USS Tortuga (LSD-46)
.jpg) The Tortuga 2001 in the Caribbean |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Order | November 26, 1984 |
| Keel laying | March 23, 1987 |
| Launch | September 15, 1988 |
| 1. Period of service |
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|
| Commissioning | 17th November 1990 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
fully loaded 15,939 ts |
| length |
185.6 meters |
| width |
25.6 meters |
| Draft |
6.4 meters |
| crew |
22 officers, 391 men, up to 500 Marines |
| drive |
2 propellers, four diesel engines; 33,000 wave horsepower |
| speed |
20+ knots |
| Armament |
2 phalanx, 2 launchers for anti-aircraft missiles |
The USS Tortuga (LSD-46) is a dock landing ship of the United States Navy and belongs to the Whidbey Island class . It was named after the Dry Tortuga Islands in the Dry Tortugas National Park .
history
LSD-46 was commissioned in 1984 and keeled at Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans , Louisiana in 1987 . After a year and a half of construction, the Tortuga was launched on September 15, 1988. The launch was brought forward by two months so that the ship could avoid Hurricane Gilbert , which passed through the Gulf of Mexico in September 1988 but ultimately did not hit Louisiana. The commissioning took place at the end of 1990.
In 2002 the Tortuga ran aground off Morehead City , North Carolina , but was not badly damaged, and there were no injuries. The ship was in the combat group around the USS Nassau (LHA-4) . 2005 the ship relocated in May with USS Cole (DDG-67) and USS Anzio (CG-68) . Together they took part in BALTOPS , a multinational exercise in the Baltic Sea. This was followed by participation in the Kieler Woche 2005, unusual for a US warship of this type and size. The Tortuga was then deployed off the coast of New Orleans , where it helped the injured and the homeless.
In 2006 the Tortuga , previously stationed in Norfolk , carried out a hull swap with her sister ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) based in Japan . The ships swapped both the base and the crew. After three months of acclimatization, the Tortuga left her new home port and took part in the CARAT exercise. Also in 2008 she led a task force during a CARAT exercise with the Malaysian Navy. In 2009 the Tortuga moved with the USS Essex (LHD-2) to the Western Pacific. Among other things, she took part in the Talisman Saber exercise with Australian forces. After Typhoons Parma and Katsana hit the Philippines, the Tortuga was sent to the region with USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49) and USS Denver (LPD-9) to provide local disaster relief. In March 2011, the ship was sent off the coast of Japan to be ready for emergency aid after the Tōhoku earthquake . In June 2011, she then took part in an exercise with the Malaysian Navy, and in early 2012 in the Cobra Gold exercise off the coast of Thailand.
According to Jane's Information Group , the ship is slated to be retired in fiscal 2013 or 2014 as part of savings.
Web links
- Entry in the Naval Vessel Register (Engl.)
- Official Homepage (Engl.)