USS ''Chariton River'' (LSM(R)-407) was an ''LSM(R)-401''-class medium-type landing ship (LSM) built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Named for the

Chariton River The Chariton River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 26, 2011 tributary to the Missouri River in southeast Iowa and northeast Missouri. The river forms in southe ...

in northern

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and southern

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, she was the only US Naval vessel to bear the name.

Service history

Laid down at Charleston Navy Yard on 22 January 1945, she was launched on 12 February 1945. Among those present at the launching party were Rear admiral Jules James, Commandant of the

6th Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Comman ...

, and Mrs. J.E. Hunt, ships sponsor and wife of U.S. Navy Captain J.E. Hunt. The ship was commissioned as LSM(R)-407 on 9 May 1945 with LT (jg) Robert C. Van Vleck, USNR, commanding. The ship saw no combat action in World War II and was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet near Astoria, Oregon on 10 February 1947. The ships name was changed to the USS Chariton River on 1 October 1955. Struck from the U.S. Naval registry in 1958, the ship was sold to the Tacoma Tug & Barge Company of Tacoma, Washington in 1960 and underwent conversion to a barge. USSCharitonRiver2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chariton River Ships built in Charleston, South Carolina LSM(R)-401-class medium landing ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States 1945 ships

Service history

See also

References