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USS Raritan (LSM-540)

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History
United States
NameUSS LSM-540
Ordered1945
BuilderBrown Shipbuilding, Houston, Texas
Laid down10 May 1945
LaunchedAugust 1945
Commissioned6 December 1945, as USS LSM-540
Decommissioned29 May 1946
Recommissioned4 November 1957
Decommissioned1 December 1959
RenamedUSS Raritan (LSM-540), 14 October 1959
Stricken1 January 1960
FateUnknown, presumed scrapped
General characteristics
Class and typeLSM-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
Length203 ft 6 in (62.03 m) o/a
Beam34 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
Propulsion2 × 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
Speed13.2 knots (24.4 km/h; 15.2 mph) (928 tons displacement)
Range4,900 nmi (9,100 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) (928 tons displacement)
Capacity5 medium or 3 heavy tanks (150 tons max. payload, beaching); or 6 LVT's, or 9 DUKW's
Troops2 officers, 46 enlisted
Complement5 officers, 54 enlisted
Armament
  • 2 × 40 mm AA guns
  • 4 × 20 mm AA guns
Armor10-lb. STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning station

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.

Service history

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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. 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.

References

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