VANCOUVER (LPD-2)

{"vancouver_photos_page_1.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - ", "vancouver_photos_page_2.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - ", "untitled-1.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Vancouver (LPD-2) Underway. Bow on view. 8-2-63 Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-2.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Port Beam View of the USS Vancouver (LPD-2) off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii. 4-2-67. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-3.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Aerial view of USS Vancouver (LPD-2) on maneuvers during visit by the Secretary of the Navy, the Honarable Paul H. Nitze during a two day tour of Navy and Marine Corps vacilities on the West Coast. 12-16 to 12-18-63. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-4.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Aerial view of the USS Vancouver (LPD-2) off the West Coast of the United States 12-16 to 12-18-1963. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-5.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Aerial view of USS Vancouver (LPD-2) on maneuvers off the West Coast with the Secretary of the Navy. 12-16 to 12-18-1963. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-6.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Haiphong Harbor, North Vietnam. USS Vancouver LPD-2 during Operation End Sweep, the clearing of mines from the harbor. 6-19-1973. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-8.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Amphibious Transport Dock USS Vancouver LPD-2 underway, as a part of TG 76.4. 3-18-1975. Western Pacific Ocean. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-9pg.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Amphibious Transport Dock Ship USS Vancouver (LPD-2) underway off the coat of Oahu, HI. 2-10-1968. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-10.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - LCU-1483 leaving the USS Vancouver (LPD-2) enroute to the USS Coconino County (LST-603) for transporting to the Mekong Delta for operation Deckhouse V. 1-4-1967. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-12.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Starboard bow view of the USS Vancouver at anchor off the Silver Strand, Coronado, California. 4-28-1976. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-13.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Aerial view of the ships of Task Group 76.4 in formation for an underway replenishment. USS Vancouver, foreground, oiler USNS Taluga (A-AO-62, and the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Henry B. Wilson, DDG-7. 4-2-1975. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-14.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Port view of USS Vancouver during the joint Thai/U.S. exercise Thalay Thai September 1989. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-15.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Press release photograph 2-18-1964. USS Vancouver off San Diego, California. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-16..jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Artist's conception of USS Vancouver (LPD-2), 11-18-1960. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-17.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Operation Deckhouse V, February 1967. Two LCMs from USS Vancouver, an LCU and a Coast Guard 82' Patrol boat with a UH-1B helicopter overhead. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-18.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - U.S. Marines aboard a utility landing craft in the partially filled wheel deck of USS Vancouver (LPD-2). Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-19.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Thomaston (LSD-28) and USS Vancouver (LPD-2) during Operation Deckhouse V, 1-4-1967. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-20.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2), USS Thomaston (LSD-28), USS Vancouver (LPD-2) 1-4-1967 during Operation Deckhouse V. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-21.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Watercolor by Joe de Thomas 6-1963 showing landing craft and helicopters circling the rear of the USS Vancouver (LPD-2). Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-22.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - U.S. Marines of the 1st Batt. 9th Marines arrive on board USS Vancouver (SPD-2) to prepare for Operation Deckhouse V, 12-28-1966. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "untitled-23.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Landing Vehicles Tracked (LVT) and U.S. Marines from the 1st Battalion 19th Marines entering the water at Subic Bay, Philippines heading toward USS Vancouver to participate in Operation Deckhouse V. 12-30-1966. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "vancouver 1070803.a.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Vancouver (LPD-2) underway, off starboard bow.8-2-1963. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "vancouver 1072815.a.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Vancouver (LPD-2) Port beam view. New York Naval Shipyard, Naval Base, Brooklyn, NY. 7-13-63. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "vancouver 1072816.b.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Vancouver (LPD-2) three quarter port stern view. New York Naval Shipyard, Naval Base, Brooklyn, NY. 7-13-1963. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "vancouver 1072820.b.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Vancouver (LPD-2) starboard quarter stern view. New York Naval Shipyard, Naval Base, Brooklyn, NY. 7-13-1963. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "vancouver 1072818.b.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Vancouver (LPD-2) three quarter port bow view. New York Naval Shipyard, Naval Base, Brooklyn, NY. 7-13-1963. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "vancouver 1072819.a.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Vancouver (LPD-2) three quarter starboard bow view. New York Naval Shipyard, Naval Base, Brooklyn, NY 7-13-1963. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "vancouver 1072820.b.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Vancouver (LPD-2) bow on view. Brooklyn, NY Naval Base. 7-13-1963. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "vancouver 1121666.b.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - Port bow view of the USS Vancouver (LPD-2) operating off the coast of Oahu, HI. 4-2-1967. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "vancouver.3.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Vancouver (LPD-2) three quarter starboard stern view. 7-13-1963 off New York Naval Shipyard, Naval Base, Brooklyn, NY. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph.", "vancouver.jpg":"VANCOUVER (LPD-2) - USS Vancouver (LPD-2) underway. Port bow view. 8-2-1963. Naval History and Heritage Command photograph."}

Year Built

1963

Official Number

Shipyard

New York Naval Yard

General Type

Naval Combatant

Specific Type

LPD Amphibious Transport -Dock

MARAD Type

Ship Length

522.00 feet

Beam

100.00 feet

Mast Height

Net Tons

Gross Tons

Cargo Capacity

Draft, Summer

23.00 tons

Draft, Lightweight

Displacement, Summer

14113.00 tons

Displacement, Lightweight

8650.00 tons

Immersion, Summer

Immersion, Lightweight

23.00 tons

Fate

Sold - Scrap

Historical Narrative

Named after the city in Washington State, the USS Vancouver was the second of three Raleigh-class amphibious transport dock ships. Vancouver was constructed at Brooklyn, New York by the New York Naval Shipyard. It was launched on September 15, 1962 and commissioned on May 11, 1963. After completing builders trials at New York and shakedown training out of Norfolk, Virginia, Vancouver departed Norfolk on August 14 and laid a course for the West Coast. It arrived in San Diego, its permanent homeport, on the 31st. Vancouver spent the rest of 1963 and first seven months of 1964 engaged in shakedown and promotional activities before beginning its operational schedule with a deployment to East Asia. From 1964 to 1979 Vancouver was employed actively by the Navy in the Pacific, and given its initial lay-up in Pearl Harbor, it is reasonable to assume that the ship remained in the Pacific for its entire career. Vancouver was very active during the Vietnam conflict, completing its last in Vietnamese waters on July 18, 1973. By 1975, however, the ship returned to Vietnam to participate in the evacuations of Cambodia and later South Vietnam. During the evacuation of South Vietnam, Vancouver processed over 2,200 refugees. When operations ended in early May, Vancouver steamed to Subic Bay and began the routine series of Pacific deployments and exercises that would mark the rest of its career. Vancouver was decommissioned at Pearl Harbor on March 31, 1992 and stricken from the Naval Register on April 8, 1997. The ship was later transferred to the Maritime Administration and berthed at the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in Benicia, California for disposal. The USS Vancouver earned 11 battle stars for its service in the Vietnam War.

The Maritime Administration's National Register eligibility assessment for Vancouver, in the Documents section, also contains a detailed history of the vessel.

Naval History and Heritage Command Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships entry for USS Vancouver.

Vessel Name History

VANCOUVER (LPD-2)

Mission

Mission Name
Vietnam War

Historical Documents

Name	Download

Milestones

Event	Date	Content
Entry	9/10/2001	Entered Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet as a US Navy asset.
Acquisition	12/29/2001	MARAD accepted title of vessel
Disposal	6/11/2012	Vessel cleared historic review.
Withdrawal	2/21/2013	Vessel under domestic sale contract with International Shipbreaking LTD.