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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Alpha - Romeo
 NAAR
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (3) - Navy Expeditionary Medal (4-Cuba)
Bottom Row - National Defense Service Medal - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (3-Lebanon/1-Cuba/2-Dominican Republic) - Humanitarian Service Medal (Beirut Lebanon evacuation)
Thomaston Class Dock Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 7 September 1954, at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, MS.
  • Launched, 10 November 1955
  • Commissioned USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32), 8 June 1956, CAPT. S. Filippone in command
  • Decommissioned, 2 October 1989
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 13 December 1989
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA.
  • Title transferred from MARAD the State of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Largo, FL., 13 June 2001
  • Final Disposition, sunk as an artificial reef, 17 May 2002 six miles off the Florida Keys, in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,899 t.(lt), 11,525 t(fl)
    Length 510'
    Beam 84'
    Draft 19'
    Speed 21 kts.
    Complement 304
    Troop Capacity 300
    Armament (as built) 8 twin 3"/50 (8), 6 twin 20mm AA guns
    Boat Capacity (Well Deck) 21 LCM(6)s
    Aircraft up to 8 helicopters
    Propulsion 2 steam turbines, 2 shafts, 23,000 SHP
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Spiegel Grove 32k USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) underway, date and location unknown. © Richard Leonhardt
    Spiegel Grove 29k USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) underway, date and location unknown.  
    Spiegel Grove 56k USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) underway, date and location unknown. .
    Spiegel Grove 72k USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) drops anchor in the port of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, during her goodwill tour as part of Task Force 88 (Solant Amity II), circa April 1961 to January 1962.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, August 1963.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Spiegel Grove 147k USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) leads USS Raleigh (LPD-1) while sailing in formation during training exercises in the Caribbean Sea in 1967-68. Photo by Masao Aochi
    Spiegel Grove 49k USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) loading a prototype Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), either JEFF A or JEFF B in her well, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, February 1979.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Spiegel Grove 101k USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) operating in the Gulf of Mexico, while conducting trials with an experimental Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), JEFF B hovercraft, circa 1978-79.
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Spiegel Grove 108k USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) with stern gate down during amphibious operations loading a LCAC, date and place unknown. Robert Hurst
    Spiegel Grove 71k USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32), at Barcelona, Spain, 15 March 1980. Note gun armament has been reduced to three twin 3"/50 mounts, and fire control systems removed. Photo by Fabio Peņa
    Spiegel Grove 80k USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32), at Barcelona, Spain, 15 March 1980. Photo by Fabio Peņa
    Spiegel Grove 69k USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32), at Barcelona, Spain, 15 March 1980. Photo by Fabio Peņa

    For more photos and information about USS Spiegel Grove, see:
  • Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
  • Photos of ex-USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) being sunk as an artificial reef off Key Largo, FL., 2003
  • Commanding Officers
    		•
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    The LSDs of the US Navy
    Spiegel Grove.Com
    Spiegel Grove Association
    University of Indiana Artificial Reef Project - USS Spiegel Grove
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Dock Landing Ship (LSD) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2009 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 15 January 2010