- USS Rushmore (LSD-14)
USS "Rushmore" (LSD-14) was a "Casa Grande"-class
dock landing ship of theUnited States Navy . She was the named in honor ofMount Rushmore National Memorial in theBlack Hills ofSouth Dakota .The ship was originally authorized under the
Lend-Lease Act as BAPM-6, the sixth of seven British Mechanized Artillery Transports. Reclassified a Landing Ship Dock, LSD-14, on1 July 1942 , the contract for LSD-14 was awarded toNewport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. ,Newport News, Virginia , on10 September 1942 . She was laid down on31 December 1943 , originally to be named HMS "Sword", and later HMS "Swashway" (F145). While under construction, LSD-14, as well as -13 and -15, were reassigned back to the United States.The ship was launched as "Rushmore" on
10 May 1944 , sponsored by Miss Eleanor Vreelan Blewitt; and commissioned on3 July 1944 ,Lieutenant Commander E. A. Jansen, USNR, in command.1944 – 1946
Following shakedown in the
Chesapeake Bay , landing ship dock "Rushmore" departedNorfolk on5 August 1944 for the Pacific where she participated in four amphibious landings: theBattle of Leyte in October 1944; of Palawan in February 1945; of Mindanao in March 1945; and of Tarakan,Borneo , in May 1945."Rushmore" entered
Leyte Gulf early in the morning of20 October , and after discharging her LCMs from her boat well in one of the first waves to hit Yellow Beach nearDulag , Leyte, acted as repair ship for damagedlanding craft . AtPalawan on28 February 1945 , she landed Army-manned LCMs and other craft loaded with personnel and equipment of the 167th Field Artillery of theU.S. 8th Army . AtMindanao she carried a record 867 men for a10 March landing on a beach north ofZamboanga City .For the invasion of Tarakan on
1 May , "Rushmore" carried U.S. Army-manned LCMs loaded withAustralia n troops andlight tank s. The Australian troops were a battalion of the famed "Rats of Tobruk" which had helped to chase German GeneralErwin Rommel out ofAfrica . During this landing, "Rushmore" was hit by aJapan esetorpedo fired from the beach, which fortunately glanced off her hull without exploding or causing damage.Returning to the
Philippines , "Rushmore" loaded a 137-foot Japanesesubmarine which she carried toSan Francisco to serve as a display to help sellwar bond s. In the United States from2 June to27 June , "Rushmore" next carried landing craft from base to base in theSouth Pacific and was inPearl Harbor when the war ended.After the war, "Rushmore" operated in the Far East, particularly in occupied Japanese waters. She decommissioned
16 August 1946 and was mothballed inPascagoula, Mississippi .1950 – 1970
"Rushmore" recommissioned at
Charleston, S.C. , on21 September 1950 , to begin a period of Atlantic Fleet service. Her next ten years includedCaribbean exercises, Reserve cruises, aMediterranean cruise, and regularArctic trips to resupply theDEW Line bases. "Rushmore" was present for ceremonies atIstanbul ,Turkey , in May 1954 on the occasion of the return of various smalllend-lease vessels from theUSSR . "Rushmore" returned these ex-Soviet Navy vessels to the United States.On
16 May 1960 "Rushmore" departed Norfolk for a 6-month tour with the 6th Fleet. Returning to the Atlantic coast, she again deployed to the Mediterranean in late 1961. Returning to Little Creek, Va. on22 February 1962 , she operated in the Atlantic and Caribbean before aFleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) overhaul. On9 November "Rushmore" hurriedly left theBethlehem Steel Yards ,Hoboken, N.J. , because of theCuban missile crisis and sailed toNorth Carolina to embark Marine units. However, with the easing of the situation in December, she returned to Little Creek.On
4 February 1963 , "Rushmore" began a 5-month deployment to the Mediterranean. From December until February 1964, she operated in the Caribbean, remaining near thePanama Canal Zone area during and after the riots there, ready to land troops to protect American citizens and Government property. Operating in the Atlantic and Caribbean until6 October , she then departed the United States forEurope and the largest amphibious assault yet staged in peacetime,Operation Steel Pike . She returned to Little Creek on26 November ."Rushmore" was again deployed to the Mediterranean from
8 February to24 July 1965 , participating in joint Norwegian-American and French-American exercises. In the summer of 1966 "Rushmore" made two midshipmen cruises. For the next four years she alternated deployments to the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean with operations off the U.S. Atlantic coast. She deployed to the Mediterranean November 1966 – May 1967, January–May 1968, and November 1969 – April 1970. Ordered inactivated soon after her return, "Rushmore" decommissioned30 September 1970 and was transferred to theMaritime Administration 'sNational Defense Reserve Fleet , atFort Eustis on the James River, in February 1971. The old dock landing ship was finally sunk as a target on16 April 1993 .Awards
"Rushmore" earned three
battle star s forWorld War II service.References
*DANFS
External links
*cite web
url= http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r9/rushmore.htm
title= "Rushmore"
first= | last=
date= 21 October 2005 | work= DANFS | publisher= U.S.Naval Historical Center
accessdate= 2008-05-09
*cite web
url= http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/12/1227.htm
title= LSD-14 "Rushmore"
first= Gary P. | last= Priolo | date= 29 February 2008
work= Amphibious Photo Archive | publisher= NavSource Online
accessdate= 2008-05-09
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