USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2)
USS Iwo Jima off the United States East Coast in April 1979
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | Iwo Jima |
Namesake | Battle of Iwo Jima |
Builder | Puget Sound Naval Shipyard |
Laid down | 2 April 1959 |
Launched | 17 September 1960 |
Commissioned | 26 August 1961 |
Decommissioned | 14 July 1993 |
Stricken | 24 September 1993 |
Identification |
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Fate | Scrapped, 18 December 1995 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship |
Displacement |
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Length | 592 ft (180 m) |
Beam | 84 ft (26 m) |
Draught | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 22 knots (41 km/h) |
Range | 11,118km (6,000nm) at 18 knots |
Troops | 2,000 |
Complement | 667 |
Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 25 helicopters |
USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) was the
First cruises and Cuban Missile Crisis
Iwo Jima was
Following shakedown training, she spent the rest of 1961 off the
In September, the ship took part in full-scale amphibious exercises in California, departing from San Diego on 17 October for her first deployment to the western Pacific. However, as the crisis flared up on 19 October over the introduction of offensive missiles into Cuba, Iwo Jima returned to San Diego, embarked Marines 22 to 27 October, and departed quickly for the Caribbean. As part of America's powerful and mobile force afloat, she cruised in a "ready" status until December brought an easing of the Cuban situation. She arrived in San Diego on 13 December.
WestPac cruises
Iwo Jima operated out of her home port during the first half of 1963, carrying out amphibious exercises and training. She departed on 30 August on her long-delayed
On 31 October 1963, Iwo Jima departed Philippine waters for special operations along the coast of
Vietnam War
Iwo Jima received tons of supplies and scores of Army helicopters, tanker trucks, and vehicles in her hangar and flight deck spaces. Nearly 1,000 troops were embarked for her western transit, which began on 12 April 1965. She stopped at Pearl Harbor for a few hours on the 17th to off-load 50 Marines and their equipment. On 1/2 May, she steamed off Vũng Tàu, South Vietnam, flying off 77 Army helicopters loaded with troops and combat cargo. From there, she proceeded to Subic Bay in the Philippines, where troops and equipment were received for amphibious landing and by helicopter at Chu Lai, Vietnam, on 12 May 1965.
Iwo Jima remained off Chu Lai for a month, protecting Marines and Seabees establishing an air field on the sandy shore. Besides helicopter support ashore, including defense perimeter patrol, she was a support center for laundry, showers, fresh provisions, store, and mail service. She also supervised the continual off-load of ships over the beach for the entire month, then on 7 June 1965, landed squadron personnel and helicopters ashore at
Iwo Jima remained off Qui Nhon for defensive support until 20 July 1965, then steamed for
On 17 August 1965, Iwo Jima steamed out of Subic Bay for Vung Tau, Republic of Vietnam, to join in
Iwo Jima landed the rotation troops at Okinawa, then came off Qui Nhon, 10 September 1965, to cover the landing of the Army's 1st Air Cavalry Division. She had supported three amphibious assault search-and-destroy raids along the coast by 1 October, when she steamed to southern waters, remaining in stand-by status for possible evacuation of U.S. nationals in revolt-torn Indonesia. Eight days later, she sailed for Danang for a helicopter squadron exchange, thence to Subic Bay where she was relieved by USS Valley Forge. Following a visit to Yokosuka, she departed 1 November for return to San Diego, arriving 17 November 1965. Several months later, she again joined the 7th Fleet Amphibious Ready Group, a fast-moving assault force that had completed more than 20 search-and-destroy operations along the South Vietnamese coast between March 1965 and September 1966. One of these missions, Operation Deckhouse IV hit only 3 miles south of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone to search out and decimate a regiment of the People's Army of Vietnam 342B Division, which had infiltrated into South Vietnam.
During the first three months of 1966, Iwo Jima was at San Diego for upkeep and improvement changes. From April through June, extensive refresher training occupied all hands as Iwo Jima prepared for her forthcoming Western Pacific deployment. On 24 July, steaming with a task group, she passed the island of Iwo Jima, on board was one of the Marine groups that had landed on Iwo Jima over two decades earlier. After operations in the Vietnam area, she sailed for Japan. Iwo Jima was on the line and underway for special operations in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam by 30 December once again, in a Navy-ready group with a two-pronged punch. Early in January 1967, the commanding officer, Captain Nils W. Boe, was relieved by Captain F. X. Timmes. On his departure, Captain Boe said of his crew in a family-gram to mothers and wives, "I want to thank each of you for letting me borrow these magnificent young men for a little while. They have made me feel ten feet tall." On 1 July 1967, Iwo Jima was reassigned to Amphibious Squadron 3 from Amphibious Squadron 1, with which she continued to sail with the Pacific Fleet.
Pacific recovery forces (Task Force 130)
On 17 April 1970, Iwo Jima was the flagship of Task Force 130 that waited for the Apollo 13 spaceship's astronauts after their memorable "successful failure" mission and splashdown near American Samoa.
