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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Escalante River (LSMR-502)
ex
 USS LSM(R)-502 (1945 - 1955)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
LSM(R)-501 Class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket):
  • Laid down, 24 March 1945, at Brown Ship Building Co., Houston, TX.
  • Launched, 21 April 1945
  • Commissioned USS LSM(R)-502, 3 June 1945, LT Phillip J. Shaver, USNR in command
  • During World War II USS LSM(R)-502 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LSM(R) Flotilla Eighteen, CAPT. C. F. Macklin USN
     LSM(R) Group Forty-Three
     LSM(R) Division One Hundred Five
  • Decommissioned, 4 May 1946, at Astoria, OR.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group
  • Named Escalante River LSM(R)-502, 1 October 1955
  • Struck from the Naval Register in 1958
  • Sold in 1959 to Pacific Inland Navigation Company, The Dalles, OR., converted to a barge to haul wheat on the Columbia and Snake Rivers', Official Number (290464)
  • Resold to Tidewater Barge Lines, Vancouver, WA, renamed #544
  • Current Disposition, in use as a Tie-Off barge (Spud-Barge)
    LSM(R) Specifications:
    Displacement 758 t.(light), 993 t. (attack) 1,175 t. (fully loaded)
    Length 206' 3"
    Beam 34' 6"
    Draft light, 5' 4" (mean), attack 6' 9" (mean), fully loaded 7' 9" (mean)
    Speed 13 kts.
    Complement 6 officers, 137 enlisted
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    four twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    ten twin continuous loading 5" SS rocket launchers
    four 4.2" mortars
    Armor 10-lb. STS on conning station, pilot-house, radio room, radar plot, and rocket control, 10-lb. ASPP around 40 and 20mm gun mounts and directors
    Endurance 3,000 miles @ 13kts
    Propulsion
    two General Motors 16-287A (non-reversing with airflex clutch) Diesel engines, direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm
    Ship's Service Generators
     four Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
     two Diesel-drive 20Kw 120V D.C.
    twin screws 2,800 shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS LSM(R)-502
    LSMR-502 64k USS LSM(R)-502 underway, date and location unknown. Glenn Woodward to the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSMR-502/503 52k USS LSM(R)-502 and USS LSM(R)-503 at Santa Barbara, Navy Day, 1945. Lyle Miller, USS LSM(R)-502
    Photo Courtesy Jim Tusing USS LSM-372,
    Editor "Alligator Alley" The Newsletter
    of the USS LSM - LSMR Association
    Commercial Service
    LSMR-502 44k Ex USS LSM(R)-502 on the Columbia River, in the service of Tidewater Barge Lines, Vancouver, WA., as barge #544, in a tow, with ex LSM(R)-506 renamed barge #545, 1964. Photo by Ron Gray/Captain
    LSMR-502 66k Ex-USS LSM(R)-502 in the service of Tidewater Barge Lines, Vancouver, WA., as barge #544, in a tow, leaving the lock at John Day Dam in 1967 or 1968 Photo by Ron Gray/Captain
    LSMR-502 98k Ex-USS LSM(R)-502 on the Columbia River, in the service of Tidewater Barge Lines, Vancouver, WA., as #544, a Tie-Off barge (Spud-Barge), December 2002 Photo by Ron Gray/Captain
    The history extract for USS Escalante River LSM(R)-502 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Shaver, Phillip J. USNR4 June 1945 - ?
    02LT. Clasen, Robert Cyrus USNno dates
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    USS LSM-LSMR Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Inshore Fire Support Ship Photo LSM(R) Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 18 December 2015