliber gun]]
*2 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm]] guns
*3 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]
*75 × four-rail Mark 36 automatic rocket launchers on topside rocket deck
*30 × 6-rail Mark 30 launchers mounted along gunwales (Removed early April 1945)
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''LSM(R)-188 class''' was a class of twelve [[Landing Ship Medium]] (Rocket) of the [[United States Navy]] during World War II. They were used in the Pacific War for bombardment of shore positions.
==Development==
The Landing Ship Medium (Rocket) was a development of the Landing Ship Medium for providing supporting fire to amphibious operations.
The LSM was one of a type of amphibious warfare ships alongside the [[Landing Ship Tank]] and [[Landing Craft Infantry|Landing Ship Infantry]].  In the Normandy landings of 1944, some of the larger landing craft had been fitted with artillery, ship guns and rockets (e.g. [[Landing Craft, Infantry#LCI.28R.29 - Rocket|LCI(R)]] ) to aid the bombardment of the German defences. A British [[Landing Craft Tank (Rocket)|LCT(R)]] could deliver 1,000 [[RP-3|3-inch rockets]]<ref>3-inch referred to the size of the rocket tube. The warhead was 6 inches in diameter and with its explosive filling weighed 60 lb.</ref> in single firing onto the beaches - said to be the firepower of 80 cruisers.
In 1944 the US Navy Bureau of Ordnance fitted LSM with a 5-inch/38 gun and rockets to give landing troop fire support out to 4,000 yards beyond the beach. This armament gave it the ability to interdict, harass, and destroy the enemy. The high trajectory of the firepower meant it was effective against defences otherwise protected by their position on the [[reverse slope]]
The LSM(R) was featured in ''Life'' Magazine of 16 April 1945 with a centerfold picture and the caption. "Each of these tiny ships had amazing firepower, greater at short range than the combined firepower of two mammoth Iowa class battleships".<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vUkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32 |title = LIFE|date = 1945-04-16}}</ref>
All ships of the class carried a single [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] gun in a turret at the rear of the ship. Two [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40&nbsp;mm Bofors guns]] were carried; a single mount at the bow and another amidships in front of the bridge. In addition, three [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]] were carried in single mounts. The main armament was the rocket launchers. No. 188 to 195 had 75 four-rail Mark 36 rocket launchers and a further 30 six-rail Mark 30 Rocket Launchers, the latter were removed in early April 1945. The others had 85 Mark 51 automatic rocket launchers.
==Service==
The interim group of 12 LSM(R)s crossed to the Pacific through the [[Panama Canal]] and on to the [[Philippines]], headed for battle against Japan in March 1945.
In a preliminary assault on 26 March 1945, they laid down a rocket barrage at dawn on [[Kerama Retto]], a small cluster of islands off the southwestern shore of Okinawa, to allow US Army troops of the 77th Infantry Division to land and secure the islands and the harbor for protection of the hospital, supply and communication ships, and floating drydocks. The early dawn assault surprised the Japanese; the army took control with a minimum of casualties and established a haven for damaged ships.
On the night of 28 March, Japanese planes from Okinawa airfields made a special attack on the small patrol craft assembled between the islands and Okinawa. About a dozen were shot down, but one crashed into ''LSM(R)-188''. There were 15 men killed and another 32 wounded. The badly damaged ship survived, but she was sent back to Pearl Harbor and saw no further combat.
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 for a first combat test of the 188-class LSM(R)s. The Japanese Sea Raiding Units had [[Shinyo-class suicide motorboat|suicide boats]] based there, and on the morning of 29 March three of these boats attacked the {{USS|LSM(R)-189||2}} 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 [[Lawrence F. Reifsnider]]. The LSM(R)'s involved in the invasion on 1 April 1945 as part of the Northern Tractor Flotilla included {{USS|LSM(R)-194||2}},{{USS|LSM(R)-195||2}}, {{USS|LSM(R)-196||2}}, {{USS|LSM(R)-197||2}}, {{USS|LSM(R)-198||2}}, and {{USS|LSM(R)-199||2}}.  The southern half of the six-mile-wide invasion beach was assigned to Task Force 55, commanded by Rear Admiral John Leslie Hall, Jr. The assault troops were under Major General John R. Hodge. The southern support craft included {{USS|LSM(R)-189||2}}, {{USS|LSM(R)-190||2}}, {{USS|LSM(R)-191||2}}, {{USS|LSM(R)-192||2}}, and {{USS|LSM(R)-193||2}}.
