The USS Puget Sound (AD-38) was a Samuel Gompers-class destroyer tender built for the United States Navy, serving from her commissioning in 1968 until her decommissioning in 1996. Constructed at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, her keel was laid on February 15, 1965, and she was launched on September 16, 1966. The vessel's primary mission was to provide repair, maintenance, and logistical support to U.S. Navy ships, particularly in the Atlantic Fleet, with her homeports including Newport, Rhode Island; Gaeta, Italy; and Norfolk, Virginia. Designed as a support ship rather than a combat vessel, USS Puget Sound featured extensive repair capabilities. Her onboard facilities included a large machine shop, foundry, electrical and motor rewind shops, nuclear systems repair, and various systems repair shops. She was equipped with a complete repair department capable of servicing surface ships that did not require hull repairs in dry dock. Heavy equipment transport was facilitated by two stationary main cranes and two smaller traveling cranes along her upper deck, allowing versatile movement of heavy gear. The ship also housed a dive shop for underwater repairs, albeit with limited scope, and could support a helicopter, specifically the SH-3 Sea King, from her flight deck and hangar. Her operational history included participation in several conflicts and crises. Notably, she served during the Vietnam War's latter stages, the Lebanon crisis, and was fired upon by terrorists off Beirut in 1983. She took part in Operation Prime Chance, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Desert Shield, and provided support during humanitarian efforts such as Operation Provide Comfort and Operation Restore Hope. Throughout her service, USS Puget Sound was essential to maintaining the Atlantic Fleet’s operational readiness, repairing and resupplying ships across the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf regions. Her armament was removed in 1979 to comply with policies allowing women to serve aboard her, emphasizing her role as a non-combatant support vessel. She was painted with her hull number "AD-38," with "A" denoting auxiliary, "D" for destroyer tender, and "38" as her unique identifier. After nearly three decades of service, she was decommissioned in January 1996, berthed at Philadelphia until sold for scrap in 2008, with her dismantling completed in 2009.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.