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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

LSM(R) / LFR-404 Black Warrior River

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 13 - 17 September 1950)
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Bottom Row - Korean Service Medal (7) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)
LSM(R)-401 Class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket);
  • Laid down, 6 January 1945, at Charleston Naval Yard, Charleston, S.C.
  • Launched, 25 January 1945
  • Commissioned USS LSM(R)-404, 25 April 1945, LTjg. J.P. Ryan, USNR, in command
  • During the Korean War LSM(R)-404 assigned to LSMR Squadron Five and participated in the following campaigns:
    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    North Korean Aggression
    18 to 19 September 1951     		UN Summer-Fall Offensive
    17 to 25 November 1951
    Communist China Aggression
    10 to 24 December 1950
    3 to 14 January 1951     		Second Korean Winter
    30 November 1951 to 30 April 1952
    Inchon Landing
    13 to 17 September 1950     		Korea Defense, Summer-Fall
    1 May to 23 June 1952
    First U.N. Counter Offensive
    29 January to 11 February 1951     		.

  • Decommissioned, 10 November 1954, at Astoria OR
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group
  • Renamed USS Black Warrior River (LSM(R)-404, 1 October 1955
  • Reclassified Inshore Fire Support Ship (LFR-404), 1 January 1969
  • Struck from the Naval Register , 1 October 1958
  • Final Disposition, sold in 1959, to Marine Protein Inc., Panorama City, CA., renamed Cape Flattery and converted to a fish processing barge in 1962, scrapped, circa 1994.
  • LSM(R)-404 earned seven battle stars for Korean War service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 758 t.(light), 993 t.(attack) 1,175 t. (fully loaded)
    Length 203' 6" o.a.
    Beam 34' 6"
    Draft 7' forward, 9' aft
    Speed 13 kts.
    Complement 6 officers, 137 enlisted
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    two twin 40mm gun mounts
    four twin 20mm gun mounts
    ten twin tube continuous loading 5" spin stabilizer rocket launchers
    four 4".2 mortars
    two .50 cal machine guns on the forecastle
    two .30 cal machine guns on the bridge wings.
    Armor 10-lb. STS on conning station, pilot-house, radio room, radar plot, and rocket control, 10-lb. ASPP around 40 and 20mm gun mounts and directors
    Propulsion two General Motors 16-287A (non-reversing with airflex clutch) diesels, direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm, twin screws, Endurance, 3,000 miles @ 13kts
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Black Warrior River LSM(R)-404
    LSM(R)-404 65k LSM(R)-404 underway, date and place unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM(R)-404 109k LSM(R)-404 in center, and Begor (APD-127) stand by as UN forces demolish Hungnam's port facilities at the conclusion of the evacuation, 24 December 1950.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-426403, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Big Black River 79k LSM(R)-409, LSM(R)-412, LSM(R)-401, LSM(R)-403, LSM(R)-404 and LSM(R)-419 moored at Yokosuka, Japan, 1 May 1951
    US Navy photo.    		 Lewis Smith to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM(R)-404 76k LSM(R)-404 underway off San Diego, CA., April 1954.
    Photo by Oather Morper.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    Commercial Service
    LSM(R)-404 38k ex-Black Warrior River LSM(R)-404 in commercial service as Cape Flattery at Ensenada, Mexico, 1994. Warren Gilmour, GM2, USS LSM(R)-404, 26 January 1951 to 21 August 1954.
    LSM(R)-404 60k ex-Black Warrior River LSM(R)-404 in commercial service as Cape Flattery at Ensenada, Mexico, 1994. Warren Gilmour, GM2, USS LSM(R)-404, 26 January 1951 to 21 August 1954.
    LSM(R)-404 103k ex-Black Warrior River LSM(R)-404 in commercial service as Cape Flattery at Ensenada, Mexico, 1994. Warren Gilmour, GM2, USS LSM(R)-404, 26 January 1951 to 21 August 1954.
    View the Black Warrior River (LSM(R)-404
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center web site
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS LSM / LSMR Association
    Back to the Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Landing Ship Medium (Rocket) LSM(R) Index Back To The Inshore Fire Support Ship Photo (LFR) Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 30 June 2006