USS St. Mary's River

History
United States
Name	USS St. Mary's River (LSM(R)-528)
Namesake	St. Marys River in Florida and Georgia; St. Marys River in Ohio and Indiana; St. Marys River in Michigan;
Ordered	1945, as LSM-528
Builder	Brown Shipbuilding Company
Laid down	19 May 1945
Launched	16 June 1945
Commissioned	2 September 1945
Decommissioned	March 1946
Renamed	St. Mary's River, 1 October 1958
Reclassified	LSM(R)-528, 21 April 1945
Stricken	1 October 1958
Fate	Sold, 4 August 1959; Scrapped, 1989;
General characteristics
Class and type	LSM(R)-501-class landing ship medium
Displacement	758 long tons (770 t) light; 993 long tons (1,009 t) attack; 1,175 long tons (1,194 t) full;
Length	203 ft 3 in (61.95 m)
Beam	34 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;
Propulsion	2 General Motors non-reversing with airflex clutch Cleveland diesels, 1,440 hp (1,074 kW) each at 720 rpm, 2 screws
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Range	3,000 nmi (5,600 km) at 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement	6 officers, 137 enlisted
Armament	1 × 5"/38 caliber gun; 2 × twin 40 mm AA guns; 4 × twin 20 mm AA guns; 4 × 4.2 in (110 mm) mortars; 20 × continuous loading 5 in (130 mm) Ship-to-Shore rocket launchers;
Armor	10-lb. STS on conning station, pilot-house, radio room, radar plot, and rocket control; 10-lb. ASPP around 40 and 20 mm gun mounts and directors;

USS St. Mary's River (LSM(R)-528) was originally authorized as LSM-528. Reclassified LSM(R)-528 on 21 April 1945, she was laid down on 19 May 1945 at the Brown Shipbuilding Co., Inc., Houston, Texas, launched on 16 June 1945, and commissioned on 2 September 1945.

On 6 September, LSM(R)-528 sailed for Galveston, Texas, arriving the next day. She sailed for Charleston, South Carolina, on 12 September. However, after two days at sea, she ran into a storm and was diverted to Naval Frontier Base, Burrwood, Louisiana. After the storm, LSM(R)-528 resumed her voyage and arrived at Charleston on 21 September. While there, the ship had her rocket launchers and mortars installed.

Departing Charleston on 12 October, LSM(R)-528 sailed for Little Creek, VA, arriving on 14 October. After leave and upkeep, she began shakedown training on 15 October. Completing shakedown training on 15 November, she reported a week later to Commander LSM(R) Squadrons, Little Creek. On 29 November, she sailed for Green Cove Springs, FL, with orders to report for inactivation. LSM(R)-528 was decommissioned in March 1946. Named St. Mary's River on 1 October 1958 for the St. Marys River in northeast Indiana, she was struck from the Navy List on the same day. She was sold on 4 August 1959 to Fleet Storage Corp. Her name disappeared from mercantile list in 1989.

References

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

External links