USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43)

Fully loaded 15,939 ts

185.6 meters

25.6 meters

6.4 meters

22 officers, 391 teams, up to 500 Marines

2 propellers, four diesel engines; 33,000 shaft horsepower

20 nodes

2 phalanx, 2 starters for air defense missiles

The USS Fort McHenry (LSD -43 ) is a dock landing ship of the United States Navy and is one of Whidbey - Iceland - class. It was named after Fort McHenry.

History

LSD - 43 was announced in early 1983 in order. In the same year the ship at the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company has been paid to Kiel. It ran from 1986 batch and was baptized there. Godmother was the politician Helen Delich Bentley. On August 8, 1987, the Fort McHenry was put into service.

1988 moved the Fort McHenry first in the Pacific. In 1989, she helped with the cleaning work after the accident of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez off the coast of Alaska. 1990/1991 led the ship from its first use in combat, as they drove during the Gulf War in the Persian Gulf. According to a third relocation in 1992 was followed by a first overhaul. In 1994, the Fort McHenry then on Operation Restore Hope off the coast of Somalia in part. Later in the year she was transferred to the Persian Gulf to respond to Kuwait as part of Operation Vigilant Warrior on Iraqi redeployment.

1995 Sasebo in Japan became the new home port of the ship. From there, the Fort McHenry moved several times, their main job were maneuvers with Asian allies. Among other things, after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 it was used for, among other relief: your helicopter and hovercraft were able to bring relief supplies cut off regions also of the infrastructure. 2006, the Fort McHenry finally exchanged crew and port with her sister ship USS Tortuga (LSD -46) and thus was stationed at the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Virginia. From there they moved several times in the Atlantic, among other things, exercises with African and European navies. In 2009 she moved to the side of the USS Bataan (LHD -5). With this and with the USS Carter Hall (LSD -50) was also off the coast of Haiti sent in 2010 to provide assistance after the devastating earthquake.

According to Jane 's Information Group, the ship in the fiscal years 2013 or 2014 should be placed in the context of savings out of service. This decision was revised in 2014 and the Naval Station Jacksonville to become the new home port.