USS Tidewater (AD-31) was a Shenandoah-class destroyer tender named for the Tidewater region of Virginia. Tidewater was laid down on 27 November 1944 at the Charleston Navy Yard; launched on 30 June 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Robert N. S. Baker; and commissioned at Charleston Navy Yard on 19 February 1946 with Captain Frank H. Ball in command.