USS Okinawa (LPH-3)
_in_the_Persian_Gulf_in_1987.JPEG)
USS Okinawa (LPH-3) in the Persian Gulf in 1987
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| History | |
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| Ordered: | 24 October 1958 |
| Builder: | Philadelphia Naval Shipyard |
| Laid down: | 1 April 1960 |
| Launched: | 19 August 1961 |
| Commissioned: | 14 April 1962 |
| Decommissioned: | 17 December 1992 |
| Struck: | 17 December 1992 |
| Fate: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship |
| Displacement: | 11,000 tons |
| Length: | 592 ft (180 m) |
| Beam: | 84 ft (26 m) |
| Draft: | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 22 knots (41 km/h) |
| Complement: | 667 |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 25 helicopters |
USS Okinawa (LPH–3) was the second Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship assigned the name "Okinawa", in honor of the World War II Battle of Okinawa.
Okinawa was laid down on 1 April 1960 (15th anniversary of the invasion of Okinawa) by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; launched on 19 August 1961; sponsored by Mrs. John L. McClellan, wife of Arkansas Senator John L. McClellan; and commissioned on 14 April 1962, Captain William E. Lemos in command.
Following commissioning and sea trials, Okinawa departed Philadelphia on 20 June 1962 for her homeport, Norfolk, Va., where she spent a month fitting out. After a six-week shakedown cruise out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and another month in Norfolk, the amphibious assault ship began participation in her first fleet exercise in the Caribbean, 15 October. Shortly thereafter the Cuban Missile Crisis arose and Okinawa remained in the area, lending force to the United States’ stand, until 3 December, when she returned to Norfolk.
The first half of 1963 was spent in availability at the Philadelphia and Norfolk Naval Shipyards and further trial operations in the Caribbean and out of Norfolk. On 9 July, Okinawa began her first formal Caribbean deployment, returning to Norfolk on 1 October and spending the remainder of that year and the first part of the next in that area. During June 1964, she sailed to Newport, Rhode Island and New York City for the World's Fair. On 7 October, she left on her first trip to European waters, for operation “Steel Pike I,” an amphibious exercise off the coast of Spain. After a stop in France and a goodwill visit to Plymouth, England, Okinawa arrived back in Norfolk at the end of November.
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