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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Created by ENC Faustin D. San Pedro, USN (Ret)
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USNS Point Loma (T-AGDS-2)
ex
 USS Point Loma (AGDS-2) (1976 - 1986)
 USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) (1958 - 1976)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Sierra - Victor - Romeo
 NSVR
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

National Defense Service Medal
Point Barrow Class Cargo Ship Dock
  • Laid down, 18 September 1956, as a Maritime Administration type S2-ST-23A hull under MARAD contract (MA hull 43) at Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Baltimore, MD.
  • Launched, 25 May 1957
  • Delivered to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), 28 May 1958, for Arctic service
  • Placed in service as Point Barrow (T-AKD-1), 29 May 1958
  • Point Barrow also supported the Apollo space program
  • Placed out of service, 28 September 1972, laid up in reserve
  • Re-acquired by the Navy 28 February 1974
  • Reclassified, 8 March 1974, as Deep Submergence Support Ship
  • Commission, USS Point Loma (AGDS-2), 3 July 1976, CDR. Royer W. Whitmire USN in command
  • Decommissioned, 30 September 1986
  • Assigned to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) and placed in service as USNS Point Loma (T-AGDS-2), 30 September 1986
  • Placed out of service and laid up in the MARAD National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, Benecia, CA., 1993
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 28 September 1993
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 15 December 2005 by Marine Metal Inc, Brownsville, TX., scrapping completed 27 October 2006
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,000 t.(lt) 12,493 t.(fl)
    Length 492'
    Beam 74'
    Draft 19'
    Speed 12 kts.
    Complement MSC 44
    Armament none
    Propulsion
    two Foster-Wheeler boilers 400°C
    two Westinghouse turbines
    two ominthursters, 6000hp each
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1)
    Point Loma 65k Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) launch, 25 May 1957, at Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Baltimore, MD. Point Barrow was one of the largest side launches ever attempted, to date, on the east coast. Ron Reeves
    Point Loma 143k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) underway, date and location unknown Capt. Carl R. Friberg Jr,
    Master USNS Point Barrow
    Point Loma 65k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) with her well deck submerged, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, May 1960    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret
    Point Loma 44k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) underway, date and location unknown..
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Point Loma 66k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) underway, date and location unknown. Capt. Carl R. Friberg Jr,
    Master USNS Point Barrow
    Point Loma 348k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Point Loma
    09680127    		 269k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) passing under the Golden Gate Bridge while entering San Francisco Bay from sea, circa 25 January 1966. Darryl Baker
    Point Loma 44k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) in port, Terminal Island, CA, date unknown. Photo by Capt. Carl R. Friberg Jr,
    Master USNS Point Barrow
    Point Loma 102k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) in port, Terminal Island, CA, date unknown. Photo by Capt. Carl R. Friberg Jr,
    Master USNS Point Barrow
    Point Loma 45k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) in port, Terminal Island, CA, date unknown. Photo by Capt. Carl R. Friberg Jr,
    Master USNS Point Barrow
    Point Loma 60k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) in port, Terminal Island, CA, date unknown. Photo by Capt. Carl R. Friberg Jr,
    Master USNS Point Barrow
    Point Loma 63k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) in port, Terminal Island, CA, date unknown. Photo by Capt. Carl R. Friberg Jr,
    Master USNS Point Barrow
    Point Loma 101k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) in port, Terminal Island, CA, date unknown. Photo by Capt. Carl R. Friberg Jr,
    Master USNS Point Barrow
    Point Loma 77k USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Point Loma (AGDS-2)
    Point Loma 250k Point Loma (AGDS-2) undergoing conversion at Los Angeles, CA. in 1975.
    Photo courtesy George S. Schneider.    		 Ron Reeves and Wolfgang Hechler
    Point Loma 333k Point Loma (AGDS-2) under way during sea trials in June 1976.
    US Navy photo.    		 Ron Reeves and Wolfgang Hechler
    Point Loma 61k USS Point Loma (AGDS-2) underway at San Diego, date unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Point Loma 81k USS Point Loma (AGDS-2) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Tom Langford
    Point Loma
    09680123    		 1103k USS Point Loma (AGDS-2) at anchor at anchor in Avalon harbor, Catalina Island, CA., circa 1977.
    US Navy photo    		 Photo - Ron Reeves and Wolfgang Hechler
    Caption - Andrew Miler
    Point Loma 57k USS Point Loma (AGDS-2) underway in San Diego Bay, circa mid-1980. Photo by Richard Stiles
    Point Loma 1132k USS Point Loma (AGDS-2) outbound to sea from San Diego Bay, passing Point Loma circa 1980s.
    Photo ©Marine Photos & Publishing. Co.    		 Ron Reeves and Wolfgang Hechler
    Point Loma 86k USS Point Loma (AGDS-2) outbound to sea off Point Loma, circa 1980s. Note flag hoist with ships call sign displayed. Richard Leonhardt
    Point Loma 899k USS Point Loma (AGDS-2) outbound to sea from San Diego Bay, passing Point Loma in 1985.
    Photo ©Marine Photos & Publishing. Co.    		 Ron Reeves and Wolfgang Hechler
    USNS Point Loma (T-AGDS-2)
    Point Loma 97k USNS Point Loma (T-AGDS-2) moored pierside, Naval Station San Diego, 16 July 1993.
    US National Archives and Records Administration Identifier (NAID) 6486966    		 Ron Reeves and Wolfgang Hechler
    Point Loma
    09680128    		 647k Giant jack-o-lanterns, which are actually LASS (Launch Area Support Ship) missile tracking radars, look out from the forecastle of USNS Point Loma (AGDS 2) at Naval Station San Diego, 1 October 1986.
    US National Archives and Records Administration Identifier (NAID) 6421326    		 John Spivey
    USNS Point Barrow (AKD-1) / USNS Point Loma (AGDS-2)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Whitmire, Wilson Royer USN (USNA 1957)3 July 1976 - 7 April 1977
    02CDR. Branchflower Jr., Norman H. USN7 April 1977 - 11 August 1978
    03CDR. Waer, Richard Dean, USN (USNA 1961)11 August 1978 - December 1979
    04CDR. Grant, Richard Francis, CDR USNDecember 1979 - May 1982
    05CDR. O'Shea, Donald James, USNMay 1982 - 4 April 1985
    06CDR. Hill, Roger Benton, USN (USNA 1966)4 April 1985 - 30 September 1986
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Commissioning Program
    Decommissioning Program
    Pearl Harbor Navy Submarine Base newspaper article - "USS Point Loma -- A Unique Ship (18 August 1978)
    MARAD Vessel History Database
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 14 February 2025