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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Paul Revere (LPA-248)
ex
 USS Paul Revere (APA-248) (1958 - 1969)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Tango - Mike
 NVTM

USS Paul Revere (LPA-248) was transferred to Spain and renamed SPS Castillia (L-21)
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - National Defense Service Medal - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (5-Vietnam, 2-Quemoy-Matsu)
Bottom Row - Vietnam Service Medal (7) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (5) - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Paul Revere Class Amphibious Transport:
  • Laid down, 15 May 1952, as SS Diamond Mariner, a Maritime Administration type (C4-S-1A) hull, under Maritime Administration contract (MA hull 27), at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
  • Launched, 11 April 1953
  • Delivered to the Maritime Administration, 22 December 1953, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 14 September 1956
  • Converted to an Attack Transport at Todd Shipbuilding Corp, San Pedro, CA.
  • Commissioned USS Paul Revere (APA-248), 9 October 1958, at Long Beach, CA., CAPT. Robert Erly in command
  • During Vietnam War USS Paul Revere) participated in the following campaigns:
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Vietnam Defense
    31 October to 21 November 1965     		Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969
    9 to 14 June 1969
    6 to 16 July 1969
    30 July to 3 August 1969
    12 to 15 August 1969
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive
    26 January to 20 February 1966
    17 to 26 March 1966     		Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VII
    1 to 9 September 1970
    17 September to 1 October 1970
    4 to 9-October 1970
    10 to 17 December 1970
    11 to 24 January 1971
    4 February to 8 March 1971
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III
    26 to 28 June 1967
    22 August to 28 September 1967
    7 October to 11 November 1967     		Vietnam Ceasefire
    14 August to 9 September 1972
    30 September to 18 October 1972
    27 October to 5 November 1972
    15 to 19 December 1972
    15 January to 6 February 1973
    Tet 69/Counteroffensive
    3 March to 20 April 1969
    3 May to 8 June 1959     		.

  • Redesignated Amphibious Transport (LPA-248), 1 January 1969
  • Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register 1 January 1980
  • Sold through the Security Assistance Program to Spain, 17 January 1980, commissioned SPS Castillia (L-21)
  • Retired by the Spanish Navy, 6 June 1998
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
  • USS Paul Revere earned seven campaign stars for Vietnam War service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 16,828 t.(fl)
    Length 563' 6"
    Beam 76'
    Draft 27'
    Speed 20 kts.
    Complement 414
    Troop Accommodations 1500
    Armament 4 3"/50 guns
    Propulsion single screw, geared turbine powered, 19,250 HP. Two B&W WT boilers, 620 PSI
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Paul Revere (APA-248)
    Paul Revere 41k
    Namesake

    Paul Revere, born in Boston 1 January 1735, became a skillful goldsmith under his father’s guidance. Strongly attached to the patriotic cause in Massachusetts and an instigator of the Boston Tea Party, he subsequently gathered information on British movements and Tory activities, and reported the intelligence to Patriot leaders. On the evening of 18 April 1775, after learning that the king’s troops were about to march, Revere crossed to Charleston by boat and raced on horseback through Medford spreading “...the alarm through every Middlesex village and farm...” along his path to Lexington. There he warned Hancock and Adams that “redcoats” were approaching to arrest them. The next morning minutemen were on hand to challenge the British advance. “The shot heard round the world” was fired launching the Revolution and the American Ship of State. Subsequently helping to win the struggle he had done so much to start, Revere established a powder mill in Massachusetts, served on the Committee of Correspondence, rose in the Massachusetts Militia to Lieutenant Colonel, and fought in the Penobscot Expedition. After the war he returned to business as a gold and silver smith and introduced new techniques in copper metallurgy. His foundry fashioned the bolts, spikes, pumps, and other copper hardware used in building Frigate Constitution. Remaining actively interested in civic affairs, he energetically worked for ratification of the United States Constitution. Paul Revere died in Boston 10 May 1818.
    Portrait: Portrait of Paul Revere by John Singleton Copley, c.1768–70
    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston    		 Bill Gonyo
    Paul Revere 98k USS Paul Revere (APA-248), date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 .
    Paul Revere 157k USS Paul Revere (APA-248), date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Mike Smolinski
    SPS Castilla (L-21)
    Paul Revere 98k The Spanish amphibious transport SPS Castilla (L 21), ex-USS Paul Revere (LPA 248), at Barcelona, Spain, 31 May 1981. Note she was fitted with an SPS-6 air-search radar, whereas her sister SPS Aragón (L 22), ex-USS Francis Marion (LPA 249), had an SPS-40 Photo by Fabio Peña
    Paul Revere 53k SPS Castilla (L 21) underway in the Gulf of Cadiz, January 1986 Photo by Ignacio Lopez
    ex member Armada Espanola
    Paul Revere 98k SPS Castilla (L 21) at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 25 May 1986 Photo by Ignacio Lopez
    ex member Armada Espanola
    Paul Revere 70k SPS Castilla (L 21) location unknown, January 1986 Photo by Ignacio Lopez
    ex member Armada Espanola
    Paul Revere 71k SPS Castilla (L-21) off Huelva (Exercise Crisex-83), November 1983 Photo by Ignacio Lopez
    ex member Armada Espanola
    View the USS Paul Revere (APA / LPA-248)
    DANFS history entry located at the US NavaL Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Castilla (L-21), Spanish Navy Web Site
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Attack Transport (APA) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 4 March 2008