USS Raymond J. Anderton (SP-530)

USS "Raymond J. Anderton" (SP-530) was a minesweeper that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919.

"Raymond J. Anderton" was built in 1911 by Robert Palmer and Son, Noank, Connecticut. She was purchased from her owner, T. B. Hayes, for service in World War I and delivered to the U.S. Navy on 18 June 1917. Designated SP-530, she was converted to a minesweeper and commissioned at Boston, Massachusetts, on 18 August 1917, Boatswain H. Miller in command.

Originally assigned to the 2nd Naval District, "Raymond J. Anderton" was ordered prepared for "distant service" during conversion and soon after commissioning got underway for France as a unit of the 3rd Patrol Division. Arriving in September 1917, her division reinforced the 1st and 2nd Patrol Divisions which had arrived earlier. Later shifted to the 12th Division, she operated off the French coast through the rest of World War I, keeping clear the approaches to ports; escorting coastal convoys; and performing rescue missions.

When patrol vessel USS "P. K. Bauman" (SP-377) struck a rock while patrolling off L’Orient, France, on 12 January 1919, "Raymond J. Anderton" took her under tow, but the badly listing "P. K. Bauman" eventually sank.

"Raymond J. Anderton" was decommissioned on 8 September 1919 and sold overseas.

References

*DANFS