USS Tripoli (LPH-10)
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2010) |
USS Tripoli underway
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | Tripoli |
Namesake | Battle of Derna |
Ordered | 10 December 1962 |
Builder | Ingalls Shipbuilding |
Yard number | 1105[1] |
Laid down | 15 June 1964 |
Launched | 31 July 1965 |
Completed | 20 July 1966 |
Commissioned | 6 August 1966 |
Decommissioned | 15 September 1995 |
Stricken | 15 September 1995 |
Identification |
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Motto |
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Fate | Scrapped in 2018 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship |
Displacement | 19,302 tons |
Length | 598 feet (182 m) |
Beam | 84 feet (26 m) |
Draught | 30 feet (9 m) |
Propulsion | 2 × 600 psi (4.1 MPa) boilers, one geared steam turbines, one shaft, 22,000 shaft horse power |
Speed | 23 knots (26 mph; 43 km/h) |
Complement | 718 (80 officer, 638 enlisted) |
Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 20 × AH-1 Cobra |
USS Tripoli (LPH-10), an
Following three months fitting out at Philadelphia, the ship put to sea on 6 November 1966, bound for the west coast. It transited the Panama Canal at mid-month and arrived at its home port, San Diego, on 22 November 1966. Final acceptance trials, shakedown training, and post-shakedown availability at Long Beach occupied the warship until it embarked Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron HMH-463, elements of Marine Observation Squadron VMO-6, and some members of the staff of the Commander, Amphibious Squadron 8 on 1 May 1967 and departed San Diego, bound for the western Pacific.
Vietnam Service, 1967–1973
Tripoli served on three deployments to Vietnamese waters during the Vietnam War, participating in numerous operations.
First tour
Except for a round-trip voyage to Okinawa early in September, the ship operated out of
On 22 May 1967, Tripoli arrived in the combat zone off the coast of
During its 1967 deployment, Tripoli participated in eight amphibious operations, all conducted along the coast of the I Corps. Its first operation, codenamed
"Beaver Track/Bear Claw" ended on 14 July, and both battalion landing teams returned to their ships on the 7th. The respite from combat, however, proved brief. At dawn three days later, Tripoli's Marines stormed ashore in a combined waterborne-airborne amphibious assault on the exposed seaward flank of the
Tripoli returned to the Vietnamese coast near
Tripoli returned from the
Tripoli completed a restricted availability at
Second tour
Tripoli's second tour of duty closely followed the pattern of the first. During the next seven months, it patrolled the coast of South Vietnam near the I Corps tactical in a position to launch its landing contingent quickly whenever they were needed by Marine Corps, Army and South Vietnamese forces operating ashore. The first of its eight amphibious operations came the day after it arrived in the combat zone. Following preliminary naval bombardment, Operation Eager Yankee opened with a combined airborne and waterborne assault. The Marines of SLF Bravo went ashore about 10 miles (16 km) east of Phu Bai Combat Base. They then wheeled right and pressed north toward a known VC haven. The VC avoided contact; and, on the 16th, the Marines joined shore-based forces in Operation Houston IV. That operation ended on 22 July, and the battalion landing team returned to the ship the same day.
While Tripoli proceeded to the scene of a new operation, feverish preparations allowed it to send SLF Bravo ashore again just 17 hours after the completion of reembarkation. For Operation Swift Play, the Marines rode helicopters ashore to an area about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of An Hoa, deep inland in Quảng Nam Province. The assault forces spotted several enemy formations, but no engagements resulted. The following day, BLT 2/7 transferred to the control of III MAF to conclude an operation designed to parry a major enemy thrust toward Danang. The landing force remained ashore operating under the commanding general, 1st Marine Division, in defense of Danang through the months of August, September and November. Meanwhile, Tripoli steamed on station offshore providing logistics and medical support, departing Vietnamese waters twice between 22 July and 5 November. In mid-August, it steamed to Subic Bay for repairs; and, in early October, it voyaged via Subic Bay to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for a liberty call. During all other periods, it remained off the Vietnamese coast providing support services to the Marines of BLT 2/7 operating ashore.
On 5 November, the special landing force ended more than three months of combat duty ashore and re-embarked on Tripoli. Five days later,
During the remainder of its second tour of duty, Tripoli participated in two more amphibious operations. The first of these,
The re-embarkation of the Marines was completed by 9 February, just in time for Tripoli to launch its last amphibious operation of the deployment. The expected enemy Tet 1969 offensive required South Vietnamese troops to be withdrawn from Operation Taylor Common, then in progress near An Hoa in Quang Nam Province. SLF Bravo was to replace those troops in Operation Defiant Measure. The landings began at 08:00 on the morning of 10 February, and the offloading of men and equipment continued for several days. Tripoli remained in the area until the 16th. Operation Defiant Measure was concluded on that day, though the Marines remained ashore to continue Operation Taylor Common. HMM-164 was disembarked before Tripoli began its voyage home. It departed Vietnam that same day, and arrived in Subic Bay on the 18th. There, it turned over her duties to USS Valley Forge. On the 22nd, it got underway for badly needed repairs in Yokosuka, Japan, and before continuing on to the United States. It finally arrived back in San Diego on 19 March and began post-deployment standdown.
