USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7)
USS Guadalcanal in New York in 1992
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | Guadalcanal |
Namesake | Battle of Guadalcanal |
Ordered | 21 December 1959 |
Builder | Philadelphia Naval Shipyard |
Laid down | 1 September 1961 |
Launched | 16 March 1963 |
Commissioned | 20 July 1963 |
Decommissioned | 31 August 1994 |
Stricken | 31 August 1994 |
Identification |
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Motto | There When Needed |
Nickname(s) | The Golden Guad |
Fate | Sunk as target, 19 May 2005 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship |
Displacement | 19,395 tons |
Length | 602.3 ft (183.6 m) |
Beam | 84 ft (26 m) |
Draught | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
Propulsion | 2 × 600 psi (4.1 MPa) boilers, one 22 ft (7 m) diameter screw, 23,000 shaft horse power |
Speed | 23 knots (26 mph; 43 km/h) |
Complement | 685 (47 officer, 638 enlisted) |
Armament |
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Aircraft carried |
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USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7), the third
Operational history
Upon completion of sea trials and outfitting, Guadalcanal departed
Career highlights include 21 July 1966, when she recovered the
In 1987 Guadalcanal was leading
Guadalcanal was decommissioned in 1994, and stored as part of the
Other incidents
On 1 November 1966, a UH-2B Seasprite helicopter assigned to the ship crashed as it was taking off from the flight deck. Guadalcanal was in the Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, VA to start a major overhaul at the time. Three Navy men and one civilian shipyard worker were killed and 12 others were hospitalized. Nine more sailors and civilians were treated for minor injuries.[1][2]
On 9 May 1968 she floated adrift off North Carolina due to a burned out bearing in the propulsion system.[3]
On 27 January 1976 she went aground in Augusta Bay, Sicily on a peak of coral which pushed in areas on either side of the bow, but did not crack or hole the ship. Three days later, with cargo, personnel, helicopters, and fuel off-loaded to assist the effort, the ship was refloated.[3]
On 17 September 1981 near
On 24 September 1981 Guadalcanal and the USNS Waccamaw (T-AO-109), collided during underway replenishment south of Sardinia, Italy, causing minor damage but no injuries.[3]
On 25 May 1993 Guadalcanal and the USS Monongahela (AO-178), collided during underway replenishment off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina when Guadalcanal's main gyrocompass failed. Five crew suffered minor injuries and $1.635M in damage was caused to the two ships.[5]
Awards
- Joint Meritorious Unit Award
- Navy Unit Commendation with 4 awards
- Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation with 4 awards
- Navy Battle "E" Ribbonwith 4 awards
- Navy Expeditionary Medal with 4 awards (1-Iran/Indian Ocean, 2-Lebanon, 1-Libya)
- National Defense Service Medal 2 awards
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with 6 awards (3-Dominican Republic, 1-Lebanon, 1-Persian Gulf, 1- Op. Restore Hope, Somalia)
- Southwest Asia Service Medal
- Humanitarian Service Medal
- Sea Service Deployment Ribbon- multiple
Gallery
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USS Guadalcanal at anchor in 1968.
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USS Guadalcanal launches a RIM-7 Sea Sparrow Missile in 1983.
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USS Guadalcanal refueling USS Semmel (DDG-18) in 1983.
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USS Guadalcanal alongside USS Iowa (BB-61) underway in 1987.
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An UH-1N Huey landing on USS Guadalcanal in 1987.
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AH-1T Cobra takes off from USS Guadalcanal in 1987.
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USS Richmond K. Turner (CG-20) steams alongside USS Guadalcanal on 18 May 1991.
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USS Guadalcanal passing the Statue of Liberty during Fleet Week New York 1992.
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USS Guadalcanal during Exercise Teamwork in 1992.
References
- ^ "The Ledger-Star" Norfolk, VA Nov. 2, 1966
- ^ contributor's first hand knowledge as witness to the incident and one of the injured.
- ^ a b c d Handler, Arkin (1990). "Neptune papers III; Naval nuclear accidentas at sea" (PDF). Greenpeace. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ "lista incidenti ad unita' navali nucleari". Lists.peacelink.it. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ^ MCMICHAEL, William (10 August 1994). "Error, Malfunction Caused Crash". Daily Press. Retrieved 4 May 2017.[permanent dead link]
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.