USS Targeteer

Last updated
USS Targeteer
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
Ordered1945, as LSM-508
Builder Brown Shipbuilding Company
Laid down31 March 1945, as LSM(R)–508
Launched28 April 1945
Commissioned25 June 1945
Decommissioned5 February 1947
Recommissioned7 April 1961
Decommissioned13 December 1968
Renamed
  • Gunnison River, 1 October 1955
  • Targeteer, 26 June 1960
Reclassified
  • LSM(R)-508, (Medium Landing Ship Rocket), February 1945
  • YV-3, (Drone Aircraft Catapult Control Ship), 26 May 1960
Stricken1 January 1969
MottoThe World's Smallest Aircraft Carrier
FateSold for scrapping, 10 December 1969
General characteristics
Class and type LSM(R)-501-class landing ship medium
Displacement
  • Pre-conversion :
    • 758 long tons (770 t) light
    • 993 long tons (1,009 t) attack
    • 1,175 long tons (1,194 t) full
  • Post-conversion :
    • 1,084 long tons (1,101 t)
Length203 ft 3 in (61.95 m)
Beam34 ft 6 in (10.52 m)
Draft
  • Pre-conversion :
    • 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) light
    • 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) attack
    • 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m) full
  • Post-conversion :
    • 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Propulsion2 × General Motors, non-reversing with airflex clutch, Cleveland diesels, 1,440 bhp (1,074 kW) each at 720 rpm, 2 screws
Speed12.6 knots (23.3 km/h; 14.5 mph)
Range3,000 nmi (5,600 km) at 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement6 officers, 137 enlisted
Armament
  • 1 × 5"/38 caliber gun
  • 2 × twin 40 mm AA guns
  • 4 × twin 20 mm AA guns
  • 4 × 4.2 in (110 mm) mortars
  • 20 × continuous loading 5 in (130 mm) Ship-to-Shore rocket launchers (reduced to 10 after conversion)
Armor
  • 10-lb. STS on conning station, pilot-house, radio room, radar plot, and rocket control
  • 10-lb. ASPP around 40 and 20 mm gun mounts and directors

USS Targeteer was an LSM(R)-501-classlanding ship medium (rocket) originally projected as LSM-508. The landing craft was reclassified as LSM(R)-508 in February 1945 and laid down on 31 March 1945 at Houston, TX, by the Brown Shipbuilding Corporation. Launched on 28 April 1945, LSM(R)-508 was commissioned at Houston on 25 June 1945.

Contents

Service history

Landing ship medium (rocket), 19451947

LSM(R)-508 departed Houston on 30 June and arrived at Galveston, TX, the same day to begin fitting out. She got underway again on 5 July and arrived at Charleston, SC, five days later, to receive her rocket launchers and undergo alterations. The landing ship shifted to Little Creek, VA, on 31 July. During her shakedown, conducted from 1 to 15 August 1945, Japan capitulated, ending the war in the Pacific.

LSM(R)-508 operated out of Little Creek, off the Virginia Capes, and in the Caribbean, conducting training there out of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into 1946. Returning to Little Creek on 24 March, the landing ship participated in further local training operations into the summer.

After shifting to Baltimore, MD, in July, for repairs, LSM(R)-508 sailed for Houston in October, transited the Panama Canal on 30 November, and arrived at San Diego, CA, soon thereafter, to prepare for inactivation. Decommissioned on 5 February 1947, LSM(R)-508 was placed in reserve at San Diego. She remained inactive for the next 22 years. During this time, she was named Gunnison River on 1 October 1955.

Drone aircraft catapult control ship, 19601969

Apparently slated for disposal in late 1959, Gunnison River was reinstated on the Navy list early in 1960 and selected for conversion to a drone aircraft catapult control ship. Accordingly, reclassified to (YV-3) on 26 May 1960, Gunnison River was renamed Targeteer on 26 June 1960. Placed "in service" in March 1961, Targeteer was commissioned on 7 April 1961.

