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.

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

References

1. By Sea, Air and Land: An Illustrated History of the U.S. Navy and the war in Southeast Asia Chapter 5: The Final Curtain, 1973-1975
2. navsource.org USS Peoria (LST-1183)

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.