USS Raritan (LSM-540)

The third USS Raritan (LSM-540) was a LSM-1-class landing ship medium in the United States Navy following World War II. She was named for a river in New Jersey.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Raritan.

History
Name: USS LSM-540
Ordered: 1945
Builder: Brown Shipbuilding, Houston, Texas
Laid down: 10 May 1945
Launched: August 1945
Commissioned: 6 December 1945, as USS LSM-540
Decommissioned: 29 May 1946
Recommissioned: 4 November 1957
Decommissioned: 1 December 1959
Renamed: USS Raritan (LSM-540), 14 October 1959
Stricken: 1 January 1960
Fate: Unknown, presumed scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type: LSM-1-class landing ship medium
Displacement:
  • 520 long tons (528 t) light
  • 743 long tons (755 t) landing
  • 1,095 long tons (1,113 t) full
Length: 203 ft 6 in (62.03 m) o/a
Beam: 34 ft 6 in (10.52 m)
Draft:
  • Light :
  • 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) forward
  • 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) aft
  • Full load :
  • 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) forward
  • 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) aft
Propulsion: 2 × Fairbanks Morse (model 38D81/8X10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) diesels. Direct drive with 1,440 bhp (1,070 kW) each at 720 rpm, twin screws
Speed: 13.2 knots (24.4 km/h; 15.2 mph) (928 tons displacement)
Range: 4,900 nmi (9,100 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) (928 tons displacement)
Capacity: 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks (150 tons max. payload, beaching); or 6 LVT's, or 9 DUKW's
Troops: 2 officers, 46 enlisted
Complement: 5 officers, 54 enlisted
Armament:
  • 2 × 40 mm AA guns
  • 4 × 20 mm AA guns
Armor: 10-lb. STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning station

Service history

Raritan was laid down on 10 May 1945 at Brown Shipbuilding Company, Houston, Texas, launched in August 1945, commissioned as USS LSM-540 on 6 December 1945, Lieutenant Roy T. Rector, USNR in command. She was decommissioned on 29 May 1946, at Green Cove Springs, Florida and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group, Green Cove Springs.

Recommissioned on 4 November 1957, she was renamed USS Raritan (LSM-540) on 14 October 1959, then decommissioned on 1 December 1959 at Norfolk, Virginia, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 January 1960.

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References
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