Tripoli remained on the west coast until November. After leave and upkeep, it began an availability period at the San Diego yard of the National Steel Company, which continued until 11 August. Following refresher training in September and amphibious training in October, it stood out of San Diego on 1 November to return to the Far East. After a brief stop at Guam on the 15th for fuel, it continued on to Danang, South Vietnam, arriving five days later.
Third tour
During Tripoli's third deployment to the western Pacific, the combat operations along the Vietnamese coast, which had characterized its first two deployments were totally absent. Instead it conducted a series of amphibious training exercises and a series of "Keystone" operations redeploying Marine Corps units. Its first mission,
Tripoli returned to Vietnamese waters on the 17th and cruised the area without incident until the 25th, when it headed back to Subic Bay. In the Philippines, minor repairs and more amphibious exercises occupied it until 6 January 1970. It made a six-day cruise to Vietnam and then returned to the Philippines on the 12th for more training. On the 25th, it disembarked SLF "Alfa" at Subic Bay in preparation for a voyage to Vietnam to pick up homeward-bound marines. It entered Danang on 31 January and began embarking personnel from HQ, III MAF, 1st Marine Air Wing, 1st Marine Division, and III MAF Logistics Command. Later that evening, it got underway for home. After a non-stop voyage of 17 days, the ship arrived in San Diego on 16 February. It moved to Long Beach on the 23d to replace a cracked screw and departed that port on the 27th to return to the western Pacific reaching Subic Bay on 15 March.
Tripoli operated in the Philippines and at Okinawa conducting amphibious exercises in preparation for an exercise with units of South Korean forces. It arrived in Korean waters on 18 April and, two days later, began Operation Golden Dragon. The combined American-South Korean amphibious exercise lasted until the 25th. Tripoli returned to Okinawa on the 27th. It briefly operated off Danang at the end of the first week in May and then visited Hong Kong for a week in mid-month. Late in May, it returned via Subic Bay to Okinawa to disembark SLF "Alfa" and then moved to Danang where it disembarked ComPhibRon 9 and his staff and took on cargo for the voyage home. Tripoli got underway on 7 June 1970 and reached San Diego on the 24th. Tripoli spent the next 15 months on the west coast. Following post-deployment' upkeep and local operations, it conducted carrier qualifications in the southern California operation area in August and an amphibious exercise off Camp Pendleton. For the remainder of 1970, the ship occupied itself with individual ship's exercises and upkeep in preparation for an overhaul, which began on 1 February 1971. It left
The ship conducted amphibious training operations in the Philippines and made port visits to such places as
It returned to Subic Bay on 14 January and resumed training operations punctuated by visits to Singapore, Hong Kong and Kobe, Japan. It began operations in Vietnamese waters at the beginning of April, operating on Yankee Station to provide search-and-rescue and medical evacuation services. It departed the combat zone twice, once for upkeep at Subic Bay and later to exchange battalion landing teams at Okinawa. At the end of June, it resumed flight operations in connection with troop movements. However, instead of carrying embarked Marines inland for amphibious landings, its helicopters moved South Vietnamese troops from point to point ashore. On 29 June, Tripoli-assigned helicopters helped to transport 1,400 Vietnamese Marines from Tam My to the vicinity of Quang Tri City during the allied counteroffensive to recapture areas of the I Corps tactical zone, which had been overrun by PAVN during the Easter Offensive. As this operation, codenamed "Lam Son 72" progressed, Tripoli remained off shore, evacuating casualties and waiting should the reserves be required. That necessity came shortly before noon on 11 July, when its helicopters helped to insert the reserve Vietnamese Marines battalion, picking them up near Route 553 and landing them behind enemy lines, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-northwest of Quang Tri City. On the 20th, Tripoli departed Vietnamese waters bound for the Philippines where heavy monsoons had caused extensive flooding. It reached Subic Bay on 23 July and conducted relief operations until 4 August, at which time it set course for the United States.
