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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM(R)-188


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Oscar - Lima
 NVOL
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 USS LSM(R)-188 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LSM Flotilla Nine, CDR. D. L. Francis USN (23);
     LSM Group Twenty-Seven, LCDR. J. H. Fulweiler USNR;
     LSM Division Fifty-Three and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 3 June 1945

  • 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
  • USS LSM(R)-188 was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for her actions off Okinawa and one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 17 February 1948, to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, CA.
    Specifications:
    Displacement
    light 758 t.
    attack 983
    fully loaded 1,175 t.
    Length 203' 6" (ovl)
    Beam 34' 6"
    Draft
    light, 5' 4" (est. mean)
    attack, 5' 8" (est. mean)
    fully loaded, 7' 9" (est. mean)
    Complement
    Officers 5 Enlisted 76
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 1,225 Bbls
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    two single 40mm AA gun mounts
    three single 20mm AA gun mounts
    seventy-five 4-rail MK36 rocket launchers
    thirty 6-rail MK 30 rocket launchers
    Endurance 4,900 miles @ 12kts.(928 tons displacement)
    Propulsion
    two Fairbanks Morse (model 38D81/8X10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) Diesel engines, direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm
    Ship's Service Generators
     two Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
     one Diesel-drive 20Kw 120V D.C.
    twin propellers, 2,800shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    LSMR-188 88k USS 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 USS 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 182k The first ripple of 5" forward-firing aircraft rockets are launched from USS LSM(R)-188, date and location unknown. Due to the blast and flame effects of the scores of rockets being launched, the deck, including gun positions were completely cleared.
    US Navy photo from "Landing Craft, Infantry and Fire Support", by Gordon Rottman, Published by Osprey Books.    		 Robert Hurst
    LSMR-188 67k USS LSM(R)-188 firing rockets, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 183717 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-188 68k USS LSM(R)-188 under way, 28 August 1945, location 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 USS LSM(R)-188 firing rockets, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 700735 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-190/188 101k USS LSM(R)-190 and USS LSM(R)-188 firing rockets off the shore of Takashima, Ryukyus, date unknown.
    US Navy photo # BuAer 311761.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-196 92k USS LSM(R)-196, USS LSM(R)-188 and USS LSM(R)-189's rockets set fires on Tokishi Shima, March 1945
    US Navy BuAer photo # 311757.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-188 92k USS 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 171k USS LSM(R)-188 alongside USS Egeria (ARL-8), 29 March 1945, after being damaged by a Japanese air attack on the previous evening during the Okinawa Gunto operation.
    US National Archives, Photo No. 80-G-342587, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    LSMR-188 112k USSLSM(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 USS 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 USS 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 USS 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-188 291k USS 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. Randy James for his father John "Lew" James LCI(G)-560
    LSMR-188 206k
    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, USS LSM(R)-199, USS LSM(R)-188 and USS LSM(R)-196. A Los Angeles Herald Express photo. Jana Teehan
    The history extract for USS LSM(R)-188 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, ©1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Crist, Harry C., USNR15 November 1944 - 19 January 1945
    02LTjg. Turner, William H., USNR19 January 1945 - 1945
    03LT. Bowman, H. A., USNR1945 - November 1945
    04LTjg. Conrad, Edward L., USNRNovember 1945 - 23 June 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    USS LSM-LSMR Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS LSMR 188 - 199
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 29 October 2021