USS Okinawa (LPH-3)

USS Okinawa

Ship data flag  United States Ship type Helicopter carrier class Iwo Jima class Shipyard Philadelphia Naval Shipyard , Philadelphia Launch August 19, 1961 Commissioning April 14, 1962 Whereabouts Sunk on June 6, 2002 as a target ship

Ship dimensions and crew length 184 m ( Lüa ) width 31.7 m Draft Max. 7.9 m displacement Empty: 11,000 tn. l. Maximum: 18,474 tn.l.   crew 718 sailors, 1,750 Marines

Machine system machine 2 steam boilers 1 geared turbine Machine performance 22,000 PS (16,181 kW) Top speed 23 kn (43 km / h) propeller 1

Armament 2 x 2.0 cm phalanx 3 × AH-1 Cobra 20 × CH-46 Sea Knight 10 × CH-53 Sea Stallion 3 x UH-1 iroquois

The USS Okinawa (LPH-3) was a helicopter carrier of the Iwo Jima class of the United States Navy . She was the second ship to be named after the Battle of Okinawa from World War II .

technology

The overall length was 184 m, the maximum width 31.7 m. It displaced a maximum of 18,474  tn. l. at a draft of 7.9 m.

Two Babcock steam pressure boilers and a Westinghouse steam turbine with gearbox were used as the drive . The power was 16,910 kW (22,000 WPS) and enabled a speed of 23 knots.

The crew consisted of 650 men, plus around 1,750 US Marines who could be embarked with their equipment. If necessary, the Okinawa could take up to 300 wounded in the on-board hospital.

Up to 36 USMC helicopters were stationed on board, mostly around 30 transport helicopters ( CH-46 Sea Knight , CH-53 Sea Stallion , UH-1 Iroquois ) and some attack helicopters ( AH-1 Cobra ) to support the landing forces.

history

The keel was laid on April 1, 1960 in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , on the 15th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Okinawa. The launch took place on August 19, 1961. On April 14, 1962, the Okinawa was entered into service with the US Navy. She spent the first years of service in Caribbean and European waters, in 1967 she was relocated off the coast of Vietnam and served as a base for operations by the Marines.

On April 4, 1968, the Okinawa was a salvage ship for the unmanned Apollo 6 test flight. Three years later, on August 7, 1971, the Apollo 15 capsule was recovered by Okinawa helicopters .

In April 1975, Okinawa was involved in the evacuation of American citizens from Saigon during Operation Frequent Wind .

On December 17, 1992, the Okinawa was retired and removed from the Navy's shipping registers. On June 6, 2002, it was sunk by the submarine USS Portsmouth as part of a maneuver off the coast of southern California after it had served as a target for bombs and missiles in the days before.

Web links

Commons : USS Okinawa  - collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

• Pictures of the Okinawa at navsource.org (engl.)