USS ''Tarawa'' (LHA-1), the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class, is an

amphibious assault ship An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, as ...

that served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1976 to 2009. She is the second ship to be named for the

Battle of Tarawa The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, an ...

, fought during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. ''Tarawa'' was decommissioned on 31 March 2009, at San Diego Naval Base.

History

The ship was laid down in November 1971 at

Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 22 ...

, by

Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries, HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 ...

, launched 1 December 1973, sponsored by Audrey B. Cushman, the wife of Robert E. Cushman, Jr., former

Commandant of the Marine Corps The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...

, and commissioned on 29 May 1976. ''Tarawa'' was the first of five ships in a new class of general-purpose amphibious assault ships, and combined in one ship type the functions previously performed by four different types: the amphibious assault ship (LPH), the

amphibious transport dock An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform dock (LPD), is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently operat ...

(LPD), the

amphibious cargo ship Amphibious cargo ships were U.S. Navy ships designed specifically to carry troops, heavy equipment and supplies in support of amphibious assaults, and to provide naval gunfire support during those assaults. A total of 108 of these ships were built ...

(LKA), and the

dock landing ship A dock landing ship (also called landing ship, dock or LSD) is an amphibious warfare ship with a well dock to transport and launch landing craft and amphibious vehicles. Some ships with well decks, such as the Soviet Ivan Rogov class, also have ...

(LSD). She was capable of landing elements of a Marine Corps battalion landing team and their supporting equipment by landing craft,

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s, or a combination of both. The ship departed Pascagoula on 7 July 1976 and set a course for the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

. She transited the canal on 16 July and, after a stop at

Acapulco, Mexico Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

, arrived at

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California on 6 August. During the remainder of 1976, the ship conducted sea trials, tests, and a shakedown cruise in the southern California operating area. During the first half of 1977, ''Tarawa'' was engaged in training exercises off the California coast. On 13 August, she entered

Long Beach Naval Shipyard The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International ...

for post shakedown availability, which was completed on 15 July 1978. Following four and one half months of intensive individual ship and amphibious refresher training with embarked marines, ''Tarawa'' ended 1978 in her home port of San Diego on Christmas stand down.

Missions

Her first Western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment came in 1979, where, among other memorable actions including port visits to Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Pattaya, and Okinawa, as well as Hong Kong while it was still under British control. She successfully engaged in experimental launch and recovery operations with Marine close air support

AV-8 Harrier The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primaril ...

jets and later rescued over 400

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

ese refugees adrift in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

; her corpsmen delivering Grace Tarawa Tran during the rescue effort, who returned to a decommissioned ''Tarawa'' at Pearl Harbor in 2010 to meet the man who delivered her. After a second deployment WESTPAC, beginning in 1980 and spanning into 1981, ''Tarawa'' was in the Indian Ocean. In 1983, during her third deployment, ''Tarawa'' went to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

to support the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(UN) peacekeepers in

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of ...

. Several additional cruises followed. In 1985 as part of the US 7th Fleet, ''Tarawa'' participated in Operation Valiant Blitz with the US Marines 3rd Marine Division. The 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment conducted amphibious landing and helicopter operations off the coast of Okinawa, including visits to Hong Kong and Subic Bay for liberty call. In June 1989, ''Tarawa'' deployed for a six-month WESTPAC tour as the

11th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (11th MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 pe ...

(MEU), composed of the Marines from Camp Horno, Camp Pendleton, California, 1st Battalion 9th Marines (redesignated as 2nd Battalion 1st Marines on 9 September 1994). In December 1990, ''Tarawa'' was the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of a 13-ship amphibious task force in support of

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. She participated in the ''Sea Soldier IV'' landing exercise in January, which was a deception maneuver suggesting an amphibious assault in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, and then on 24 February landed Marines in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

just south of the Kuwaiti border. In May 1991, ''Tarawa'' went to

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

in support of

Operation Sea Angel Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, providing humanitarian assistance to victims of a

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

, delivering rice and water purification equipment. In May 1992, ''Tarawa'' deployed for the eighth time to the Western Pacific, participating in Eager Mace 1992–93, a joint U.S./Kuwait exercise. The ship also supported the insertion of Pakistani troops into Somalia in support of UN humanitarian relief, and returned to San Diego in November 1992. ''Tarawa'' was awarded her fourth Admiral Flatley Award and her first Commander, Seventh Fleet, Amphibious Warfare Excellence Award for they deployment. Her 1992 deployment included visits to Hong Kong, Singapore, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and Australia. In April 1996, following another complex overhaul at

, ''Tarawa'' left from

on her ninth Western Pacific deployment. She took part in US/

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

amphibious training exercise in the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...

, exercise ''Indigo Serpent'', with the

Royal Saudi Navy The Royal Saudi Navy ( ar, البَحْريَّة الْمَلكيَّة السُّعُودِيَّة, Al-Quwwat al-Bahriyah al-Arabiyah as-Su'udiyah) or Royal Saudi Naval Forces ( ar, القُوَّات البَحْريَّة الْمَلك� ...

, and exercise ''Infinite Moonlight'', the first-ever exercise between US and

Royal Jordanian Navy The Royal Jordanian Navy is naval warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Jordan, Kingdom of Jordan. As Jordan is landlocked except at its southern extremity, with only of shoreline along the Gulf of Aqaba providing acc ...

, in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

. The last preceded ''Tarawa''s visit to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

in support of

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from Summer 1992 to Spring 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of mon ...

