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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Lost to enemy action, 4 May 1945

USS LSM(R)-194


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Alpha - Foxtrot
 NVAF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive 4 May 1945 Okinawa) - Navy Unit Commendation
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
LSM(R)-188 Class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket):
  • Laid down, 29 August 1944, at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.
  • Launched, 7 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM(R)-194, 21 November 1944, LTjg. Allen M. Hirshberg USNR in command
  • During WWII USS LSM(R)-194 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, LSM Flotilla Nine, CDR. Dennis L. Frances, USN, and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 4 May 1945
  • Final Disposition, hit and sunk by a Japanese kamikaze plane, 4 May 1945, off Okinawa while on radar picket duty
  • Decommissioned, and struck from the Naval Register, dates unknown
  • USS LSM(R)-194 earned the Navy Unit Commendation for her actions off Okinawa and one battle star for World War II service
    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-194 59k LSM(R)-194 launching, 7 October 1944, at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-194 78k USS LSM(R)-194, port broadside view, passing under the Cooper River Bridge, Charleston, S.C., 2 December 1944.
    US Navy Yard Charleston photo 3515-44.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-194 62k USS LSM(R)-194, port broadside view, passing under the Cooper River Bridge, Charleston, S.C., 2 December 1944.
    US Navy Yard Charleston photo 3520-44.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-194 99k Overhead view of USS LSM(R)-194 underway off Charleston Navy Yard, 2 December 1944 on the Cooper River, Charleston, S.C.
    US Navy Yard Charleston photo from "U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History" by Norman Friedman.    		 Robert Hurst
    LSMR-194 88k USS LSM(R)-194 mast and conning tower view, 2 December 1944.
    US Navy Yard Charleston photo.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-194 115k LSM[R]s entering the anchorage at Okinawa for provisioning, 10 March 1945. USS LSM(R)-194 is at left. She was lost during the Okinawa Operation. Photographed from the USS Essex (CV-9).
    US National Archives, Photo No. 80-G-373782, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    LSMR-194 63k USS LSM(R)-194 off the beachhead at Okinawa with another LSM(R)-188 class LSM(R) and two LSTs USS LST-871 and USS LST-953, 26 March to 4 May 1945. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-194 64k USS LSM(R)-194 in the distance with an unidentified LCI(R) in the foreground firing into caves on the beach at Zamai Shima, 1 April 1945.
    IS Navy photo N-26570A    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-194 85k USS LSM(R)-194 underway off Okinawa, circa 26 March to 4 May 1945.
    National Archives photo    		 National Association of
    USS LCS(L) 1-130
    LSMR-194 131k USS LSM(R)-194 firing her rockets off Okinawa, 26 March to 4 May 1945.
    National Archives photo    		 National Association of
    USS LCS(L) 1-130
    LSMR-194 93k USS LSM(R)-194 underway, date and location unknown. USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-194 204k USS LSM(R)-194 underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "Allied Landing Craft of World War Two", published by Arms and Armour Press.    		 Robert Hurst
    LSMR-194 42k USS LSM(R)-194 underway, date and location unknown. Hyperwar US Navy in World War II
    LSMR-194 56k USS LSM(R)-194 underway, date and location unknown. Note single 5"/38 cal. gun mount aft. Robert Hurst
    The history extract for USS LSM(R)-194 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, ©1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01LTjg. Hirshberg, Allan Myers, USNR21 November 1944 - 4 May 1945
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    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
    C.T.G. 52.21 (LSM Flotilla Nine)'s Action Report IE SHIMA and Southeastern OKINAWA, 2 April through 20 April 1945
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Landing Ship Medium (LSM/LSMR) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 29 October 2021