USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2)
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The USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) was the world's first helicopter carrier specially built for amphibious assaults and the first ship of the United States Navy 's Iwo Jima class of the same name . She was launched on September 17, 1960 at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton and was christened by Mrs. Harry Schmidt. Her first captain became Captain T. D. Harris on August 26, 1961.
The Iwo Jima carried helicopters and units of the US Marines, which were to be used for amphibious operations as part of the concept of "vertical containment". After her maiden voyage, she spent the rest of 1961 doing amphibious exercises off the California coast. In April 1962, the ship joined Joint Task Force 8 in the sea area between Johnston Island and Hawaii to help with a series of nuclear weapons tests. The Iwo Jima evacuated several islands and participated in the test evaluation. She left the test area on July 26th for Pearl Harbor and continued to San Diego , where she arrived on August 10th, 1962.
Cuba crisis
In September, the ship took part in large-scale amphibious exercises in California and left San Diego on October 17 for her first deployment in the Western Pacific. However, when the Cuba crisis over Soviet missiles ignited in Cuba on October 19, the Iwo Jima immediately returned to San Diego, loaded marines between October 22 and 27, and set course for the Caribbean as soon as possible. Until the situation eased in December, the Iwo Jima cruised around Cuba in readiness in the American fleet. She arrived back in San Diego on December 13, 1962.
During the first half of 1963, the Iwo Jima was operating and resuming drills from its home port of San Diego. On August 30th she started her long postponed journey to the Western Pacific. She now belonged to the 7th US fleet and came as far as the Philippines and Taiwan .
First deployments in Vietnam
On October 31, 1963, the Iwo Jima left Philippine waters for special operations along the coast of South Vietnam to protect American citizens during a period of intensifying fighting. She returned to the United States Naval Base Subic Bay on November 12th . In the following months, she was with special landing forces of the Marines for intensified training of amphibious attacks and raids off the coasts of Taiwan and Okinawa . After unloading ammunition in Sasebo, Japan, she made her way back to San Diego on April 13, 1964, where she arrived on April 28. After she had again conducted training maneuvers with Marines off the California coast, she was overhauled at the Long Beach Navy Shipyard. This work was completed by December 7, 1964, when the Iwo Jima began amphibious refresher training off the Hawaiian Islands. On March 13, 1965, she left Pearl Harbor for San Diego, where she arrived 6 days later.
The Iwo Jima was loaded with tons of supplies and a large number of Army helicopters, tankers and vehicles. Almost 1,000 troops were accommodated next to the crew on the ship when she began her voyage west on April 12th. About 50 Marines and their equipment were dumped near Pearl Harbor on April 17th. From there it went directly to St. Jacques in the Republic of Vietnam, where on May 1st and 2nd the 77 helicopters with troops and supplies left the ship. The Iwo Jima continued to Subic Bay, where troops and equipment were taken on board for the amphibious landing at Chu Lai on May 11, 1965.
Landing at Chu Lai
The Iwo Jima stayed off Chu Lai for about a month, protecting the marines who were setting up an airfield on the sandy coast. In addition to helicopter support, she was also responsible for supporting the Marines with kitchen, showers, supplies, storage space and post. She also directed the constant unloading of ships on the beach throughout the month. On June 7, 1965, she dropped the squadron and helicopter at Hue-Phu Bai, about 30 miles north of Da Nang . After a few days' break in Subic Bay, she was ordered to Sasebo and then to Buckner Bay on Okinawa, where she took Marines on board with their equipment and other supplies. This work was completed on June 26, 1965 when she set course for Quinohn in the Republic of South Vietnam with the USS Talladega and USS Point Defiance . These ships together formed Task Group 76.5, which carried the entire Navy Special Landing Forces of the 7th US Fleet. On June 30, the group reached Quinohn, about 100 miles south of Chu Lai. The following day, the Marines landed on the coast and took up defensive positions to protect Army engineers and communications units.
