USS Peoria (LST-1183)

History
Namesake:	Peoria, Illinois
Ordered:	15 July 1966
Builder:	National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Laid down:	24 February 1968
Launched:	23 November 1968
Acquired:	1 January 1970
Commissioned:	21 February 1970
Decommissioned:	28 January 1994
Motto:	Ducimus We lead
Nickname(s):	"The P Boat"
Fate:	Sunk as target 12 July 2004
General characteristics
Class and type:	Newport class tank landing ship
Displacement:	5,190 long tons (5,273.3 t) (light), 8,792 long tons (8,933.1 t) (full)
Length:	522 ft (159.1 m) overall, 500 ft (152.4 m) at the waterline.
Beam:	70 ft (21.3 m)
Draft:	19 ft (5.8 m)
Propulsion:	6 diesel engines, 16,000 brake horsepower, two shafts, Twin Controllable Pitch Screws Bow Thruster - Single Screw, Controllable Pitch,
Speed:	20+ knots (37+ km/h)
Troops:	Marine detachment:360 plus 40 surge
Complement:	14 officers, 210 enlisted

USS Peoria was a Newport-class tank landing ship in commission in the United States Navy from 1970 to 1994. She was affectionately called the "P Boat" by her crew members.

In April 1975, Peoria participated in Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon, South Vietnam.^[1]

In October 1979 Peoria embarked on a cruise to the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, returning to San Diego, California, in June 1980. Shortly thereafter she went into overhaul at Todd Shipyard in Alameda, California. She departed San Diego again in October 1980 on another cruise in the western Pacific Ocean.

Pacific Northwest: In the fall of 1988, the P-Boat headed to the San Francisco Bay Area. Docked in Oakland, CA to pick up Army troops who needed a ride north to Washington state. After off loading the passengers, the ship and her crew visited Seattle, WA and Vancouver, Canada.

1989 Deployment: Departed San Diego, CA in January 1989. Crossed the Pacific Ocean and visited Pearl Harbor, HI and Subic Naval Base, Philippines, then traversed the Strait of Mallaca and anchored near the beach at Phuket, Thailand. Then on to the Persian Gulf: Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai. Left the Persian Gulf to escort three minesweepers back to the United States east coast. Crossed the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Stopped for a day in an Egyptian port at the northern mouth of the Suez Canal-no liberty call. At the Mediterranean, visited Catania, Sicily, Palma de Mallorca and Rota, Spain. Docked at Charleston, South Carolina after crossing the Atlantic Ocean and completing her mission of escorting 3 minesweepers back to CONUS. On the way to Fort Lauderdale, FL, the ship's crew assisted a disabled sailboat and her crew. At the Caribbean visited St. Croix, USVI then headed to the Panama Canal. Stayed at Panama City for a few days before heading north. Last port of call was Quetzal, Guatemala before finally going home to San Diego, CA in June 1989, thus completing a circumnavigation of the globe.

Months later, the ship was drydocked at NASSCO shipyard for six months. Reftra mid 1990.

Rose Festival Fleet Week Portland Oregon June 1990; The USS Peoria headed north to Oregon shortly after leaving dry dock. First stop was Astoria, OR, crossing under the Astoria Bridge, where anti-military protesters had gathered to harass passing navy ships. In Astoria, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in town filming his movie Kindergarten Cop. Then the Peoria continued on along the Columbia River to Portland, OR for the Rose Festival Fleet Week.

Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm; Left San Diego, CA December 1990 and returned August 1991 in support of Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm.

Peoria was sunk as a target on 12 July 2004 in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii during the RIMPAC 04 exercise.^[2]

References

External links

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.