| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Point Defiance |
| Namesake | Point Defiance |
| Awarded | 28 February 1952 |
| Builder | Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi |
| Laid down | 23 November 1953 |
| Launched | 28 September 1954 |
| Commissioned | 31 March 1955 |
| Decommissioned | 30 September 1983 |
| Stricken | 24 February 1992 |
| Honors and awards | 10 campaign stars (Vietnam) |
| Fate | Scrapped October 2011 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Thomaston-class dock landing ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 510 ft (160 m) |
| Beam | 84 ft (26 m) |
| Draft | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 × steam turbines, 2 shafts, 23,000 shp (17 MW) |
| Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 21 × LCM-6 landing craft in well deck |
| Troops | 300 |
| Complement | 304 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | One helicopter |
| Aviation facilities | Helicopter landing area usually of wood construction; no hangar |
USS Point Defiance (LSD-31) was a Thomaston-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was named for Point Defiance, a location in Pierce County, Washington, the site of a military reservation established by the U.S. Government in 1866. She was the second ship assigned that name. The construction of the first ship, Casa Grande-class dock landing ship Point Defiance (LSD-23), was canceled on 17 August 1945.
Point Defiance (LSD–31) was laid down on 23 November 1953 by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.; launched on 28 September 1954, sponsored by Mrs. Arthur D. Struble; and commissioned on 31 March 1955.