- USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2)
USS "Iwo Jima" (LPH-2) was the
lead ship of her class—the first ship to be designed and built from the keel up as anamphibious assault ship . She carriedhelicopter s and a detachment of embarked Marines for use in the Navy's "vertical envelopment" concept of amphibious operations. "Iwo Jima" was the second of three ships of theUnited States Navy to be named for theBattle of Iwo Jima , although the first to be completed and see service (the first was cancelled during construction).First cruises and Cuban Missile Crisis
"Iwo Jima" was laid down
2 April 1959 byPuget Sound Naval Shipyard ,Bremerton, Wash. ; launched17 September 1960 , sponsored by Mrs. Harry Schmidt; and commissioned26 August 1961 , Captain T. D. Harris in command.Following shakedown training, she spent the rest of 1961 off the
California coast in amphibious exercises. In April 1962 the ship joined Joint Task Force 8 in theJohnston Island -Hawaii area for an important series of nuclear tests. "Iwo Jima" evacuated several islands and took part in the test evaluation. She sailed forPearl Harbor 26 July from the test area, and continued to San Diego, where she arrived10 August 1962 .In September the ship took part in full-scale amphibious exercises in California, departing
17 October from San Diego for her first deployment to the western Pacific. As a crisis flared19 October over the introduction of offensive missiles intoCuba , however, "Iwo Jima" returned to San Diego, embarked Marines22 October to27 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 Diego13 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
30 August on her long-delayed Western Pacific cruise. Joining the 7th Fleet, she ranged from Hawaii to thePhilippines andTaiwan .On
31 October 1963 "Iwo Jima" departed Philippine waters for special operations along the coast ofSouth Vietnam , standing by to protect American nationals during a period of increased strife. She returned to Subic Bay12 November . The following months she sailed with Special Landing Forces of Marines for rigorous amphibious assault and landing raids practice off the coasts of Taiwan andOkinawa . After unloading ammunition at Sasebo,Japan , she departed13 April 1964 for return to San Diego, arriving28 April . Following amphibious training with Marines along the California seaboard, she overhauled in theLong Beach Naval Shipyard . This work was completed by7 December 1964 when "Iwo Jima" began amphibious refresher training ranging to the Hawaiian Islands. On13 March 1965 she departed Pearl Harbor for San Diego, arriving 6 days later.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 a thousand troops were embarked for her western transit that began
12 April . She touched Pearl Harbor a few hours the 17th to off-load 50 Marines and their equipment, then steamed off St. Jacques,Republic of Vietnam ,1 May to2 May , 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 atChu Lai , Vietnam,11 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 atHue-Phu Bai , some 30 miles north ofDa Nang . After a few days rest in Subic Bay she was routed to Sasebo, thence toBuckner Bay , Okinawa, where she embarked Marines and equipment. This was completed26 June 1965 when she sailed forQuinohn , Republic of Vietnam, in company with "Talladega" (APA-208) and "Point Defiance" (LSD-31). These ships were designated Task Group 76.5, that part of the 7th Fleet that carries the Marine Special Landing Force. On the 30th she arrived atQuinohn , about 100 miles south of Chu Lai. The following day Marines landed ashore to take up defensive positions for the protection of Army engineers and communications units."Iwo Jima" remained off Quinohn for defensive support until
20 July 1965 , then steamed forPratas Reef about 240 miles southwest of Taiwan. Arriving the morning of the 22d her helicopters were immediately pressed into service to aid the salvage of destroyer "Frank Knox" (DD-742). The close approach of typhoon "Gilda" pounded the grounded destroyer so badly that it was impossible for small boats to get alongside her. Extra men were heli-lifted off the destroyer while surf rose 12 feet high to break completely over the stern of "Frank Knox". Support given by "Iwo Jima" included such items as hot food, clothes, water, pumps, hose, gasoline, air compressors, welding machines, damage control equipment and technicians. Feed water was heli-lifted in special tanks constructed by destroyer tender "Prairie" (AD-15) who had faint hope of keeping the destroyer's boiler alive. Detached from this duty1 August 1965 , "Iwo Jima" made a brief call atHong Kong , then proceeded to the Philippines.On
