USS Cleveland (LPD-7)
 The Cleveland in February 2000 |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Order | January 25, 1963 |
| Keel laying | November 30, 1964 |
| Launch | May 7, 1966 |
| 1. Period of service |
|
| Commissioning | April 21, 1967 |
| Decommissioning | September 30, 2011 |
| Whereabouts | Reserve fleet |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
17,326 tons |
| length |
173.7 meters |
| width |
30.4 meters |
| Draft |
6.7 meters |
| crew |
164 officers, 396 sailors, up to 840 marines |
| drive |
2 propellers, driven by 2 steam turbines; 24,000 hp |
| speed |
21 knots |
| Armament |
2 × machine cannons |
The USS Cleveland (LPD 7) is the Austin-class belonging amphibious transport dock of the United States Navy , which was found in April 1967 in service. As part of the United States Pacific Fleet , the ship spent much of its active duty in the eastern and western Pacific. At the time of her retirement in September 2011, the Cleveland was the third oldest active ship in the United States Navy. It is in the reserve fleet in Hawaii .
history
The Cleveland was commissioned on January 25, 1963 as the fourth unit of the Austin class and laid down on November 30, 1964 in the shipyard of Ingalls Shipbuilding . The launch took place on May 7, 1966. On April 21, 1967, the ship was put into service. Home port was San Diego.
After the test drives, the Cleveland was relocated to Vietnam, where it had its first use during the Tet Offensive . After the end of the Vietnam War, the ship took part in Operation End Sweep in 1973 , during which the waters of the Vietnamese coast were cleared of mines. Between 1974 and 1985 it was stationed for training missions in the western Pacific.
After the accident of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez in March 1989, the Cleveland was called to Prince William Sound to take part in the removal of the oil.
During the Second Gulf War in 1990 and 1991, the ship took part in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm . In 1992 and 1993 the Cleveland spent in Central America , where in March 1993 it carried out a successful drug raid at sea together with the United States Coast Guard . The seized motor ship Sea Chariot carried large quantities of cocaine .
In 1994 the ship was part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission , during which several African countries were called. In October of the same year, the Cleveland was ordered into the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Vigilant Warrior after Iraqi troops had gathered on the border with Kuwait.
The ship spent most of the following years on training missions in the Pacific and off Africa. In the summer of 1998 it again took part in a mission in the Persian Gulf accompanied by the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) .
In February 2001 the Cleveland was trying to rescue Alaska Airlines Flight 261 , which had crashed into the sea off Los Angeles . The ship saw its last major mission in January 2003 as part of a fleet that was moved off the coast of Iraq as part of Operation Enduring Freedom .
On August 4, 2011, the Cleveland finished its last voyage in active service in San Diego. The official retirement took place on September 30, 2011 after more than 44 years of service. The Cleveland was transferred to the reserve fleet in Hawaii, where it remains to this day.
Web links
- Entry on Cleveland on navsource.org (English)
- Entry on Cleveland on navysite.de (English)
