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US-MdAnUSNI-191015001.tif
Resembling a fireworks display, a five-inch rocket is launched from the USS Clarion River (LSMR-409) on a night mission.
(U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive)

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Rocket Ships

A pictorial overview of close-in fire support ships developed during World War II.
By Jon Hoppe
June 2021
Naval History Magazine
Article
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Experiences of British, U.S., and Allied forces early in World War II underscored the need for effective close-in fire support and beach bombardment. The most effective method for providing this much-needed capability was not to develop specialized platforms for the task, but to modify the ships and craft that already had the capability to get close-in to shore in medias res. The answer was landing craft.

Much as the Soviets had done with their Katyusha on land, the British Royal Navy and U.S. Navy began modifying their existing and planned landing craft and boat designs to accommodate rapidly evolving rocket and rocket-launching technology. By the war's end, a number of different craft had been modified to carry and launch rockets for close-in fire support.

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Jon Hoppe

Jonathan L. Hoppe was the Digital Assets Administrator at the U.S. Naval Institute from 2015-2019. Before he started with USNI, he worked in historical research and archives. He has a background in art conservation from the University of Delaware and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh. You can visit his personal site at hoppejl.wordpress.com.

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