17 August 1965 "Iwo Jima" steamed out of Subic Bay forVung Tau , Republic of Vietnam, to join inOperation Starlight , a 5-day search-and-destroy operation that eradicated some 600Viet Cong . The successful Navy-Marine Corps amphibious operation backed by gunfire support from cruiser "Galveston" (CLG-3) and two destroyers, came to a close late on24 August . "Iwo Jima"'s evacuation and surgical teams kept the American casualties down to a very low percentage. During transit back to Subic Bay she learned "Frank Knox" had been refloated, good news for the crew who had put in so many hard and long hours at Pratas Reef. She landed her Marine Special Landing Force at Chu Lai1 September to2 September , embarked 800 Marines of a rotation draft, and sailed forBuckner Bay ."Iwo Jima" landed the rotation troops at Okinawa, then came off Quinohn,
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 by1 October when she steamed to southern waters, remaining in stand-by status for possible evacuation of U.S. nationals in revolt-tornIndonesia . Eight days later she sailed for Danang for a helicopter squadron exchange, thence to Subic Bay where she was relieved by "Valley Forge" (LPH-8). Following a visit to Yokosuka, she departed1 November for return to San Diego, arriving17 November 1965 . Several months later she again joined the 7th Fleet Amphibious Ready Group, a fast moving assault force which had completed more than 20 search-and-destroy operations along the South Vietnamese coast between March 1965 and September 1966. One of these missions hit only 3 miles south of the demilitarized zone to search out and decimate a regiment of the North Vietnam Army's 342B Division which had infiltrated South Vietnam through the neutral zone.During the first 3 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 volcanic island whose costly conquest by stouthearted sailors and marines had inspired her name. 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.December 30 once again found "Iwo Jima", on the line and underway for special operations in theMekong Delta region of South Vietnam 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. Upon 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." On1 July 1967 "Iwo Jima" was reassigned toAmphibious Squadron 3 fromAmphibious 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 theflagship ofTaskForce 130 that waited for theApollo 13 spaceship's astronauts after their memorable "successful failure" mission. In the 1995 film "Apollo 13", "Iwo Jima" was played by her sister ship, "New Orleans" (LPH-11).Catastrophic Boiler Accident
In October 1990 "Iwo Jima" was in the Persian Gulf, as part of the buildup for
Operation Desert Storm . Having been in operation there for two months, she had developed a leak in a steam valve which supplied steam to a stand-by electrical generator. She docked inManama ,Bahrain , where the valve was repaired by a local contractor under US government inspection.Repairs were completed towards the end of October. As she raised steam to get underway and rejoin the fleet, the valve began to leak once more. The problem was reported to the captain on the bridge, but before any action could be taken the bonnet blew off the valve, flooding the boiler room with steam from two boilers. All ten of the crewmen in the room were killed, most instantly.
The cause of the accident was determined to be the use of fasteners of the wrong material on the valve, combined with a lack of proper inspection.
Decommissioning
"Iwo Jima" was decommissioned
14 July 1993 , and struck from theNaval Vessel Register 24 September . She was sold for scrap18 December 1995 . The ship's island is at The Museum Of The American GI in College Station, Texas.References
External links
* [http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Task+Force+130%22+%22USS+Iwo+Jima%22 Flagship: Joint Task Force 130 citations]
* [http://www.apolloexplorer.co.uk/photo/html/as13/10075529.htm Annotated Apollo 13 Explorer Photos]
* [http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001318.html Apollo-GRIN: Great Photos in NASA]
* [http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/luceneweb/caption_direct.jsp?photoId=S70-35606 JSC Digital Image Collection Library]
* [http://www1.jsc.nasa.gov/jscfeatures/articles/000000363.html Johnson Space Center Features]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/i3/iwo_jima.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Iwo Jima"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/1102.htm navsource.org: USS "Iwo Jima"]
* [http://www.megalink.net/~yujack/sigh/iwo/ship.htm USS Iwo Jima Association]
* [http://www.dcfp.navy.mil/mc/museum/IWOJIMA/IwoJima1.htm Anatomy of a Catastrophic Boiler Accident]
* [http://www.hullnumber.com/LPH-2 LPH-2 Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com]
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