Global InformationUSS White River information
 USS White River (LSMR-536) underway
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake |
|
| Builder | Brown Shipbuilding Company |
| Laid down | 9 June 1945 |
| Launched | 14 July 1945 |
| Commissioned | 28 November 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 31 July 1946 |
| Reclassified | LFR-536 |
| Stricken | 22 May 1970 |
| Honors and awards |
|
| Fate | Sold for scrap in November 1970 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | LSM(R)-501-class landing ship medium (rocket) |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 206 ft 3 in (62.87 m) |
| Beam | 34 ft 6 in (10.52 m) |
| Draft |
|
| Installed power | 2 × General Motors (non-reversing with airflex clutch) diesels |
| Propulsion | Direct drive with two 1,440 bhp (1,070 kW) each at 720rpm, twin screws |
| Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Range | 3,000 mi (2,600 nmi; 4,800 km) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement | 6 officers, 137 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USS White River (LSMR-536) (later LFR-536) was a Landing Ship Medium (Rocket) (LSMR) in service with the US Navy between 1945 and 1946, 1950 and 1956, and 1965 and 1970. As a member of the LSM(R)-501-class Landing Ship Medium (Rocket), White River was designed to provide rocket fire support to US and allied amphibious operations, although in South Vietnam she was generally used to bombard enemy formations and installations.[2] She saw combat in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, making a large contribution to the latter, in which she fired tens[3] to hundreds of thousands[4] of rockets in support of American, South Vietnamese, and South Korean operations against the Viet Cong[4][5][6] during ten tours of duty in Vietnam, 1966 through 1969.[7] In Navy publications such as All Hands and the Navy Times, as well as in the recollections of crew, forward observers and spotters, and ground forces receiving her support, White River was reported to have the firepower of six destroyers[4][8] or a cruiser.[9] She could fire 250 65-pound (29 kg) rockets in a minute, plus 5-inch shells and autocannon fire, and carry a magazine of 1,500-2,000 rockets.[4][7]
White River was named LSMR-536 when she was launched by the Brown Shipbuilding Company in 1945 and during her Korean War service, only acquiring the name White River in 1955 after returning to the United States. She was reclassified as an Inshore Fire Support Ship (LFR) on 14 August 1968, better reflecting her fire support role in Vietnam. She was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register in 1970 and sold for scrap that same year.[10]
White River was among the ships exposed to the toxic Agent Orange herbicide while docked at port or conducting operations in Vietnam's inland waterways, and any crew who served on White River in Vietnam can be presumed to have been exposed to toxic herbicides without further development according to the Veterans Administration.[11]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Priolowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The Mighty Little Ships". All Hands. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NUCwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d McGougan, Michael D. (11 April 1969). "White River Badgers Enemy". Navy Times. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
FG66was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
FG67was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Christ, Mark (December 4, 2018). "USS White River (LSMR-536)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. The Central Arkansas Library System.
- ^ "Rocket Rainmaker" (PDF). All Hands. January 1967. p. 13. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ Navy's Little Rocket Ships Rival Cruiser's Firepower (Operation Black Shoe) (Moving Picture). Department of Defense. Department of the Navy. Naval Photographic Center. (12/1/1959 - ca. 1998). October 19, 1968. Available at the National Archives at College Park, catalog entry here: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/86386[permanent dead link]
- ^ Petri, Thomas (2009). Lightning from the Sky, Thunder from the Sea. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4389-4596-5.
- ^ "Navy and Coast Guard Ships Associated with Service in Vietnam and Exposure to Herbicide Agents". Veterans Benefits Administration. Veterans Administration. January 3, 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.