Salvage of the USS Frank Knox
The Iwo Jima remained in front of Quinohn as a defense support until July 20, then headed for Prata Reef, approximately 240 miles southwest of Taiwan . When she arrived there on the morning of July 22nd, her helicopters were helping the recovery of the destroyer USS Frank Knox, which had run aground on the Prata Reef . The swell caused by the foothills of the approaching Typhoon Gilda tossed the fixed destroyer so hard that it was not possible for smaller boats to go alongside. With the helicopters, additional men were roped onto the destroyer under the most difficult conditions, while waves four meters high broke over the Frank Knox . The Iwo Jima supported the destroyer with hot food, clothing, water, pumps, fuel, compressors, welding equipment, ship safety equipment and technicians. Water was brought onto the ship by the helicopters in special tanks that had been built by the tender USS Prairie . In the engine room, the technicians on both ships tried to keep the Frank Knox's boiler under steam. As long as the boiler worked, there were prospects of freeing the ship. On August 1, 1965, the Iwo Jima and the Talladega were replaced by the Point Defiance at the scene of the accident . After a short port stay in Hong Kong , both ships headed for the Philippines.
Further Vietnam missions
On August 17, 1965, Iwo left Jima Subic Bay for Vung Tau, Republic of Vietnam, to participate in Operation Starlight , a five-day mission that killed around 600 Viet Cong fighters . The successful amphibious operation was supported by gunfire from cruiser USS Galveston and two destroyers. The Iwo Jima medical and evacuation teams kept the American casualty rate very low. On the way back to Subic Bay, the crew learned that the Frank Knox was swimming again, which was visibly good for the morale of the crew who had done a lot of hard work on the Pratas Reef. Between September 1 and 2, she dropped a naval landing force at Chu Lai and in return took 800 relieved Marines on board, which she brought to Buckner Bay.
The Iwo Jima landed the exchanged troops on Okinawa and arrived again on September 10 in front of Quinohn, where they covered the landing of the 1st US Army Cavalry Division. By October 1, she had supported three amphibious operations along the coast and was now heading for southern waters. She remained on standby to conduct a possible evacuation of US citizens in riot-ridden Indonesia . Eight days later, she first went to Da Nang to exchange a helicopter squadron, and then to Subic Bay, where she was replaced by the USS Valley Forge . After a visit to Yokosuka, she made her way to her home port of San Diego on November 1, 1965, where she arrived on November 17, 1965. A few months later, she rejoined the 7th Fleet Amphibious Ready Group , a fast-moving attack group that carried out more than 20 amphibious attacks along the South Vietnamese coast between March 1965 and September 1966. One of these missions took place just three miles south of the demilitarized zone, where a regiment from North Vietnamese Division 342B had infiltrated South Vietnam through the neutral zone.
During the first three months of 1966, the Iwo Jima in San Diego was overhauled and improved. From April to June, refresher training took place in preparation for their return to the Western Pacific. On July 24th, it passed the volcanic island, whose costly conquest by brave sailors and marines gave it its name. Also on board was one of the marine groups that landed on Iwo Jima over two decades ago . After operations in the sea area off Vietnam, she went to Japan. On December 30th, she was underway again as part of special operations in the Mekong Delta . In early January 1967 the commandant, Captain Nils W. Boe, was replaced by Captain FX Timmes. Before leaving, Captain Boe said in a speech to mothers and women: “I want to thank each of you for lending me these great young men for a while. They made me feel like I was three meters tall. "
Apollo 13
On April 17, 1970, the Iwo Jima was the flagship of the task force that awaited the astronauts of the Apollo 13 spacecraft after their "successful failure". In the film of the same name with Tom Hanks , shot many years later , which recreated the events of that time, she was played by her sister ship the USS New Orleans , as the real Iwo Jima was already retired at that time. The ship was decommissioned in 1993 and was sold for scrapping.
Web links
- History of Iwo Jima in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (English)
- Information from FAS to Iwo Jima class (Engl.)
- USS Iwo Jima at navysite.de (engl.)
Individual evidence
- Jump up : The dirtiest job in the world. (PDF; 851 kB) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 26, 2011 ; accessed on July 30, 2020 .