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USS Point Defiance (LSD 31)

- decommissioned -

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Named after the park in Pierce County, Tacoma, Wash., the site of a miiltary reservation established by the U.S.Government in 1866, the USS POINT DEFIANCE was the fourth THOMASTON - class dock landing ship and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. The first ship named POINT DEFIANCE was LSD 24 but this ship's construction was cancelled on August 17, 1945. Decommissioned on September 30, 1983, the POINT DEFIANCE was stricken from the Navy list on February 24, 1992. On September 29, 1995, the ship was sold for scrapping, however, the Navy repossessed POINT DEFIANCE in July 1997, and the ship was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in the Suisun Bay, Benicia, Calif. On July 28, 2011, the POINT DEFIANCE was sold to All Star Metals of Brownsville, Tx., for scrapping. After clean-up at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif., the ship was towed to Brownsville, Tx., and was subsequently scrapped.


General Characteristics:Awarded: February 28, 1952
Keel laid: November 23, 1953
Launched: September 28, 1954
Commissioned: March 31, 1955
Decommissioned: September 30, 1983
Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss.
Propulsion system: two 600 psi boilers, twp geared turbines
Propellers: two
Length: 510 feet (155.5 meters)
Beam: 84 feet (25.6 meters)
Draft: 19 feet (5.8 meters)
Displacement: approx. 11,300 tons full load
Speed: 22 knots
Well deck capacity: three LCU or nine LCM-8 or 50 AAV
Aircraft: helo platform only
Crew: Ship: 18 officers, 330 enlisted
Marine Detachment: approx. 330 Marines
Armament: two dual 3-inch/50-caliber Mk-33 gun mounts


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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS POINT DEFIANCE. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.


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USS POINT DEFIANCE Cruise Books:

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Accidents aboard USS POINT DEFIANCE:

DateWhereEvents
February 13, 1970north of Hawaii
USS POINT DEFIANCE and USS PONCHATOULA (AO 148) are slightly damaged in a collision during refueling operations. Three sailors are injured.


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