USS LSM-478
 ROCS Mei Kun
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | LSM-478 |
| Builder | Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston |
| Laid down | 10 February 1945 |
| Launched | 3 March 1945 |
| Commissioned | 7 April 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 28 May 1946 |
| Honors and awards | See Awards |
| Fate | Transferred to France, 1 April 1954 |
| History | |
 France | |
| Name | L9016 |
| Acquired | 1 April 1954 |
| Commissioned | 28 June 1954 |
| Decommissioned | April 1956 |
| Fate | Returned to US, April 1956 |
| History | |
 Taiwan | |
| Name |
|
| Acquired | November 1956 |
| Commissioned | November 1956 |
| Decommissioned | 1973 |
| Reclassified | LSM-352 |
| Stricken | 1973 |
| Identification | Pennant number: LSM-252 |
| Fate | Unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | LSM-1-class landing ship medium |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 203 ft 6 in (62.03 m) o/a |
| Beam | 34 ft 6 in (10.52 m) |
| Draft |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × Fairbanks-Morse (model 38D81/8X10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) diesels. Direct drive with 1,440 bhp (1,074 kW) each @ 720 rpm, twin screws |
| Speed | 13.2 knots (15.2 mph; 24.4 km/h) |
| Range | 4,900 nmi (9,100 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h) |
| Capacity | 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVTs, or 9 DUKWs |
| Troops | 2 officers, 46 enlisted |
| Complement | 5 officers, 54 enlisted |
| Armament | 6 × 20 mm AA gun mounts |
| Armour | 10-lb. STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning station |
USS LSM-478 was a LSM-1-class landing ship medium in the United States Navy during World War II. The ship was transferred to France as L9016 and Taiwan as ROCS Mei Kun (LSM-252).
Construction and career
[edit]LSM-478 was laid down on 10 February 1945 at Brown Shipbuilding Co., Houston, Texas. Launched on 3 March 1945 and commissioned on 7 April 1945.
During World War II, LSM-478 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific theater. She was assigned to occupation service in the Far East from 4 September to 9 November 1945.[1]
LSM-478 was decommissioned on 28 May 1946.[2]
She was loaned to the French on 1 April 1954.[3]
She was struck from the Navy Register.
The ship was commissioned into the French Navy on 28 June 1954 and renamed L9016.[3][1] She served in the First Indochina War later that year.[4]
L9016 was returned to the US in April 1956 and then transferred to Taiwan in November 1956, in which she was commissioned in November 1956, as ROCS Mei Kun (LSM-252). She was later redesignated LSM-352.
Underneath the cover of the night in January 1957, the ship escaped China through Kinmen and small waterways of Jinmen to avoid Communist Army's radar. At 8 in the evening, she lifted her anchor and left Liuluo Bay for Taiwan.[5]
The ship was put out of service in 1973 with her fate unknown.
Awards
[edit]LST-478 have earned the following awards:
- American Campaign Medal
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
- Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Citations
[edit]- ^ a b "Landing Ship Medium (LSM)". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "USS LSM 478 (LSM 478) of the US Navy - American Medium landing ship of the LSM class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Further Information & Corrections: Warship Information Service". Warship International. 10 (3). International Naval Research Organization: 320–335. 1973. JSTOR 44890242.
- ^ "* LSM 9016 (1954/1956) *". www.postenavalemilitaire.com (in French). Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ Zhenzheng, Wu (2011). 群英憶往: 陸軍官校第四軍官訓練班入伍生總隊口述歷史. Government Affairs Office of the Ministry of Defense. pp. 273–274. ISBN 978-9860273151.
Sources
[edit]- United States. Dept. of the Treasury (1962). Treasury Decisions Under the Customs, Internal Revenue, Industrial Alcohol, Narcotic and Other Laws, Volume 97. U.S. Government Printing Office.
- Moore, Capt. John (1984). Jane's Fighting Ships 1984-85. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0710607959.
- Saunders, Stephen (2009). Jane's Fighting Ships 2009-2010. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0710628886.
- Fairplay International Shipping Journal Volume 222. United Kingdom: Fairplay Publishing Limited. 1967.