Homeported at San Diego, from 1961 to 1968, Targeteer operated under the operational control of Commander, Fleet Training Group, San Diego - receiving the necessary upkeep and repairs from Service Group 1. Her primary mission included the launch and recovery of radio controlled drone aircraft and surface drone unit targets, maintained by Utility Unit 3, furnishing simulated "enemy" aircraft and high-speed surface craft exercises. The surface craft ("Firefish", were based on the supposed PT boat attacks on USS Maddox (DD-731) and USS Turner Joy (DD-951) in the Tonkin Gulf. These surface craft were very fast radio-controlled boats. Dubbed "the world's smallest aircraft carrier," Targeteer provided these support services for the United States Pacific Fleet into 1968. Her morse-code callsign was "N-T-Q-O" and her communication guard was held by COMTRAPAC Communications (Commander Training Command, US Pacific Fleet), on the Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare School (now CENTER), San Diego, (while in port) where Targeteer tied up.

Decommissioned on 31 December 1968, Targeteer was struck from the Navy list on 1 January 1969. The former drone aircraft catapult control craft was subsequently sold to the American Ship Dismantling Co., of Portland, OR, on 10 December 1969 and scrapped soon thereafter.

Awards

USS Targeteer received:

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Takanis Bay</i> Casablanca-class escort carrier of the US Navy

USS Takanis Bay (CVE-89) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier of the United States Navy, which served during World War II. She was named after Takanis Bay on the west side of Yakobi Island in Alaska. Launched in March 1944 and commissioned in April, she served as a carrier training vessel, operating off of San Diego. Following the end of hostilities, she repatriated troops from the Pacific theater as part of Operation Magic Carpet.

USS <i>Princeton</i> (CV-37) Essex-class aircraft carrier of the US Navy

USS Princeton was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during and shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the fifth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the Revolutionary War Battle of Princeton. Princeton was commissioned in November 1945, too late to serve in World War II, but saw extensive service in the Korean War, in which she earned eight battle stars, and the Vietnam War. She was reclassified in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), then as an Antisubmarine Aircraft Carrier (CVS), and finally as an amphibious assault ship (LPH), carrying helicopters and marines. One of her last missions was to serve as the prime recovery ship for the Apollo 10 space mission.

USS <i>Hancock</i> (CV-19) Essex-class aircraft carrier of the US Navy

USS Hancock (CV/CVA-19) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name and was named for Founding Father John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress and first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Hancock was commissioned in April 1944 and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning four battle stars. Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA). In her second career, she operated exclusively in the Pacific, playing a prominent role in the Vietnam War, for which she earned a Navy Unit Commendation. She was the first US Navy carrier to have steam catapults installed. She was decommissioned in early 1976 and sold for scrap later that year.

USS <i>Duncan</i> (DD-874) Gearing-class destroyer

USS Duncan (DD-874) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, the third named for Captain Silas Duncan USN (1788–1834). The ship was laid down by the Consolidated Steel Corporation at Orange, Texas on 22 May 1944, launched on 27 October 1944 by Mrs. D. C. Thayer and commissioned on 25 February 1945. The ship was sunk in 1980.

USS <i>Lamberton</i> (DD-119) Wickes-class destroyer

USS Lamberton (DD-119)/(DMS-2) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy in commission from 1918 to 1922 and from 1930 to 1946. She saw service during World War II. She was the only ship named for Benjamin P. Lamberton, a rear admiral who served with Admiral Dewey in the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 during the Spanish–American War.

USS <i>Halford</i> Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Halford (DD-480), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Lieutenant William Halford (1841–1919), a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

USS <i>Ingersoll</i> (DD-652) Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Ingersoll (DD-652) was a Fletcher class destroyer in the United States Navy, serving from 28 June 1943 through 19 May 1974. Ingersoll saw action mainly in the Pacific Ocean Areas during World War II, and during the Korean War and Vietnam Wars.

