Updated 2/22/2007
Those wishing to do additional research on the LCS(L) fleet will find that plentiful resources are available. In the Washington, DC, area, there are two facilities that house major collections of material relating to the Mighty Midgets.
The Operational Archives Branch of the Navy Historical Center at the Washington Navy Yard has a collection of photos, letters, documents, and memorabilia devoted to the LCS(L) ships. This collection was begun by the National Association of USS LCS(L) 1-130 in the early 1990s and has grown immensely. It is formally known as the L. Richard Rhame Papers or otherwise as the LCS(L) Collection. Members of the Association, working through Association Archivists Ray Baumler and Rob Rielly, have donated many photos, letters, and other documents related to the ships. Much of this collection is unique, although it also contains some documentary and photographic material that is also in the National Archives. For further information on line, visit the web site of the Navy Historical Center at www.history.navy.mil.
The National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland, contains a great deal of primary source material related to the LCS(L) ships. All official Deck Logs and Action Reports for the ships are to be found in the Textual Reference Room. The Photographic Section contains a number of photographs of the ships. Plans for the LCS(L)s are on microfilm and may be found in the Cartographic Section. World War II film footage is held in the Movie Collection. There are a number of Navy movie reels that contain shots of the LCS(L)s in action at Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and other locations. Some of this material has been copied and placed on the videos for sale on this site. The web address for the National Archives is www.nara.gov.
Many of the photographs in the L. Richard Rhame Collection are also found on line at NavSource. NavSource has the largest collection of U. S. Navy ships on the web, and there are over 350 photos of LCS(L)s. The only LCS(L) not represented by a photo is LCS(L) 7, and many of the ships have several. NavSource has worked closely with the National Association of LCS(L) 1-130 to build the collection. Ship histories for the LCS(L)s are currently being added to the site, and at present, the following fifty-nine ships are represented by a ship's history available for you to read: 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 34, 35, 37, 38, 42, 43, 46, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 55, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 75, 76, 78, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88, 91, 92, 99, 105, 111, 112, 114, 118, 120, 121, 122, 124, 128, and 130. You can visit the collection at www.NavSource.org.
A number of books have been written by former crew members who served on the ships as well as by professional historians. Many of these contain information that is singular to the writer's experience as he served in specific campaigns. An annotated list of these books is located on the Books - Videos page. Most are available through booksellers or directly from the authors.