PONCE AFSB(I) 15

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Trenton Class Amphibious Transport Dock Keel Laid 31 October 1966 - Launched 20 May 1970 USS PONCE LPD-15 Commissioned 10 July 1971 - Decommissioned 31 March 2012 USS PONCE AFSB(I)-15 Reconfigured and Redesignated 1 June 2012 Decommissioned 14 October 2017

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS Ponce AFSB(I)-15 / LPD-15 Covers Page 1     (1971-2017)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

USS PONCE LPD-15

 

Locy Type FDC 2(n+)(USS)

1971-07-10

First Day in Commission, Cachet by Frederick Karcher

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (USS)

1978-05-20

70th Anniversary of Navy Post Offices, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Locy Type 2-1(n+) (USS)

1978-05-20

Armed Forces Day, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Locy Type 2-2n+(USS, FPO AE / 09582-1717)

2005-11-10

Collectors request, Ships cachet, requested by Thad Kaczkowski

 

Locy Type 9ef(n+u)

1972-07-10

First Day in Commission - First Anniversary, Cachet by Frederick Karcher

 

Locy Type 9-1(n+u) (USS)

1978-07-08

70th Anniversary of Navy Post Offices, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Locy Type 9-1(nu) (USS)

1990-03-26

Cachet by Roger Wentworth

 

Locy Type 9-2n+(USS, FPO AE / 09582-1717)

2005-11-10

Collectors request, Ships cachet, requested by Thad Kaczkowski

 

Locy Type 11-2n (USS, FPO AE 09582-1717)

2007-07-25

Collectors request, Ships cachet (on piece), requested by Thad Kaczkowski

 

Locy Type F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. CD-10

2008-12-05

Collector's Request. Great White Fleet 100th Anniversary.

 

Locy Type LDC 12-2cn (USS,FPO AE 09582-1717)

2012-03-31

Last Day in Commission, cacheted.
Although scheduled for decommissioning, USS Ponce was requested to retrofit to a staging base for mine countermeasures helicopters and ships/boats. The ship is now operated jointly by active-duty Navy officers and sailors, as well as being crewed by government civilian mariners from Military Sealift Command.

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USPS Cover for USS PONCE LPD-15

 

USPS 4-bar Norfolk VA

2012-03-30

N/A

Last Day in Commission, cacheted by William Everett

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USS PONCE AFSB(I)-15

 

Locy Type 11-2an (USS,FPO AE 09582-1717)

2014-01-02

Collectors Request by Richard Hoffner

 

Locy Type F (Type 11-2any (Unit 100235 Box 1) (USS,FPO AE 09582)

2016-07-10

35th Anniversary, cachet by Richard Hoffner. ERROR - The (I) is mistakenly made as (T) in the hull designation.

 

Locy Type F (11-2any (Unit 100235 Box 1) (USS,FPO AE 09582)

2016-07-10

Collectors request by Elgin Sink. FREE Mail. ERROR - The (I) is mistakenly made as (T) in the hull designation.

 

Locy Type 11-2any (Unit 100235 Box 1) (USS,FPO AE 09582)

2016-07-10

Collectors request by Elgin Sink.
Backside showing the ships address. Notice the use of "PURSER", this is because the ship is operated jointly between the US Navy and the Military Sealift Command.

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USPS Cover for USS PONCE AFSB(I)-15

 

USPS Pictorial Postmark "DECOMMISSIONING / STATION" Norfolk VA

2017-10-14

Decommissioning, cachet by Dennis W. Gill

 

Other Information

USS PONCE LPD-15 has earned the following awards - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon - Navy Expeditionary Service Medal - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal - Southwest Asia Service Medal - Armed Forces Service Medal - Humanitarian Service Medal.

NAMESAKE - A city in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, discoverer of Florida, first governor of Puerto Rico.

The ships sponsor is Florence W. Hyland, the wife of Admiral John J. Hyland.

 

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If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.

 

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