Ron MacKay Jr.

This book is a model of serious historical research. Covering the last year of WWII, these ships saw action until the final Japanese surrender. California’s Cal Tech was involved with the rockets, launchers, the firing circuits, and the launchers’ installation. MacKay explains everything he covers and makes it easy to understand. This book probably wouldn’t be of interest to the general reader but would be a gold mine for the academic military enthusiast, WWII Pacific Theatre aficionado, scale-model builder, or Cold War historian.
There is included an extensive bibliography (with many unpublished works), notes, index, excellent B&W photos and maps. Many sailors were killed during friendly fire incidents or sailors lost at sea. This book takes careful and sensitive account of those men whom often go unmemorialized.
During WWII the US was involved in a concept of “total war.” This meant that the whole national economy was focused on winning and ending the war. After the near disaster of the D-Day Normandy landing beaches not being disabled or destroyed by US air attacks and naval bombardment, the amphibious assault nearly failed. In order to invade mainland Japan, preparations were made to not replicate the same errors and loss of life. The rocket ships were needed to allow shoreline and coastal defenses to be eliminated before any marine assault could be safely ordered. This is a very unique book which looks at the final year of the war from the perspective of the 12 US Naval rocket ships. The author was a US Navy Corpsman with US 3rd Marine Division and then went into the aerospace industry afterwards.… (mere)

Exhaustively researched, thoroughly documented; Rockets Ships is so data dense that like a fine whiskey; it should be taken and savored in small sips. It also would serve as an excellent supplement to the analysis for any battles in which these weapons were engaged. Conceived in haste, re-purposed from available LCM hulls and manned by rapidly trained civilians, these ships provided needed support for amphibious landings late in the Pacific War against the Japanese. The story of these twelve ships is leavened nicely by generous use of personal interviews and frequent focus on the men and officers on these ships. It should be in every library that portrays the WW2 Pacific War.… (mere)

Comprehensive account of the rocket-firing LSM(R)(landing ship, medium, rocket), rocket-firing conversions hurried into action for the Okinawa campaign. They pounded shore installations but were shortly without a job when Marines and infantry got clear of shore inland. There were a number of small islands around Okinawa that needed neutralizing, but the LSM(R)s still wound up spending the greatest amount of time as part of the anti-aircraft radar picket that defended from Kamikazes and piloted rocket bombs. Out of a group of 12, three LSM(R)s were lost to Kamikaze attack. When they returned to Pearl Harbor for refitting as ammunition carriers for the invasion of Japan, their first replacements were being built. Everything you want to know, from details of construction, dates of departure, missions, up to VJ Day back in Pearl Harbor. Recommended for students of Naval ships.… (mere)