Tripoli arrived at San Diego on 20 August and, remained there until 10 October. After a six-day amphibious exercise near Hunter Liggett Point, Tripoli returned to home port, where it stayed through the end of the year. During the first two months of 1973, it operated out of San Diego and prepared to deploy to the Far East once more. Tripoli stood out of San Diego on 6 March for its fifth deployment to the western Pacific. Steaming via Pearl Harbor, where it made a three-week stop for repairs to its high-pressure turbine, it arrived in Subic Bay on 17 April. The ship remained there and, when not plagued by material casualties to its main propulsion plant, conducted training preparatory to Operation End Sweep, the removal of American mines from North Vietnamese waters. Though scheduled to sail for Haiphong on 16 June, it was delayed by more problems in its propulsion plant. Nevertheless, early the next morning, Tripoli headed for North Vietnam and arrived at Haiphong on the 19th. The clearing of US mines in North Vietnamese waters, particularly Haiphong, was the last remaining precondition to the release of the US prisoners of war. That morning, the commander of TF 78, Rear Admiral Brian McCauley, embarked on the Tripoli and began negotiations with North Vietnamese representatives over the conduct of Operation End Sweep. McCauley spent his childhood in China and spoke fluent Chinese as the son of Commodore Cleaveland McCauley, who was military attache to China in the 1920s, and the negotiations were conducted in Chinese. Meanwhile, Tripoli's embarked air group began providing logistics support and inter-ship transportation services.
Major issues in the negotiations were resolved by 28 June, and minesweeping operations began early that morning. Throughout the operation, the ship provided a platform for helicopters engaged both in minesweeping operations and for those providing logistics and transport services. Periodically, it retired from the area to replenish and to evade typhoons. Otherwise, it remained in the minesweeping area until 18 July when it departed North Vietnamese waters in company with USS Inchon and USS Ogden, bound for Luzon. Four days after its arrival back in Subic Bay, the last American operation in Vietnamese territory ended, and the End Sweep task force was dissolved. Operations reverted to CTG 76.5/ARG "Bravo." That organization lasted only two days because on the 27th, the Commander, PhibRon 1, broke his flag in Tripoli, and it became flagship for TG 76.4/ ARC "Alfa."
Operational readiness, 1974–1979
Between January 1974 and the end of 1976, Tripoli made two relatively routine deployments to the western Pacific. The first lasted from late July 1974 until late January 1975. During that time period, it operated out of Subic Bay and engaged primarily in amphibious training exercises in the Philippines. The second deployment, from mid-February to late October 1976, saw a repetition of this routine, but also included a voyage to Guam for disaster relief duty as a result of Super Typhoon Pamela. It also participated in two joint American-Korean amphibious exercises conducted near Pohang, Korea, in March and June, respectively. The second deployment ended on 25 October, when it arrived in San Diego, remaining there into 1977.
The first six months of 1977 were spent in a Planned Restricted Availability (PRAV) at
With the Vietnam War over, Tripoli was kept operationally ready through countless drills, exercises and maritime deployments. The Pacific Fleet introduction of the AV-8A Harrier occurred between 17 June and 13 August 1974. Also in 1974, after proving that it could handle Harrier flight operations, it became the first amphibious warfare ship to carry a full squadron of AV-8s.[citation needed]
1980s
Tripoli sailed on 12 November 1981 from San Diego for a western Pacific and Indian Ocean deployment as flagship of Amphibious Ready Group Alpha/Amphibious Squadron One (USS Duluth, USS Mount Vernon, USS Fresno) during which USS Tripoli and Amphibious Squadron One visited Perth and Fremantle, in Western Australia for R&R from 28 January to 3 February 1982. Tripoli returned home to San Diego, on 15 May 1982.[citation needed]
In 1982, the ship was the test platform for the
Stationed in the Arabian Sea, 1990–1995
In 1990,
USS Impervious and sister MSO's were her escorts. Impervious was responsible for removing these mines that threatened the Tripoli. Soon after the Iraqi invasion, it became clear that Iraq was laying mines in international waters. US ships discovered and destroyed six mines during December. The US Mine Countermeasures Group (USMCMG) was established with the objective of clearing a path to the beach for a possible amphibious landing and battleship gunfire support.
The minesweepers USS Adroit, Impervious and USS Leader along with the newly commissioned mine countermeasures ship USS Avenger arrived in the Persian Gulf aboard the heavy-lift ship Super Servant III. More than 20 Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams were also deployed to support the mine countermeasures force. Allied minesweepers from Saudi Arabia, Great Britain and Kuwait, and the MH-53E Sea Dragons of Mine Countermeasures Helicopter Squadron 14 joined the mine countermeasure effort.
After months of training off Dubai, United Arab Emirates, USMCMG staff embarked on Tripoli on 20 January, and proceeded to the northern part of the Persian Gulf waters to perform their mission. As flagship for the combined operation, Tripoli's flight deck was the base for the mine-sweeping helicopters. Six British minesweepers joined their US counterparts, with UK and US warships providing air defense.
