USS Raritan (LSM-540)

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

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[]

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 , 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.

References[]

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links[]

• Photo gallery of Raritan at NavSource Naval History