USS LSM ( R ) - 190 USS " LSM ( R ) - 190 " was a United States Navy LSM ( R ) - 188 - class Landing Ship Medium ( Rocket ) . She was built at Charleston Navy Yard , Charleston , South Carolina and was commissioned on 21 November 1944 . " LSM ( R ) - 190 " took part in the Battle of Okinawa from 7 April – 4 May 1945 . She was hit and sunk by a Japanese suicide plane on 4 May 1945 while on the radar picket line . She later received a Navy Unit Commendation for her service off Okinawa . Her commanding officer was Lt . Richard H . Saunders , USNR . Design History ( Friedman ) . The LSM ( R ) - 190 was one of twelve amphibious ships that evolved during World War II as battle experience identified new weapon requirements for the invasion of the Japanese home islands . The origins of the LSM ( R ) can be traced to a British Admiralty lend lease request for special amphibious transports to land tanks for the invasion of France . This presented two design problems . It required the design of ocean going ships that could safely and efficiently travel from the US to England and second ; include shallow drafts for beach landings . During October 1941 Major R . E . Holloway , Royal Engineers , brought to the attention of the US Navy an idea patented by Otto Popper of Bratisslava , Czechoslovakia in 1924 of a barge transporter for use on the Danube River that flooded down to allow barges aboard , then pumped out it tanks to lift them out of the water . Norman Freidman reports that on 4 November 1941 this concept led to the breakthrough design by John C . Niedermair , civilian technical director , BuShips preliminary design section , based on ballasting techniques used on submarines that solved both design problems . This led to the construction of thousands of US Navy amphibious ships including the original LST ' s and with hundreds of incremental improvements modifications and conversions of LTC ' s , LCM ' s and LSM ' s . British and US visionaries instrumental in supporting the concept include Captain Thomas A Hussey , COHO , and Sir Henry C . B . Weymss of the British mission to the US , Captain Edward Cochrane BuShips , the Army ' s Chief of Staff General George C . Marshall and Winston Churchill when he personally pushed the project for special amphibious ships and won President Roosevelt ' s reluctant approval . This decision proved providential a short time later with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . The design criteria for the US Navy amphibious forces for the invasion of Japan was already underway . In 1944 with the US Navy BuOrd ' s mounting of a 5 - inch / 38 gun and state of the art rocket launchers on the LSM its mission changed and the LSM ( R ) became the " ultimate " landing troop fire support out to 4 , 000 yards beyond the beach , designed for interdiction , harassment , destruction , illumination and high trajectory fire to destroy reverse slope targets for the invasion of Japan . Service History ( Turner ) . 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 . The Kerama Retto 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 29 March three of these boats attacked the USS LSM ( R ) - 189 but were promptly destroyed . On 1 April 1945 the southern half of the six - mile - wide Okinawa invasion beach was assigned to Task Force 55 , commanded by Rear Admiral John Leslie Hall , Jr . The assault troops were under Major General John R . Hodge . The southern support craft included LSM ( R ) s 189 , USS LSM ( R ) - 190 , USS LSM ( R ) - 191 , USS LSM ( R ) - 192 , and USS LSM ( R ) - 193 . 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 LSMR ' s involved in the invasion as part of the Northern Tractor Flotilla included USS LSM ( R ) - 194 , USS LSM ( R ) - 195 , USS LSM ( R ) - 196 , USS LSM ( R ) - 197 , USS LSM ( R ) - 198 , and USS LSM ( R ) - 199 . On 3 May 1945 the 188 - class LSM ( R ) ' s were put to the test and were not found wanting . The action at the picket stations proved that the courage and punishment endured by US Navy personnel was unrelated to the size of the ship . The Japanese launched their fifth kikusui attack on 3 May . Picket station 10 was the hardest hit . Shortly before dusk , the destroyer USS Aaron Ward was hit by a series of six kamikazes , suffering 45 killed or missing and 49 wounded . The ship survived , but was later decommissioned because it wasn ' t worth repairing . About the same time , approximately 20 planes attacked destroyer USS Little . She was crashed by four of them and sank within 12 minutes of the first hit . She lost 30 dead or missing and 79 wounded . USS LSM ( R ) - 195 was also on Picket Station 10 and while rushing to the aid of the Aaron Ward and the Little was likewise crashed by a kamikaze . The crash started her rockets exploding and knocked out the fire main and auxiliary pumps . LSM ( R ) - 195 had to be abandoned and , after being ripped by heavy explosions , sank . The following day the ordeal for the LSM ( R ) ' s reached its tragic climax . The day dawned bright and ominous . LSM ( R ) 190 was patrolling at Picket Station 12 . Not long after sunrise the anticipated kamikazes arrived and were met by American combat air patrol . Several of the Japanese planes managed to get through and attack the ships on this station . Three kamikazes crashed LSM ( R ) 190 . The ship that had seen so much previous action and had been credited with rescuing 180 survivors of other stricken ships was herself sunk . In the same attack the destroyer USS Luce was sunk , carrying 126 of her 312 officers and men with her . At the same time as LSM ( R ) 190 was fighting her final battle , USS LSM ( R ) - 194 was facing the same fate at Picket Station 1 . This was the most critical station on the picket line . The capture of the Kerama Islands did not come without a price . On the night of 28 March , Japanese planes from Okinawa airfields made a special attack on the small patrol craft assembled between the islands and Okinawa . About a dozen were shot down , but one crashed into USS LSM ( R ) - 188 . There were 15 men killed and another 32 wounded . The badly damaged ship survived , but she was sent back to Pearl Harbor and saw no further combat . No one realized at the time that this was a preview of what this class of ship would suffer six weeks later on the picket line . Small Boys With Twice the Striking Power Of The Battleship Iowa ( Stewart ) . The LSM ( R ) was heralded in the 16 April 1945 Life Magazine with a centerfold picture . " Each of these tiny ships had amazing firepower , greater at short range than the combined firepower of two mammoth Iowa class battleships " , ran the caption . The interim group of 12 LSM ( R ) s transited the Panama Canal and via San Diego , Honolulu , and the Philippines , headed for battle against Japan in March 1945 . Unaware of their destination , the crews were nonetheless well equipped and trained . In a preliminary assault on 26 March 1945 , they laid down a rocket barrage at dawn on Kerama Retta , a small cluster of islands off the southwestern shore of Okinawa . Their objective : to allow the 77th Infantry Division of the U . S . Army to swiftly land and secure the islands and the harbor for protection of the hospital , supply and communication ships , and floating drydocks . The early dawn assault surprised the Japanese . The marines took control with a minimum of casualties and established this area as a haven for damaged ships . Okinawa Radar Picket Line ( C . T . G . 52 . 21 ) . The American 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 2 April - 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 by Kamikaze aircraft on 3 May 1945 with 9 killed and 16 wounded , the USS LSMR - 190 was sunk by Kamikaze aircraft on 4 May 1945 with 13 killed and 18 wounded , the USS LSMR - 194 was sunk by Kamikaze aircraft on 4 May 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 .