USS LSM(R)-194 was a LSM(R)-188 class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket) of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, which took part in the Battle of Okinawa

Battle of Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...

. LSM(R)-194 was laid down at the Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

 on 21 November 1944. The ship was under the command of Lt.jg Allen M. Hirshberg, USNR. Sunk on 4 May 1945 when hit by Japanese suicide plane while on radar picket duty.

Service History

During World War II the ship was assigned to the Asiatic Pacific theater. At that time the fleet was under the command of Admiral Spruance and named the Fifth Fleet. Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner was Commander of Amphibious Forces Pacific and was to be in charge of operations until the beachhead was established. At 1840 on 26 March 1945 THE USS Halligan DD-584 struck a floating mine which exploded her two forward 5"/38 magazines and her forward boiler. There was a tremendous explosion which sent a column of smoke and flame several hundred yards into the air. As soon as the smoke cleared we saw that the destroyer was still afloat. She circled erratically and moved forward at a slow rate. We immediately sounded general quarters and broke out fire hoses. The order left full rudder was given and we proceeded at full speed to her assistance. Two or three survivors were noted in the water about one half mile off our starboard and the LSMR-195 was directed to pick them up. Upon arriving at the scene we saw that her hull forward of the first stack (including the bridge structure) had been blown away. We tied up alongside her starboard side and played hoses on the few flames forward. Our Pharmacist's Mate directed the evacuation of the injured. Many dead bodies were noticed on deck. The surviving Radar Gear was apparently jettisoned. One of the 3 PCs tied up alongside the destroyer's port side and began evacuating survivors. Our ship took aboard seventy-two men, two of whom were seriously wounded. The PC evacuated approximately the same number, and the LSMR-195 picked up two men from the water. The Kerama Retto

Kerama Retto

The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....

 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 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 March 29 three of these boats, called kaiten

Kaiten

The Kaiten were manned torpedos and suicide craft, they were used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the final stages of World War II.-History:...

, attacked the USS LSM(R)-189 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 northern support craft included LSM(R)194, USS LSM(R)-195

USS LSM(R)-195

LSM-195 was laid down at Charleston Navy Yard. The ship was commissioned on 21 November 1944, Lt. William E. Woodson, USNR, in command- Service history :...

, USS LSM(R)-196, USS LSM(R)-197

USS LSM(R)-197

LSM-197 was a United States Navy vessel laid down at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina. The ship was commissioned on 8 December 1944, Lt.John N. Cooper, USNR, in command.-Design:...

, USS LSM(R)-198

USS LSM(R)-198

USS LSM 198 was a Landing Ship Medium of the US Navy during World War II.It was laid down at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina. The ship was commissioned on 12 December 1944 with LtJG. George B...

, and USS LSM(R)-199

USS LSM(R)-199

LSM-199 was a LSM-188 class Landing Ship Medium of the US Navy during World War II. laid down at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina, The ship was commissioned on 12 December 1944, Lt. Charles D. Cobb, USNR, in command....

. At 1715, 5 April 1945, LSM(R) 194 received 20mm shell holes from an enemy suicide plane as it passed forward of the conning tower. One officer was wounded slightly by a small piece of shrapnel. While on screening patrol off Hagushi Landing Beaches, LSM(R) 197 destroyed OSCAR

OSCAR

OSCAR is an acronym for Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. OSCAR series satellites use amateur radio frequencies to facilitate communication between amateur radio stations. These satellites can be used for free by licensed amateur radio operators for voice and data communications...

 by 40mm gunfire. LSMR-194 while patrolling at radar picket station 10 on 18 April 1945, fired at a BETTY

Betty

Betty is a common diminutive for the names "Elizabeth" and "Bethany".-Actresses and musicians:*Betty , American alternative rock band*Betty Boo, English dance-music artist, singer, and songwriter...

 with 5"/38" and observed the plane going down in flames.

On 3 May 1945 the 188-class LSM(R)'s was put to the test. The Japanese launched their fifth kikusui attack on May 3. Picket station 10 was the hardest hit. LSM(R)-194 was hit by a kamikaze and soon sank. For her overall performance of duty on the radar picket line the ship was awarded a Navy Unit Commendation

Navy Unit Commendation

The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...

.

Okinawa Radar Picket Line

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 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 April 2 - April 20, 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 effect 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 the USS LSMR-195 was sunk on May 3, 1945 with 9 killed and 16 wounded, the USS LSMR-190 was sunk on 4 May 1945 with 13 killed and 18 wounded, the USS LSMR-194 was sunk on May 4, 1945 with 13 killed and 23 wounded.

Tribute To Those Who Served (Turner)

The victory at Okinawa was never in doubt, but the price paid was very, very high. The numbers for American casualties were the highest of any campaign against the Japanese. Total casualties were 49,151, of which 12,520 were killed or missing and 36,631 were wounded. Of this number the Navy casualties were 4,907 killed or missing and 4,824 wounded. The ship losses were 36 sunk and 368 damaged, with many of the damaged ships never being returned to combat readiness. Approximately 110,000 Japanese were killed. These numbers rung up during the last campaign of World War II, may seem appalling, but in hindsight would have seemed small in comparison to the casualties on both sides had the invasion of Japan taken place as planned.