USS Tortuga (LSD-46)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Tortuga.

USS Tortuga (LSD-46)
Curacao
.
History
United States
NameUSS Tortuga
Namesake
Dry Tortugas
Ordered26 November 1984
Laid down23 March 1987
Launched15 September 1988
Christened19 November 1988
Commissioned17 November 1990
Homeport
Little Creek
, Virginia
MottoTough, Tall, Tenacious
Statusin active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeWhidbey Island-class dock landing ship
Displacement
  • 11,471 tons (light)
  • 16,568 tons (full)
Length610 ft (190 m)
Beam84 ft (26 m)
Draft21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion4 Colt Industries, 16-cylinder diesel engines, 2 shafts, 33,000 shp (25,000 kW)
Speedover 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried		5 LCACs or 21 LCM-6s
TroopsMarine detachment: 402 + 102 surge
Complement22 officers, 391 enlisted
Armament

USS Tortuga (LSD-46) is a

Dry Tortugas, a group of desert coral islets 60 miles (97 km) west of Key West
, Florida.

Tortuga was

champagne over the bow of the ship.[1] Tortuga was commissioned
on 17 November 1990.

History

Tortuga in September 2005, moored pier side in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina relief efforts

In 1997, Tortuga was commanded by

Standing Naval Forces Atlantic a NATO
peacekeeping/quick reaction force.

In August 2002, Tortuga departed North Carolina with marines and sailors from BLT 2/2. During this time she was the home to Echo Company, CAAT Red and a section of CAAT Green, as well as LAR and AmTracks. The group was on what was supposed to be a six-month deployment. In September and October 2002, Tortuga was in Thessaloniki, Greece in support of BLT 2/2 operations in Kosovo. In November Tortuga transited the Suez Canal with the rest of her ARG. They were then assigned to the

Operation Iraqi Freedom
. The Marines and sailors returned to Tortuga in April and returned to the United States on 27 May 2003 after a 9-month deployment.

In 2005, Tortuga was commanded by Commander Mark H. Scovill, homeported at

Atlantic Fleet
.

On 25 August 2005 Tortuga and her crew were pulled from a training exercise and sent to New Orleans to become part of Joint Task Force Katrina. She was the first Navy warship to sail up the Mississippi River following the hurricane and berthed on the West Bank of New Orleans Naval Station. The ship instantly became a major rally point for the scattered military and civilian forces across New Orleans. Tortuga's crew conducted rescue missions in the flooded Ninth Ward and assisted local officials from St. Bernard Parish. Crew members employed combat rubber raiding craft (CRRCs) which allowed them to search flooded areas with many underwater obstacles. As the crew rescued people from neighborhoods they were brought back to Tortuga with 7 and 11 meter RHIBs. Evacuees were processed, received medical attention, and were forwarded to their next destination at the earliest possible time. As water receded in New Orleans and the CRRCs became useless, the ship served as the headquarters for the 618th ESC "Nasty", and the 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division U.S. Army camped out on the Naval Station, while they worked in conjunction with U.S. Navy units to conduct rescue and clean up missions.

On 14 October 2005, the U.S. Navy announced that Tortuga would be forward-deployed to

Sasebo, Japan to replace USS Fort McHenry
. Tortuga arrived in Sasebo 31 March 2006 for turnover and assignment as part of the U.S. Navy's Forward Deployed Naval Forces (FDNF). On 12 April the crews of the two ships completed an exchange-of-command process. Conducted in 12 days, the hull swap between Fort McHenry and Tortuga was the quickest in the history of the U.S. Navy. Tortuga's former crew departed Sasebo on 13 April 2006 to return to Little Creek on board Fort McHenry.

On 15 May, only a month following the swap, Tortuga departed for a three-month deployment. The deployment was centered around an annual exercise called Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2006. Tortuga joined a newly established task group (TG 73.5) reporting directly to Commander, Logistics Group WESTPAC out of Singapore. The group consisted of five ships, Tortuga, the destroyer Hopper, the frigate Crommelin, the supply ship USNS Salvor, and the United States Coast Guard vessel USCGC Sherman. The group visited and operated with the navies of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Philippines.

USS Tortuga visited the island of Iwo Jima in March 2008 and March 2010 to celebrate the anniversary of the World War II battle fought there.

In 2011, Tortuga participated in disaster relief after the

Hachinohe, Aomori and Miyako, Iwate, facilitating both ports to reopen to ship traffic.[4]

From 5 to 7 April 2013, Tortuga participated in a joint annual military exercises together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to enhance regional cooperation and effectiveness in the region. More than 8,000 personnel will be conducted the Balikatan exercises.[5]

In August 2013, Tortuga completed a hull swap with

Little Creek, Virginia.[6]

References

  1. ^ "The christening of the dock landing ship USS TORTUGA (LSD 46)". National Archives. 19 November 1988. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  2. ^ Rabiroff, John (17 March 2011). "U.S. military delivers 40 tons of supplies to hardest-hit areas". Stars and Stripes.; "Warships Supporting Earthquake in Japan". Seawaves. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011.
  3. Ominato, Aomori
  4. ^ Yomiuri Shimbun, "U.S. Navy a good 'tomodachi' / Ship springs into action right after quake, crew works tirelessly", 4 April 2011.
  5. ^ "US ships arrive for 'Balikatan'". Tempo. 3 April 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  6. ^ "USS Tortuga, USS Ashland Hold Hull-Swap Ceremony". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
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