, enforcing the

no-fly zone A no-fly zone, also known as a no-flight zone (NFZ), or air exclusion zone (AEZ), is a territory or area established by a military power over which certain aircraft are not permitted to fly. Such zones are usually set up in an enemy power's te ...

over southern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. ''Tarawa'' was also part of

Operation Desert Strike The 1996 cruise missile strikes on Iraq, codenamed Operation Desert Strike, were joint United States Navy–United States Air Force strikes conducted on 3 September against air defense targets in southern Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq, in response to a ...

. Returning to San Diego in October 1996, ''Tarawa'' earned both the Federal Energy Conservation Award and the

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

Energy Conservation Award. On 7 February 1998, ''Tarawa'', along with , and more than 4,000 Sailors and Marines, departed San Diego for a six-month deployment. They departed five days ahead of schedule as part of a buildup of US forces in the Persian Gulf. The ''Tarawa'' Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), consisting of more than 2,100 Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), operated in the western Pacific, Indian Ocean and the

. ''Tarawa'' conducted special operations certification exercises before leaving on a 10th deployment to the Western Pacific. As the possibility of renewed conflict with Iraq loomed on the horizon, the ''Tarawa'' ARG made a dash straight to the Persian Gulf within 31 days, at a speed averaging 17 knots. Just as the ARG neared the Persian Gulf, the threat passed but, according to Commander, Amphibious Group 3, the 12,500-mile, high-speed transit set a record and won the respect of senior Navy officials. The ''Tarawa'' ARG and the 11th MEU arrived in the Persian Gulf 11 March 1998. ''Tarawa'', ''Denver'', and ''Mount Vernon'' relieved and her ARG to continue the commitment to security and stability in the region. In the early summer of 1998 the Amphibious Ready Group conducted an evacuation operation that rescued 250 people from Eritrea's capital, Asmara. The three ships returned home 7 August after having spent six months deployed to the western Pacific, Indian Ocean and

In mid October 2000, ''Tarawa'' was passing through the

Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz ( fa, تنگه هرمز ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' ar, مَضيق هُرمُز ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the ...

on her way into the

when the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

was attacked. On hearing news of the attack, ''Tarawa'' came about and steamed full ahead to the

Port of Aden The Port of Aden is a key Yemeni port, situated in Aden on the Gulf of Aden. It is the largest and one of the most important ports in Yemen. Location The Port of Aden is situated approximately 170 km east of the strait of Bab Al Mandeb, whic ...

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

, where she joined , , and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

ship , already providing logistical support and harbor security, as the command ship in charge of force protection in what became "Operation Determined Response". Other US Naval ships involved were , , , and . ''Tarawa'' remained with the damaged ''Cole'' until she was secure aboard the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

heavy-lift semi-submersible salvage ship for passage to the US before returning to duty in the Persian Gulf. On 17 January 2001, ''Tarawa'' lost her port anchor and chain while on deployment. The Navy used a video of this loss as a training tool to prevent similar incidents. On 6 January 2003, the ''Tarawa'' (ARG), carrying the

15th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU) is one of seven such units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with a strength of about 2,200 per ...

(MEU/SOC), departed for deployment. In mid-February, elements of the MEU off-loaded and established a training camp in Northern Kuwait while other members of the MAGTF, primarily the helicopter squadron, remained on board the ARG in the Persian Gulf. ''Tarawa'' deployed from mid-2005 to early 2006 to the Middle East in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

and a multinational training exercise (

Operation Bright Star Exercise Bright Star is a series of combined and joint training exercises led by United States and Egyptian forces in Egypt held every two years. These exercises began in 1980, rooted in the 1977 Camp David Accords. After its signing, the Egy ...

) in Egypt. She transported the

13th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 per ...

. During this deployment, she visited

Darwin, Australia Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory. It is the smalle ...

Dubai, UAE Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. She was redeployed to Bangladesh, this time as part of the

Cyclone Sidr Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Sidr was a tropical cyclone that resulted in one of the worst natural disasters in Bangladesh. The fourth named storm of the 2007 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Sidr formed in the central Bay of Bengal, and q ...

relief efforts with . The code name for the mission was "Operations Sea Angel II" in recognition of ''Tarawa''s previous support to Bangladesh in 1991. These humanitarian assistance efforts were instrumental in the ship being awarded the 2007 Battle Efficiency Award. Her last deployment was from 7 November 2007 to 8 June 2008, with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, composed of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines Charlie and Weapons company, in the Middle East in Support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. She returned to her home port of San Diego, finishing a seven-month deployment. She visited Bangladesh for a third time to offer aid for tsunami victims, Singapore, Bahrain, UAE, Djibouti, Perth and Hobart, Australia and Hawaii.

Post decommissioning status

''Tarawa'' was transferred by the to the

Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) is a facility owned by the United States Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate. All ships in these facilities are inactive, but s ...

at Middle Loch, Pearl Harbor. According to FY2011 plans, two ''Tarawa''-class ships were in Category B Reserve to satisfy Marine Sealift Requirements. In July 2014 the "US Naval Amphibious Ship Historical Society" was formed by members of ''Tarawa''s original commissioning crew, also known as plankowners, with plans to make her the first Navy amphibious ship museum. The organization is executing plans to acquire the ship and give her a permanent home on the West Coast as a museum.

References

* *

External links

USS ''Tarawa'' (LHA-1) homepage

USS ''Tarawa'' (LHA-1) reunion homepage

USS ''Tarawa'' (LHA-1) forum homepage

USS ''Tarawa'' Veterans' Association homepage

* USS ''Tarawa'' (LHA-1) command histories –

Naval History & Heritage Command The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarawa (LHA-1) Battle of Tarawa Tarawa-class amphibious assault ships Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi 1973 ships