thedrifter
06-29-07, 05:46 AM
Welcome back to a symbol of Navy's past
By Times-Herald editorial staff
Vallejo Times Herald
Article Launched:06/26/2007 07:26:27 AM PDT
In their heyday, the "Mighty Midgets" helped protect U.S. Marines and soldiers during crucial beach landings at the height of the fighting in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
Now, the last operating Mighty Midget in existence will soon help rescue the Mare Island Foundation, when it is brought in the coming weeks - via Hong Kong - to the former Naval shipyard.
The HTMS Nakha, as the recently decommissioned LCS has been known for the past 40 years as part of the Thai Royal Navy, will serve as a museum and to the remaining LCS sailors, as a memorial of sorts to those killed while serving on them. The Thai government is returning the 62-year-old ship - the last of the 130 built - as a gesture of friendship.
What the LCS' lacked in speed - a maximum 12 knots - they made up in maneuverability because they could move where battleships couldn't and provide cover for those vulnerable troops nearest shore.
In the closing months of World War II, the newly launched USS LCS (or Landing Craft Support) (3) 102, went into action, aiding amphibious landings against Japan at such battles as Okinawa and the Phillippines.
The war came to an end only five months after the Nakha was launched, but the 158-foot long ship didn't end its service there, serving ironically as part of the Japanese fleet from 1953 (as the Himawai) until the Thai government received it in October 1966. The Thai navy used the Nakha for everything from air defense to firefighting.
As Times-Herald staff writer Sarah Rohrs detailed in Sunday's Front & Center, the Nakha was not built at Mare Island, but it nevertheless will represent in some small way some of the more than 500 that were.
The Nakha's presence at Mare Island could serve as a boon to tourism as well as to the foundation's ongoing efforts to preserve the former shipyard's history.
The Nakha is expected to arrive in August, with an official welcome in September. It's been through a lot, and we wish it a safe return journey to its homeland and a long stay at its new home.
Ellie
By Times-Herald editorial staff
Vallejo Times Herald
Article Launched:06/26/2007 07:26:27 AM PDT
In their heyday, the "Mighty Midgets" helped protect U.S. Marines and soldiers during crucial beach landings at the height of the fighting in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
Now, the last operating Mighty Midget in existence will soon help rescue the Mare Island Foundation, when it is brought in the coming weeks - via Hong Kong - to the former Naval shipyard.
The HTMS Nakha, as the recently decommissioned LCS has been known for the past 40 years as part of the Thai Royal Navy, will serve as a museum and to the remaining LCS sailors, as a memorial of sorts to those killed while serving on them. The Thai government is returning the 62-year-old ship - the last of the 130 built - as a gesture of friendship.
What the LCS' lacked in speed - a maximum 12 knots - they made up in maneuverability because they could move where battleships couldn't and provide cover for those vulnerable troops nearest shore.
In the closing months of World War II, the newly launched USS LCS (or Landing Craft Support) (3) 102, went into action, aiding amphibious landings against Japan at such battles as Okinawa and the Phillippines.
The war came to an end only five months after the Nakha was launched, but the 158-foot long ship didn't end its service there, serving ironically as part of the Japanese fleet from 1953 (as the Himawai) until the Thai government received it in October 1966. The Thai navy used the Nakha for everything from air defense to firefighting.
As Times-Herald staff writer Sarah Rohrs detailed in Sunday's Front & Center, the Nakha was not built at Mare Island, but it nevertheless will represent in some small way some of the more than 500 that were.
The Nakha's presence at Mare Island could serve as a boon to tourism as well as to the foundation's ongoing efforts to preserve the former shipyard's history.
The Nakha is expected to arrive in August, with an official welcome in September. It's been through a lot, and we wish it a safe return journey to its homeland and a long stay at its new home.
Ellie