Military Wiki
USS LSM-478
File:ROCS Mei Kun.jpg
ROCS Mei Kun
Career (United States) US flag 48 stars
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
Career (France) France
Name: L9016
Acquired: 1 April 1954
Commissioned: 28 June 1954
Decommissioned: April 1956
Fate: Returned to US, April 1956
Career (Taiwan) Taiwan
Name:
  • Mei Kun
  • (美功)
Acquired: November 1956
Commissioned: November 1956
Decommissioned: 1973
Reclassified: LSM-352
Struck: 1973
Identification: Pennant number: LSM-252
Fate: Unknown
General characteristics
Class & type: LSM-1-class landing ship medium
Displacement:
  • 520 long tons (528 t) light
  • 743 long tons (755 t) landing
  • 1,095 long tons (1,113 t) full load
Length: 203 ft 6 in (62.03 m) o/a
Beam: 34 ft 6 in (10.52 m)
Draft:
  • 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) forward
  • 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) aft
  • Fully loaded :
    • 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) forward
    • 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) aft
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[]

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, Lt. N. R. Briscoe in command. 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.[1][3] 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[]

LST-478 have earned the following awards:

Citations[]

Sources[]

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