USS Elk River

USS LSM(R)-501 was the lead ship of the LSM(R)-501-class landing ship medium built in 1945 for service in World War II. She was later converted into a test range support ship and renamed USS Elk River (IX-501). Her namesake was a Minnesota town named Elk River.[1]

USS Elk River in 1982
History
United States
NameLSM(R)-501
BuilderBrown Shipbuilding Co.
Laid down24 March 1945
Launched21 April 1945
Commissioned27 May 1945
Decommissioned1 August 1946
Reclassified1 October 1955
RecommissionedJanuary 1969
DecommissionedOctober 1986
RenamedElk River
NamesakeElk River
Stricken13 August 1999
HomeportSan Diego
IdentificationHull number: IX-501
MottoNo Assignment We Shun, Till The Seas We've Won
Honours and
awards		See Awards
FateSunk as target, 24 February 2001
General characteristics
Class and typeLSM(R)-501-class landing ship medium
Displacement
  • 758 t (746 long tons), light
  • 993 t (977 long tons), attack
  • 1,175 t (1,156 long tons), full
Length206 ft 3 in (62.87 m)
Beam34 ft 6 in (10.52 m)
Draft
  • 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m), light
  • 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), attack
  • 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m), full
Installed power2,800 shp (2,088 kW)
Propulsion
Speed13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Range3,000 mi (4,800 km) at 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement6 officers, 137 enlisted
Armament

Construction and career

LSM(R)-501 was laid down on 24 March 1945 at Houston, Texas, by the Brown Shipbuilding Company. She was launched on 21 April 1945 and commissioned on 27 May 1945.[2]

LSM(R)-501 served in the Pacific before and after the Japanese Surrender in September 1945. This vessel was designed to carry both shorter range guns and rocket launchers to deliver large volumes of fire in short periods. Decommissioned on 1 August 1946 at Astoria, the vessel was laid up in the reserve fleet Columbia River Group.

Renamed and redesignated USS Elk River (IX-501) on 1 October 1955, she was converted into a test range support ship at Avondale Shipyards and at San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard.

In November 1967, she was underway off Long Beach, California in support of the SEALAB III Project.[3]

In early 1982, Elk River began her installation of the Mk.14 CCSDS until the summer of that year.[4] The ship later served as a barracks craft in October 1986.

Struck from the Naval Register in August 1999, Elk River was sunk as a target in February 2001.[1]

A model of USS Elk River (LSM(R)-501, later IX-501) is on display in the Cold War Gallery, Building 70.[5]

  • LSM(R)-501 after her conversion in 1955
    LSM(R)-501 after her conversion in 1955
  • Elk River and SEALAB III drawing, 1968
    Elk River and SEALAB III drawing, 1968

Awards

References
  1. "USS Elk River (LSMR-501, later IX-501)". public1.nhhcaws.local. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  2. "Landing Ship Medium Rocket LSMR". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  3. US Navy photo # NH 43550 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center
  4. Faceplate. 1983. p. 19. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. "America's War in Vietnam 1961-1975".
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