Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Mighty Midgets at War: The Saga of the LCS(L) Ships from Iwo Jima to Vietnam

By Robin L. Rielly
ISBN : 1555715222 
PSI Research, Inc. , P.O. Box 3727 Central Point, Oregon 97502
300 Pages, Retail Price: $18.95
After writing the history of his father's ship, the LSC(L)61, Robin L. Rielly continued his work on other ships. His activities led him to be appointed Archivist for the National Association of USS LCS(L)1-130. He assists in the maintenance of the L. Richard Rhame Collection at the Naval Historical Center in Washington DC, which is devoted to the LCS(L) ships and their history.
Mighty Midgets at War accurately chronicles the history of the Mighty Midgets - Landing Craft Support Vessels that were developed for amphibious assaults against the Japanese-held islands toward the end of WWII.
In this the book is splendid, giving thorough accounts of amphibious operations and being under attack by suicide boats and aircraft. A short overview of their participation in the clearing of Japanese minefields after the war and subsequent mothballing of most of the ships is included.
In addition the book includes a detailed history of these ships which served in Indochina for the navies of France and South Vietnam. Due to their shallow draft, high conning tower and firepower, these ships proved highly useful in riverine operations.
I had only three small quibbles with the book:
HMAS Warramunga is misidentified as a cruiser and later correctly identified as a destroyer
The mothball facility at the former Tongue Point Naval Air Station is misidentified in a photo caption as nearby Astoria, Oregon
Footnotes are placed in quotation marks within the text, which is an annoyance during reading
However apart from these small points, this book is highly recommended. It is hoped that Mr Rielly uses his burgeoning talents on another work soon.

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