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Friday, July 1, 2011

LAST OF THE MIGHTY MIDGETS


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The U.S. Navy spared no expense in saving the lives of its Marines and Sailors during WW II. This philosophy was the underlying reasoning for the development of a small (158.5-ft) craft, which had an extremely shallow draft and was armed to the teeth. After a bitter experience at Tarawa Atoll, the LCS (L) was born to give continuous fire support for the landing forces all the way to the beach and beyond.

This is the story of how 130 new ships (Mighty Midgets) joined the fleet for this specific purpose and we look at one in particular - HTMS Nakha. Many years after the conclusion Heavily armed converted LCI’s, the last original gunboat variant of these wartime landing craft is now on display at a San Francisco museum.  Conclusion of WW II, the United States granted the LCS (L)-102 to Thailand as part of the Mutual Defense Agreement.   Ironically, the Royal Thailand Navy Nakha is the last of that original 130 vessels,and now has been returned to American soil to become a museum ship at Mare Island,California. However, its precursors began at Tarawa Atoll.

The "Mighty Midget Story".....you can read about by clicking on the below link.

LAST OF THE MIGHTY MIDGETS

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