===Okinawa picket duty===
During the battle for Okinawa, the plan for defense against the kamikazes (which would be targeting the fleet anchored off Okinawa and the Allied forces and supply dumps ashore) was to have fighters intercept the Japanese aircraft as early as possible. To this end 16 radar picket stations were established around the island, in some cases almost 100 miles out. Each station was manned around the clock by a handful of ships ranging from destroyers down to minesweepers and their task was to sound the alarm and vector fighters to intercept before they reached the fleet. However the kamikazes also made targets of the picket ships. The LSM(R)s were not suited for picket duty. They did not have aircraft tracking radar and their guns lacked adequate anti-aircraft director controllers making them poor at the job of anti-aircraft defence.  Added to this they were laden with highly explosive rockets making them more vulnerable in case of damage. Most importantly they were specialist craft in short supply while other vessels were available for the picket duty. Their flotilla commander recommended they be withdrawn from the picket lines.<ref>Francis, Dennis L., LSM Commander of Flotilla Nine, Action Report 2–20 April 1945</ref>
On 3 May 1945 the Japanese launched their fifth [[Kamikaze|Kikusui]] attack. Picket station 10 was the hardest hit. Shortly before dusk, the destroyer {{USS|Aaron Ward|DM-34|2}} 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 was not worth repairing. About the same time, approximately 20 planes attacked the destroyer {{USS|Little|DD-803|2}}. 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. The ''LSM(R)-195'' was also on Picket Station 10 and while rushing to the aid of the ''Aaron Ward'' and the ''Little'' was likewise crashed by a kamikaze. The crash started her rockets exploding and knocked out the fire main and auxiliary pumps. ''LSM(R)-195'' had to be abandoned and, after being ripped by heavy explosions, sank. The following day, 4 May, ''LSM(R)-190'' was patrolling at Picket Station 12. Not long after sunrise the anticipated kamikazes arrived and were met by American [[combat air patrol]]. Several of the Japanese planes managed to get through. Three kamikazes crashed into ''LSM(R)-190'' and she was sunk along with the destroyer {{USS|Luce|DD-522|2}}. At the same time, ''LSM(R)-194'' suffered the same fate at Picket Station 1.
==Ships==
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Ship
!Launched
!Notes
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-188}} || 12 September 1944 || Sold for scrap, 17 February 1948
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-189}} || 12 September 1944 || Sold for scrap, 17 February 1948
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-190}} || 21 September 1944 || Sunk, 4 May 1945
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-191}} || 21 September 1944 || Sold, 20 January 1948
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-192}} || 4 October 1944 || Sold, 10 March 1948
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-193}} || 4 October 1944 || Sold, 20 January 1948
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-194}} || 7 October 1944 || Sunk, 4 May 1945
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-195}} || 7 October 1944 || Sunk, 3 May 1945
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-196}} || 12 October 1944 || Sold, 11 September 1947
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-197}} || 12 October 1944 || Sold, 3 February 1948
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-198}} || 14 October 1944 || Sold for scrap, 18 February 1948
|-
| {{USS|LSM(R)-199}} || 14 October 1944 || Sold, 10 March 1948
|-
|}
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
== References ==
* {{Cite book |first=Keith R. |last=Steele |title=LSM-LSM(R) Amphibious Forces |volume=II |location=Paducah, Kentucky |publisher=Turner Publishing Company |year=1997 |isbn=1-56311-389-9}}
* {{navsource|10/06/06188|USS LSM(R)-188}}
* {{Cite book |title=90 Day Naval Wonder |first=James M. |last=Stewart |year=2003}}
* {{cite web |last=Francis |first=Dennis L. |title=Action Report - Ie Shima and Southeastern Okinawa, 2 April through 20 April 1945 |year=1945| url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/06/0600001.htm |access-date=15 April 2014}}
* {{Cite book |first=Norman |last=Friedman |authorlink=Norman Friedman |title=U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |year=2002 |isbn=9781557502506 }}
=== External links===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTqI0FFpxK4 LSM(R) 199 and 194 launch rockets at Japanese positions on Okinawa]
{{LSM(R)-188-class landing ship medium}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:LSM(R)-188-class landing ship medium}}
[[Category:LSM(R)-188-class landing ships medium| ]]
[[Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]