USS <i>LSM(R)-189</i>

USS LSM(R)-189 was a LSM(R)-188 class Landing Ship Medium (rocket) of the United States Navy during World War II. She was commanded by Lieutenant James Malcolm Stewart, USNR during the Battle of Okinawa.

Landing Ship Medium (LSM) were amphibious assault ships of the United States Navy in World War II. Of a size between that of Landing Ships Tank (LST) and Landing Craft Infantry (LCI), 558 LSMs were built for the USN between 1944 and 1945. The majority of vessels built on this frame were regular transports, while several dozen were converted during construction to specialized roles. Most LSMs were scrapped during the Cold War, but several were sold by the United States Department of Defense to foreign nations or private shipping companies.

USS <i>St. Josephs River</i>

USS St. Joseph's River was laid down on 19 May 1945 by the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Inc., in Houston, Texas; she was launched on 16 June 1945 and commissioned on 24 August 1945.

USS <i>Mender</i>

USS Mender was a Gypsy-class salvage lifting vessel of the United States Navy. Originally designated LSM‑550, she was reclassified on 24 April 1945, and was laid down on 25 August 1945 by Brown Shipbuilding Corporation, Houston, Texas. Launched on 7 December 1945; and commissioned on 8 March 1946.

USS <i>Greenbrier River</i>

USS LSM(R)-507 was laid down on 31 March 1945 by the Brown Shipbuilding Company in Houston, Texas and launched on 28 April 1945. She was commissioned by the United States Navy on 22 June 1945, with Lieutenant Alvin G. Walser in command.

USS <i>Clarion River</i>

USS Clarion River was an LSM(R)-401-class medium-type landing ship (LSM) built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for the Clarion River in west central Pennsylvania, she was the only US Naval vessel to bear the name.

USS <i>Epping Forest</i> (LSD-4)

USS Epping Forest (LSD-4/MCS-7) was an Ashland-class dock landing ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II for duty in the Pacific Theater. Her task was to carry and land amphibious landing craft and other equipment and to recover and repair landing craft when possible. Named for an estate in Lancaster County, Virginia where Mary Ball Washington, mother of George Washington, was born, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

USS <i>Portunus</i> (ARC-1)

USS Portunus (ARC-1) was an LSM-1-class landing ship medium acquired by the U.S. Navy for use during World War II as a landing craft for troops and, later, as a cable repair ship.

USS LSM-161 was a LSM-1-class landing ship medium built for the United States Navy during World War II. Like many of her class, she was not originally named and was properly referred to by her hull designation for much of her service life.

USS <i>LSM(R)-190</i>

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.

USS <i>St. Francis River</i>

USS St. Francis River was laid down on 19 May 1945 by the Brown Shipbuilding Company in Houston, Texas. She was launched on 16 June 1945, and commissioned on 14 August 1945 as USS LSM(R)-525. She was later renamed after rivers in Missouri, Arkansas, and Maine.

USS <i>Havre</i> (PCE(C)-877)

The USS Havre was a United States Navy PCE-842-class patrol craft escort in commission from 14 February 1944 to 1 July 1970. She served in the Central Pacific during World War II, supporting invasions of Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa, and was present in Tokyo Bay for the formal Surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945. Unlike other ships from this class, which were scrapped or sold to other nations, the (PCE-877) stayed the property of the United States Navy, who transferred ownership to the United States Navy Reserve as Naval Reserve Training Ship for 9th Naval District (Chicago) in April 1954. She was renamed USS Havre (PCE-877) on 15 February 1956 as part of a Navy-wide initiative to provide names to all numbered ships. The USS Havre served on Great Lakes until struck from Navy list 1 July 1970.

USS <i>Elk River</i> LSM(R)-501-class medium landing ship

USS LSM(R)-501 was the lead ship of the LSM(R)-501-class landing ship medium built in 1945 for service in World War II. She was later converted into a test range support ship and renamed USS Elk River (IX-501). Her namesake was a Minnesota town named Elk River.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.