USS Austin (LPD-4)
_underway_in_1982.JPEG)
USS Austin (LPD-4) underway in 1982
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Ordered: | 21 September 1961 |
| Laid down: | 4 February 1963 |
| Launched: | 27 June 1964 |
| Commissioned: | 6 February 1965 |
| Decommissioned: | 27 September 2006 |
| Struck: | 27 September 2006 |
| Motto: | Potestas Maritimas per Mobilitate, "Seapower through Mobility" |
| Fate: | Sold for Scrapping 30 September 2009 to International Shipbreaking, Brownsville, Tx |
| Status: | Scrapped |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 9962 tons light, 17370 tons full, 7408 tons deadweight |
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| Beam: |
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| Speed: | 21 kn (39 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 930 troops |
| Complement: | 24 officers, 396 men |
| Armament: | eight 3 in (76 mm) caliber guns |
The third USS Austin (LPD-4) was the lead ship of her class of amphibious transport dock ships in the United States Navy. Austin was named in honor of the city of Austin, Texas which in turn was named in honor of Stephen F. Austin, a Texian patriot during the Texas War for Independence and the first Secretary of State of the Republic of Texas.
Austin was laid down on 4 February 1963 at Brooklyn, New York, by the New York Naval Shipyard. She was launched on 27 June 1964 (sponsored by Miss Lynda Bird Johnson, the daughter of President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson), and commissioned on 6 February 1965 with Captain William H. Shaw in command.
The amphibious transport dock remained at Brooklyn through May, then sailed to Norfolk, Virginia, on 26 May to complete her outfitting. During September and October, she was engaged in shakedown training in the vicinity of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The ship then made a port call at Corpus Christi, Texas, before returning to her home port of Norfolk in November.
From November 1965 through April 1966, Austin operated in the Norfolk area before entering the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 5 May for repairs and alterations. When this work was completed, she headed for the Caribbean to conduct two weeks of trials off Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. The ship next sailed to the Dominican Republic to assist in the withdrawal of units of the Inter-American Peace Force which had helped restore stability during a political crisis. These units were disembarked at Sunny Point, North Carolina, on 9 August, and she then returned, via Norfolk, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she arrived on 21 August for adjustments to her main propulsion plant. On 3 November Austin returned to Norfolk.
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