USS Nashville (LPD-13)

USS Nashville patrolling the Arabian Sea in 2006
History
United States
Name:	USS Nashville
Namesake:	Nashville, TN
Operator:	United States Navy
Ordered:	15 May 1964
Builder:	Lockheed Shipbuilding
Laid down:	14 March 1966
Launched:	7 October 1967
Acquired:	26 December 1969
Commissioned:	14 February 1970
Decommissioned:	30 September 2009
Homeport:	Norfolk, Virginia
Status:	In reserve
General characteristics
Class and type:	Austin-class amphibious transport dock
Displacement:	Light: 9,784 t (9,629 long tons; 10,785 short tons) Full: 17,479 t (17,203 long tons; 19,267 short tons) Dead: 7,695 t (7,573 long tons; 8,482 short tons)
Length:	Overall: 570 ft (170 m) Waterline: 548 ft (167 m)
Beam:	Extreme: 105 ft (32 m) Waterline: 84 ft (26 m)
Draft:	Limit: 23 ft (7.0 m) Ballasted: 34 ft (10 m)
Propulsion:	Two boilers, two steam turbines, two shafts, 24,000 shp (18,000 kW) each
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Complement:	Ship's company: 489 (59 officers, 430 enlisted); Marine detachment: 900
Sensors and processing systems:	SPS-40 Air Search Radar SPS-60 Surface Search Radar SPS-64 Navigational Radar Furuno Navigational Radar
Armament:	Two Mk 38 25 mm guns Two Phalanx CIWS, Eight .50 caliber machine guns
Aircraft carried:	Up to six CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters

USS Nashville (LPD-13), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the capital city of Tennessee. Her keel was laid down on 14 March 1966 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 7 October 1967 sponsored by Mrs. Roy L. Johnson, and commissioned at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, on 14 February 1970 with Captain Frank R. Fahland in command.

Nashville's various assignments have included four Caribbean Amphibious Ready Groups, eight Mediterranean Groups, two Persian Gulf Groups, a Mine Countermeasure Task Group, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Operations and training assignments with Fleet Marine Force Atlantic.

The ship remained in Amphibious Squadron 2 in 1977. She served as squadron flagship from 1 January through 11 March; 29 April through 21 May; and 10 August through 31 December 1977. In addition, she served as flagship for Commander Combined Amphibious Task Force (Commander Task Force 401), Commander Combined Landing Force, and Commander Task Force 61 (Commander Amphibious Squadron 2) during NATO Exercise Dawn Patrol '77.

Nashville provided support during 8 June 1995 rescue of pilot Capt. Scott O'Grady, who was shot down over Bosnia on 2 June 1995 by an SA-6 mobile launcher and forced to eject from his F-16C into hostile territory.

On 16 and 17 January 2006, she was the first vessel to receive the landing of an unmanned robotic RQ-8A Fire Scout helicopter.