In the 1995 film Apollo 13, Iwo Jima was played by her sister ship, New Orleans (LPH-11). Iwo Jima's skipper, Captain Leland Kirkemo, is portrayed by the film's central protagonist, Captain Jim Lovell.[1]
Multinational Peacekeeping Force
From 10 May 1983 to 8 December 1983, Iwo Jima operated off the Lebanese coast as part of Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group 2-83 (Marg 2-83). The ships hosted the
Friendly fire incident
On 11 October 1989, El Paso (LKA-117) was conducting a live fire exercise off the east coast of the United States using the Phalanx against a target drone. The drone was successfully engaged, but as the drone fell to the sea, the CIWS re-engaged it as a continued threat to El Paso. Rounds from the Phalanx struck the bridge of Iwo Jima, killing one officer and injuring a petty officer.[3][4][5]
Catastrophic boiler accident
In October 1990, Iwo Jima was in the Persian Gulf, as part of the buildup for Operation Desert Shield. After two months of operation there she developed a leak in a steam valve which supplied steam to a stand-by electrical generator. She docked in Manama, Bahrain, where the valve was repaired by a local contractor under US government inspection.
Repairs were completed towards the end of October. On 30 October, as she raised steam to get underway and rejoin the fleet, the valve began to leak once more. The bonnet blew off the valve, flooding the boiler room with steam from two boilers. Ten of the eleven crewmen in the room were killed during or immediately after the incident, with the last surviving until 23:30 that evening.
The cause of the accident was determined to be the use of fasteners of the wrong material (namely black oxide coated brass) on the valve, combined with a lack of proper inspection.[6][7]
Decommissioning
Iwo Jima was decommissioned on 14 July 1993, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 24 September. She was sold for scrap on 18 December 1995. The ship's island was at the Museum of the American GI in College Station, Texas, for several years but due to no funding for maintenance it was scrapped.
Potential role in the Falklands War
A July 2012 article by USNI News of the
Awards
- Combat Action Ribbon with 2 awards
- Navy Unit Commendation with 2 awards
- Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation with 5 awards
- Navy Battle "E" Ribbonwith 2 awards
- Navy Expeditionary Medal
- National Defense Service Medal with 2 awards
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
- Vietnam Service Medal with 8 awards
- Southwest Asia Service Medal
- Armes Forces Service Medal with 3 awards
- Humanitarian Service Medal
- Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
- Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
- Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
- Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)
- Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
Gallery
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USS Iwo Jima being towed by a tug in c1962.
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Sikorsky CH-37C Mojaves landing on USS Iwo Jima in c1963,
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USS Iwo Jima at sea in c1966.
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UH-34Ds Seahorses of HMM-363 land on USS Iwo Jima in c1966.
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UH-1E Hueys on USS Iwo Jima in January 1967.
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USS Iwo Jima testing her white flight deck in c1967.
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A UH-1E Huey aboard USS Iwo Jima in c1968.
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UH-1E takes off from USS Iwo Jima in c1968.
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USS Iwo Jima underway at sea in 1974.
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USS Iwo Jima underway in 1979.
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Sikorsky CH-35D Sea Stallion aboard USS Iwo Jima in 1980.
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CH-53 Sea Stallion carrying an OV-10 Bronco over USS Iwo Jima in 1980.
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USS Iwo Jima underway off Norway in September 1980.
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USS Iwo Jima off Lebanon in 1983.
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USS Iwo Jima at anchor off Beirut in 1983.
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USS Iwo Jima during exercise "Ocean Venture" in 1984.
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USS Iwo Jima underway at sea in 1985.
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SPN-35 Approach Radar on USS Iwo Jima's bridge on 27 February 1987.
References
- ^ "James A. Lovell, Jr". Time and Navigation. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ Ferraro, Peter J. (1997). "Beirut, Lebanon: 24th MAU, May-Dec 1983". Globalsecurity.org.
- ^ "Accidental Shelling Kills Officer". Los Angeles Times. 12 October 1989. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ Egan, Timothy (16 November 1989). "Quiet Falls on Bases As Navy Asks Itself What's Gone Wrong". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ Wilson, George C. (15 November 1989). "Navy Activities Halted to Reexamine Safety". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ Cummings, Timothy (3 December 2012). "The Highest Level of Essentiality – When USS IWO JIMA Lost Ten of Her Own". Mission Essentials. Plano, Texas. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ^ David Peterson (13 May 2013). Anatomy of a Catastrophic Boiler Accident. 82nd General Meeting Speaker Presentation. National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors.
- ^ "Reagan Readied U.S. Warship for '82 Falklands War". United States Naval Institute. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ "Reagan 'cleared US ship for Falklands'". Defencemanagement.com. 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
Bibliography
- Doa, Tom (1996). "Question 25/93: USN/USCG Collisions with Merchant Vessels". Warship International. XXXIII (3): 319. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Jackson, Robert (2004). Fighting Ships of The World. London: Amber Books. p. 376. ISBN 978-1-84013-647-0.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2008) |
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- Flagship: Joint Task Force 130 citations
- Annotated Apollo 13 Explorer Photos
- Apollo-GRIN: Great Photos in NASA
- JSC Digital Image Collection Library
- Johnson Space Center Features
- history.navy.mil: USS Iwo Jima
- navsource.org: USS Iwo Jima
- Anatomy of a Catastrophic Boiler Accident
- JAG Report on Court of Inquiry for the accident
- "U.S. Marines In Lebanon 1982-1984" by Benis M. Frank
- USS Iwo Jima Class Association