USMCMG began its work 60 miles (97 km) east of the Kuwaiti coastline, working initially to clear a 15 miles (24 km) long, 1,000 yards (910 m) wide path. The mine-clearing task force spent the first few weeks of Desert Storm pushing 24 miles (39 km) to Point Foxtrot, a 10 miles (16 km) by 3.5 miles (5.6 km) box, which became the battleship gunfire support area south of Faylaka Island. While sweeping further toward shore, the task group was targeted by Iraqi fire control radars associated with Silkworm missile sites inside Kuwait. Task force ships moved out of Silkworm range and worked to locate the radar site. During those maneuvers on 18 February, Iraqi mines found their mark. Within three hours of each other, Tripoli and USS Princeton were rocked by exploding mines. As damage control teams successfully overcame fires and flooding aboard Tripoli and Princeton, Impervious, Leader, and Avenger searched for additional mines in the area. Adroit led the salvage tug USS Beaufort toward Princeton to tow her to safety.
Tripoli was able to continue her mission for several days, until it was relieved by USS La Salle and USS New Orleans and proceeded to Bahrain for repairs. New Orleans provided the helicopter deck while the mine group staff moved aboard La Salle to coordinate the operation. Princeton restored her TLAM strike and AEGIS anti-air warfare defense capabilities within fifteen minutes of the mine strike, whereupon she reassumed duties as local anti-air warfare coordinator and remained on station, providing defense for the mine countermeasures group for an additional 30 hours, until relieved. Charts and intelligence captured from Iraq showed the mine field where Tripoli and Princeton were hit was one of six laid in a 150 miles (240 km) arc from Faylaka Island to the Saudi-Kuwaiti border. Within that arc, there were four additional mine lines—a total of more than 1,000 mines—laid over a five-month period. Three days later, the massive 31-ship amphibious task force moved north to assist in battlefield preparation as the deadline for the ground offensive neared. As Wisconsin and Missouri steamed in the vicinity of recently cleared Point Foxtrot, their gun crews continued to hit Iraqi targets. Marine AV-8B Harriers launched from the flight deck of Nassau conducted strikes ashore. Three crewmen received Bronze Stars, three others received Silver Stars and the ship was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon for exceptional performance during the incident.
When Somali warlords controlled the city of
When Iraqi President Saddam Hussein began to redeploy his forces along the border of Kuwait in late 1994, Tripoli was sent as the initial show of force. Assuming duties with other ships in the northern Persian Gulf, Tripoli prepared to conduct amphibious operations in response to any further southward movement by Iraqi forces. Operation Vigilant Warrior resulted in the withdrawal of Hussein's forces from Kuwait's border.
Decommissioning
Tripoli was decommissioned in 1995 and as of 2004, she was on loan to the
Awards
- Joint Meritorious Unit Award
- Navy Unit Commendation with 4 awards
- Combat Action Ribbon with 5 awards
- Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
- Navy Battle "E" Ribbonwith 2 awards
- National Defense Service Medal
- Vietnam Service Medal with 9 awards
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
- Southwest Asia Service Medal
- Humanitarian Service Medal
- Philippines Presidential Unit Citation
- Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation with 8 awards
- Vietnam Campaign Medal
Gallery
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USS Tripoli during trials in the Gulf of Mexico, accompanied by a Sikorsky H-34 helicopter.
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Aerial view of Tripoli underway in 1967
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Playboy Bunny painted on the stern of Tripoli in 1967
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Tripoli entering Subic Bay in 1973
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The experimental Bell XV-15 executes a vertical take off from Tripoli in 1983.
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Tripoli leads a ship parade followed by landing craft in San Diego Bay
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The decommissioned Tripoli being towed out of San Diego Bay
See also
- Vincent O'Rourke, commanding officer of Tripoli 26 August 1970 to 10 September 1971.
- USS Iwo Jima Class Association, USS Iwo Jima Class Association
References
- ^ Colton, Tim. "Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula MS". Shipbuilding History. ShipbuildingHistory.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ^ "Tripoli II (LPH-10)". public2.nhhcaws.local.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Tempest, Mark (23 March 2008). "Sunday Ship History: Airborne Mine Sweepers". EagleSpeak. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ "Ex-warship now a launch platform for missile testing". honoluluadvertiser.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021.
- ^ "National Defense Reserve Fleet Inventory, April 30, 2015" (PDF). MARAD. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "NATIONAL DEFENSE RESERVE FLEET INVENTORY MAR-612: RESERVE FLEET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM MONTHLY REPORT AS OF August 31, 2016" (PDF). MARAD – National Defense Reserve Fleet. U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ^ "USS Tripoli Sent for Recycling in Brownsville, Texas". waste-management-world.com. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
This article incorporates public domain material from Desert Storm: The war with Iraq. Naval History and Heritage Command.