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U.S.S. PONCE
(LPD-15)THE PROUD LION
Click to view crew list
The USS PONCE (LPD-15), an Austin class amphibious transport dock, was commissioned on 10 JUL 1971. Built by Lockheed Shipbuilding in Seattle, Washington, USS PONCE has spent her entire career operating from her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia. PONCE has deployed numerous times to the Caribbean, North Atlantic, and Mediterranean. PONCE is no stranger to transiting the Suez Canal and extending a "MED" into the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. USS PONCE, true to her motto. "The Proud Lion, stands ready to answer the call as evidenced by her shift from the Indian Ocean to the Gulf of Sidra during the Libyan Rebellion of 2011.
The USS PONCE (LPD-15) deployment history and significant events of her service career follow:
LPD-15 Deployments - Major Events
| Add a LPD-15 Shellback Initiation | Add a LPD-15 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
| Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCT | 1966 | - | Keel Date: 31 OCT 1966 at Lockheed Shipbuilding | ||
| MAY | 1970 | - | Launch Date: 20 MAY 1970 | ||
| JUL | 1971 | - | Shellback Initiation - 10 JUL 1971 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
| JUL | 1971 | - | Shellback Initiation - 10 JUL 1971 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
| JUL | 1971 | - | Shellback Initiation - 10 JUL 1971 - Pacific Ocean | ||
| JUL | 1971 | - | Commissioned: 10 JUL 1971 | ||
| JUL | 1971 | - | Shellback Initiation - 10 JUL 1971 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
| MAY | 1972 | - | JUL | 1972 | Caribbean |
| FEB | 1973 | - | AUG | 1973 | Mediterranean |
| SEP | 1973 | - | OCT | 1973 | Caribbean |
| OCT | 1973 | - | DEC | 1973 | Caribbean |
| JAN | 1974 | - | JUL | 1974 | Mediterranean |
| JAN | 1974 | - | JAN | 1974 | West Pac-Viet Nam |
| JAN | 1974 | - | DEC | 1974 | North Atlantic |
| JAN | 1974 | - | DEC | 1974 | North Atlantic |
| APR | 1974 | - | APR | 1974 | COLLISION with USS Mississnewa AO-144 |
| JUN | 1974 | - | AUG | 1974 | North Atlantic |
| OCT | 1974 | - | NOV | 1974 | North Atlantic |
| JAN | 1975 | - | JAN | 1977 | Mediterranean-Lebanon |
| JAN | 1975 | - | JAN | 1975 | West Pac-Viet Nam |
| MAR | 1975 | - | JUN | 1975 | North Atlantic |
| OCT | 1975 | - | DEC | 1975 | North Atlantic |
| JUN | 1976 | - | NOV | 1976 | Mediterranean-Lebanon |
| JUN | 1976 | - | NOV | 1976 | Mediterranean-Lebanon |
| JUL | 1976 | - | DEC | 1976 | Mediterranean |
| JUL | 1976 | - | JUL | 1976 | Operation Fluid Drive |
| JAN | 1977 | - | JAN | 1977 | Caribbean |
| MAY | 1977 | - | JUN | 1977 | Caribbean |
| JUL | 1977 | - | JAN | 1978 | DRY DOCK Sun Shipbuilding Co. Chester PA |
| JUL | 1977 | - | DEC | 1977 | Mediterranean |
| AUG | 1978 | - | FEB | 1979 | Mediterranean-Lebanon |
| JUN | 1979 | - | NOV | 1979 | Mediterranean |
| MAY | 1980 | - | NOV | 1981 | USS Nimitz jets shot down 2 Libyan jets |
| AUG | 1980 | - | NOV | 1980 | North Atlantic |
| MAY | 1981 | - | NOV | 1981 | Mediterranean |
| FEB | 1982 | - | MAR | 1982 | Blue Nose - Arctic Circle |
| FEB | 1982 | - | MAR | 1982 | North Atlantic |
| MAR | 1982 | - | OCT | 1982 | Dry Dock |
| MAR | 1982 | - | APR | 1982 | Blue Nose - Arctic Circle |
| MAR | 1982 | - | APR | 1982 | Blue Nose - Arctic Circle |
| FEB | 1984 | - | AUG | 1984 | Mediterranean-Lebanon |
| AUG | 1985 | - | FEB | 1986 | Mediterranean |
| JAN | 1986 | - | AUG | 1986 | North Atlantic |
| JAN | 1988 | - | JUL | 1988 | Mediterranean |
| MAR | 1990 | - | SEP | 1990 | Mediterranean |
| JUN | 1991 | - | DEC | 1991 | Mediterranean |
| MAR | 1993 | - | SEP | 1993 | Mediterranean |
| MAR | 1994 | - | Shellback Initiation - 20 MAR 1994 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
| APR | 1994 | - | JAN | 1996 | Sea Trials |
| DEC | 1997 | - | MAR | 1999 | Mediterranean |
| JAN | 1998 | - | JUL | 2000 | Mediterranean |
| JAN | 2001 | - | JUN | 2001 | Mediterranean |
| JAN | 2003 | - | MAY | 2003 | Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf |
| MAR | 2005 | - | SEP | 2005 | Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf |
| NOV | 2005 | - | OCT | 2006 | Regular Overhaul |
| JUL | 2007 | - | JAN | 2008 | Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf |
| MAY | 2009 | - | DEC | 2009 | Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf |
| AUG | 2010 | - | MAY | 2011 | Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf |
| NOV | 2010 | - | Shellback Initiation - 27 NOV 2010 - Indian Ocean | ||
| MAR | 2011 | - | MAR | 2011 | Med - IO - Gulf of Sidra Libya |
LPD-15 General Specifications
Class: Austin class amphibious transport dock
Named for: Spanish Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon
Complement: 29 Officers and 487 Enlisted
Displacement: 8883 tons
Length: 567 feet
Beam: 100 feet
Flank Speed: 20 knots
USS PONCE (LPD-15)
Ponce was laid down 31 October 1966 by the Lockheed Ship Building Co.,
Seattle,
Wash.; launched 20 May 1970
sponsored by Mrs. John J. Hyland
and scheduled to commission in July 1971.
[Note: The above USS PONCE (LPD-15) history may or may not contain text provided by crew members of the USS PONCE (LPD-15) or by other non-crew members and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]