USS ''Pee Dee River'' (LSM(R)-517), an of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, was originally designed as an LSM, but redesignated on 9 February 1945 as ''LSM(R)–517''. She was laid down by

Brown Shipbuilding The Brown Shipbuilding Company was founded in Houston, Texas, in 1942 as a subsidiary of Brown and Root (now KBR (company), KBR) by brothers Herman and George R. Brown to build ships for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Brown Shipbuilding Company ...

Corporation, in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, on 28 April 1945 and launched 2 June 1945. She was accepted and commissioned on 21 July 1945.

Service history

''LSM(R)–517'' underwent final fitting out at the

Charleston Navy Yard Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River (South Carolina), Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and p ...

in Charleston, South Carolina, and then reported for shakedown 25 August 1945 at

Little Creek, Virginia Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

. Assigned to the Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet, she conducted training operations out of Little Creek. She was used chiefly to assist in fulfilling amphibious and midshipman training commitments until her deactivation in October 1947. Reactivated in September 1954, she called at

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

, for repairs and then operated briefly out of Little Creek in the

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and

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Operating Areas. After taking part in LantFlEx 1–55, she departed Little Creek on 1 February 1955 and arrived in

Orange, Texas Orange is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. The population was 19,324 at the 2020 census. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houston. ...

, on 8 February. She decommissioned there on 13 April and was assigned to the

Atlantic Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

, Texas Group. Named ''Pee Dee River'' on 1 October 1955 while still in reserve status, she remained berthed at Orange, until struck from the

Navy Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 1 February 1960. She was sold on 22 June 1960 to Petrommer Corp.,

Rockport, Texas Rockport is a city and county seat of Aransas County, Texas, United States. The population was 10,070 at the 2020 census. Rockport is adjacent to the town of Fulton, and many refer to the combined communities as "Rockport-Fulton"; however, Ro ...

, for use as a shallow drilling ship. She was resold in 1989 to Western Sea Inc., of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, for service as a fish factory ship and renamed ''Western Sea''. Her final fate is unknown, although she is unlikely to be still in service.

References

External links

* Ships built in Orange, Texas LSM(R)-501-class medium landing ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States 1945 ships {{US-mil-ship-stub