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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

LSM(R)-188

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 29 March 1945) - Navy Unit Commendation
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Individual Awards

Purple Heart (17-KIA off Okinawa, 29 March 1945)
LSM(R)-188 Class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket):
  • Laid down, 18 August 1944, at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.
  • Launched, 12 September 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM(R)-188, 15 November 1944, LT. Harry C. Crist, USNR, in command
  • During WWII LSM(R)-188 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the:
  • Damaged, 29 March 1945, off Okinawa when hit by a Japanese Kamikaze dive bomber
  • Repaired and converted to an Ammunition Carrier
  • Decommissioned, 23 June 1946, at Terminal Island Navy Yard, San Pedro, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown)
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 17 February 1948, to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, CA.
  • LSM(R)-188 was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for her actions off Okinawa and one battle star for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 758 t.(light), 983 t. (attack) 1,175 t.(fully loaded)
    Length 203' 6" oa
    Beam 34'
    Draft light, 5' 4" (est. mean); attack, 5' 8" (est. mean); fully loaded, 7' 9" (est. mean)
    Speed 13.2 kts. (max.)
    Complement 5 officers, 76 enlisted
    Armor 10-STS on conning tower, pilot-house, radio room, radar plot, and rocket control. 10-lb, ASPP around 40 and 20mm mounts and directors
    Armament one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount, two 40mm AA guns, three 20mm AA guns. seventy-five 4-rail MK36, thirty 6-rail MK 30 rocket launchers
    Propulsion two General Motors (non-reversible with airflex clutch) diesels. Direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm, twin screws; Endurance, 3,000miles @ 12kts. (est.)
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    LSMR-188 88k LSM(R)-188 crew loading outboard MK 30 rocket launchers off Charleston, S.C., 3 December 1944.
    US Navy photo # NH 700730 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-188 122k LSM(R)-188 MK 36 rocket launchers off Charleston, S.C., 4 December 1944. Loading time to arm all the MK 36s was 2½ hours.
    US Navy photo from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-188 67k LSM(R)-188 underway while firing her rockets, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 183717 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-188 68k LSM(R)-188 underway, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 89245 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy William H. Davis, 1979.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-188 61k LSM(R)-188 underway while firing her rockets, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 700735 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-190/188 101k LSM(R)-190 and LSM(R)-188 firing rockets off shore of Takashima, Ryukyus, date unknown.
    US Navy photo # BuAer 311761.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-196 92k LSM(R)-196, LSM(R)-188 and LSM(R)-189's rockets set fires on Tokishi Shima, March 1945
    US Navy BuAer photo # 311757.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-188 92k LSM(R)-188 rocket racks showing damage sustained from Japanese suicide dive bomber attack while the ship was on patrol at Kerama Retto, Ryukyu Islands, 29 March 1945.
    US Navy photo # BuAer 316003.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-188 112k LSM(R)-188 damage sustained from Japanese suicide dive bomber attack while the ship was on patrol at Kerama Retto, Ryukyu Islands, 29 March 1945. Close-up view looking aft of the hole blown in main deck where suicide dive bomber hit the ship.
    US Navy photo # BuAer 316001.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-188 98k LSM(R)-188 damage sustained from Japanese suicide dive bomber attack while the ship was on patrol at Kerama Retto, Ryukyu Islands, 29 March 1945. Close-up view looking forward of the hole blown in main deck where suicide dive bomber hit the ship.
    US Navy photo # N-22098.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-188 107k LSM(R)-188 damage sustained from Japanese suicide dive bomber attack while the ship was on patrol at Kerama Retto, Ryukyu Islands, 29 March 1945. The suicide bomber struck the ship's 5" gun fire control director tub. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-188 94k LSM(R)-188 damage sustained from Japanese suicide dive bomber attack while the ship was on patrol at Kerama Retto, Ryukyu Islands, 29 March 1945. View of main deck aft where suicide dive bomber hit the ship.
    US Navy photo # BuAer 316002.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-196/198/199 103k Seven LSM(R)s comprising Groups 53 and 54 arriving home at the Port of Los Angeles, 8 October 1945, after the conclusion of World War II. Identifiable in this photo in the second row of ships are, from outboard to inboard, LSM(R)-199, LSM(R)-188 and LSM(R)-196. A Los Angeles Herald Express photo. Jana Teehan
    The DANFS history extract for LSM(R)-188 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, ©1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2009 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 11 October 2004