USS Paul Revere

History
United States
Name	USS Paul Revere
Builder	New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, New Jersey;
Laid down	15 May 1952
Launched	11 April 1953, as SS Diamond Mariner
Acquired	by the USN, 14 September 1956
Commissioned	9 October 1958
Decommissioned	1 January 1980
Renamed	Paul Revere, 4 June 1957
Reclassified	APA-248, 4 June 1957 LPA-248, 1 January 1969
Stricken	1 January 1980
Fate	Sold to Spain, 17 January 1980
Spain
Name	Castilla
Acquired	17 January 1980
Decommissioned	6 June 1998
Identification	L-21
Fate	Scrapped 2000
General characteristics
Class and type	Paul Revere-class attack transport
Displacement	16,828 long tons (17,098 t)
Length	563 ft 6 in (171.75 m)
Beam	76 ft (23 m)
Draft	27 ft (8.2 m)
Propulsion	Geared turbine, 19,250 hp (14,350 kW) 2 × Foster Wheeler boilers, 620 psi (4,300 kPa) PSI[1] Single screw
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Troops	1500
Complement	414
Armament	4 × 3"/50 caliber guns
Aircraft carried	Up to 8 helicopters (Sikorsky HO4S and Sikorsky H-34 have landed on the deck)
Aviation facilities	elevated aft flight deck

USS Paul Revere (APA/LPA-248) was the lead ship of the Paul Revere class of attack transport in the United States Navy. She was named for the early patriot and Founding Father, Paul Revere (1735–1818). She later served in the Spanish Navy as Castilla (L-21).

The ship was designed under project SCB 14 and laid down as Maritime Administration Hull 27 on 15 May 1952 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, New Jersey, and was launched on 11 April 1953 as SS Diamond Mariner, sponsored by Mrs. Franklin Ewers. The ship was delivered to MARAD on 22 December 1953, and was operated by the Prudential Steamship Corporation for MARAD until placed in the Maritime Reserve Fleet on 24 July 1954. She was acquired by the US Navy on 14 September 1956, classified APA-248 and named Paul Revere on 4 June 1957, converted by Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California, and commissioned at Long Beach, California on 3 September 1958.