USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19)

Since November 14, 1970

19.290 ts

189 m

33 m

8.2 m

40 officers, 680 teams Staff of the U.S. 7th Fleet

2 boiler, a turbine gearbox 22,000 HP on a wave

23 knots

13,000 nautical miles

2 x 20 mm Phalanx CIWS

The USS Blue Ridge (LCC - 19) is a command ship for Amphibious Warfare of the United States Navy and the lead ship of the Blue Ridge class. She is the third by the Blue Ridge Mountains named ship, serving in the U.S. Navy, since 1979 it is in Yokosuka, Japan stationed and serves as the flagship of the commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet since 1970.

Technology

The hull of the Blue Ridge class is based on the amphibious assault ships of the Iwo Jima class with whom they also have the drive system with 22,000 hp together. The hull but was extended slightly to 189 meters, in addition wide side decks were installed to accommodate examples and landing boats. The ships have a large helipad on the aft deck, on the upper deck there are numerous antennas and radar systems. Midship is the bridge structure with the Mack and the main radars, behind a single free-standing mast electronics. Armed the ship was originally with two 3 -inch twin guns, two 1974 Sea Sparrow launcher were installed. Since the eighties, there are two Phalanx CIWS for close range defense on board, the guns and missiles starters were removed in 1992.

History

Development and construction

Mid-sixties saw the U.S. Navy's need for rapid command ships to keep up with fast amphibious assault associations can. The command ships previously used, mostly converted from merchant ships or vans were mostly too slow. 1963, therefore, plans for the new Blue Ridge class, the type of ship was ordered on 31 December 1964. The keel-laying ceremony took place on 27 February 1967 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard place, the launching after almost two years of construction on 4 January 1969. The Blue Ridge was submitted to the Navy on 14 November 1970 in service. The total construction cost amounted to 75 million U.S. dollars.

Use

The Blue Ridge was stationed in San Diego, from where they operated in the Pacific. In 1975, she was involved in the evacuation of Saigon. In 1979 the ship was transferred to Yokosuka, where it served as the flagship of the commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet. It regularly participated in major multinational exercises with allies. 1989 visited the Blue Ridge Shanghai. From August 1990 to May 1991 she was flagship of Commander United States Naval Forces Central Command during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In summer 1996, she made a port visit to Vladivostok. Also during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, she was used as a command ship of 7th Fleet.

In March 2011, the ship was sent to the coast of Japan to stand by after the Tōhoku earthquake on emergency assistance.