:USS Elk River
{{Short description|LSM(R)-501-class medium landing ship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = File:USS Elk River (IX-501), port beam view, 1982.jpg | Ship caption = USS Elk River in 1982 }} {{Infobox ship career |Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|naval}} |Ship name= *LSM(R)-501 |Ship namesake= |Ship ordered= |Ship sponsor= |Ship builder=Brown Shipbuilding Co. |Ship laid down=24 March 1945 |Ship launched=21 April 1945 |Ship christened= |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned= 27 May 1945 |Ship decommissioned= 1 August 1946 |Ship reclassified= 1 October 1955 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=yes |Ship recommissioned= January 1969 |Ship decommissioned= October 1986 |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= Elk River }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=yes |Ship namesake= Elk River |Ship fate=Sunk as target, 24 February 2001 |Ship stricken= 13 August 1999 |Ship homeport=San Diego |Ship motto=No Assignment We Shun, Till The Seas We've Won |Ship honours=See Awards |Ship identification=
}} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=LSM(R)-501-class landing ship medium |Ship displacement=*{{convert|758|t|LT|0|abbr=on}}, light
|Ship length= {{convert|206|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= {{convert|34|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draft=*{{convert|5|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}, light
|Ship depth= |Ship power={{convert|2800|shp|0|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=*2 × GM 16-278A diesel engines
|Ship speed= {{convert|13|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range= {{convert|3000|mi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|13|kn|abbr=on}} |Ship boats= |Ship capacity= |Ship troops= |Ship complement=6 officers, 137 enlisted |Ship armament=*1 × single 5"/38 caliber gun
|Ship armor= |Ship notes= }} |
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.
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.{{Cite web|title=Landing Ship Medium Rocket LSMR|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/06/06501.htm|access-date=2022-02-10|website=www.navsource.org}}
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.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}
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.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}
In November 1967, she was underway off Long Beach, California in support of the SEALAB III Project.
In early 1982, Elk River began her installation of the Mk.14 CCSDS until the summer of that year.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=43S-43aswfEC&dq=Elk+River+%28IX-501%29&pg=PA19|title=Faceplate, Vol 14, issue 2|work=United States. Naval Sea Systems Command. Supervisor of Diving, United States. Naval Ship Systems Command. Supervisor of Diving|publisher=Supervisor of Diving, Naval Ship Systems Command|year=1983|volume=14|pages=19|issue=2}} 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.
A model of USS Elk River (LSM(R)-501, later IX-501) is on display in the Cold War Gallery, Building 70.
File:USS Elk River (IX-501).jpg|LSM(R)-501 after her conversion in 1955
File:USS Elk River (IX-501) and SEALAB III drawing 1968.jpg|Elk River and SEALAB III drawing, 1968
Awards
References
- [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/06/06501.htm NavSource Online: Elk River (IX-501)]
- [https://www.nvr.navy.mil/NVR/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_IX_501_2499.HTML Naval Vessel Register: ELK RIVER (IX 501)]{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
{{LSM(R)-501 class landing ship medium (rocket)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elk River (IX-501)}}
Category:LSM(R)-501-class medium landing ships
Category:Ships built in Houston
Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
Category:Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States