What a great tour Tony gave us. This tiny 153-foot ship packed a huge punch. It was hard to imagine over 70 sailors on this ship. You better get along.
After launching and commissioning at Commercial Iron Works in Portland Oregon, LCS(L)(3)-102 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, under the command of Lt. Richard Jones, her skipper. Although World War II was in its final stages by then, LCS-102 arrived in time to participate in the Battle of Okinawa, taking part in the Gunto operation between 18 and 30 June 1945.
Radar Picket Duty in Okinawa
In Okinawa, LCS-102 was assigned to Radar Picket (RP) station number 18, located about 90 miles south of the island. She would serve as one of four LCS class ships protecting the actual picket ship (a destroyer), as it scanned for aircraft heading outbound from the island to the US Fleet. Should any outbound hostile aircraft be detected, the destroyer would alert the main fleet out in deeper waters of the impending attack.
Leyte Island and the end of World War II
Sometime following the invasion of Okinawa, the 102 was pulled off of the line and received orders to set sail for the Philippines. Along with several other LCS class ships, she arrived at Leyte Island shortly after a successful invasion by Allied forces. There, the 102 and her sister ships participated in mine removal operations. World War II ended while she was stationed in the Philippines.
Occupation of Japan
From Leyte, LCS-102 ventured north to Sasebo, Japan. She arrived two months after Fat Man (the first atomic bomb), had destroyed much of the neighboring city of Nagasaki. The 102 and her crew were lucky to get a dock; many other ships filled the harbor as part of the postwar occupation force. As they approached, several olive-green trucks with Marines inside, pulled up to greet them on the dock. The flotilla commander, Captain J. M. McIsaac, had permitted any sailors to tour the ruins of Nagasaki and witness the destruction of the atomic bomb firsthand. About 40 of the 102's crew took up his offer.
USS LCS-102 served as part of the occupation forces in Japan until December 1945. She then visited numerous ports in East Asia, including Tientsin and Tsingtao in China, and Kunsan in South Korea.
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force
The 102 was later pulled from the mothball fleet to be one of many US Navy ships loaned to the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. The JMSDF was referred to as such because Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, established after Japan's surrender, prohibited the country from maintaining a navy. It was in Japanese service that the LCS-102 received a roof over the lookout deck, and 81mm mortars on the 01 level. The 20mm guns on the 01 level were subsequently moved to the main deck, and doubled up. Today, the 102 still bears these modifications.
The Royal Thai Navy
In 1965, the ship was returned to the US Navy, but a year later, she was on her way to Yokosuka, Japan for turnover to the Royal Thai Navy. The 102 would remain in Thai service until 2007.
27 ноя 2022
