USS Saipan (LHA-2)
39 925 tonnes
249.9 meters
32.3 meters
8.2 meters
82 officers, 882 sailors, up to 1894 troops
2 propellers, 2 steam turbine driven; 70,000 shaft horsepower
20 nodes
2 Starter RAM, various gun
The USS Saipan (LHA -2) was an amphibious assault ship Tarawa - class of the United States Navy.
History
The keel was laid on July 21, 1972 by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, Litton Industries, Pascagoula, Mississippi. Mrs. J. William Middendorf II, wife of the Secretary of the Navy, Middendorf, baptized at the launching on 21 July 1974, the ship.
The use of Saipan career began in July 1979 when it was separated from the fleet training and specialized training completed. There was the possibility of having to evacuate the Americans living there because of the civil war in Nicaragua.
In May 1980, the Saipan the forces of the United States Coast Guard supported them, the Cuban refugees helped in the Straits of Florida to reach the United States. On August 25, 1980 left the Saipan Norfolk and took - the first LHA - Course of the Mediterranean Sea. On 3 September 1981, the Saipan sailed on her second trip to the Mediterranean. During this mission, Saipan visited seven countries in three different continents. In January 1985, the Saipan ran out to her third Mediterranean trip. She put it over 32,000 nautical miles, registered more than 6,700 accident-free landings and visited ports in three different countries.
From September 1991 to March 1992 there was the Saipan in the Persian Gulf, from where they supported Operation Desert Storm. In March 1993 the Saipan towards the Mediterranean ran out again, in order to support both military operations Operation Deny Flight and Operation Provide Promise. The ship returned to the United States in September 1993. In April 1994, finally, the third phase began scheduled overhaul. In June 1996, it led the Saipan again into the Mediterranean. There she participated in Operation Decisive Endeavor and various multinational exercises in part. She returned to Norfolk in December 1996. In July 1998 the Saipan towards the Mediterranean ran out again. The ship cruised - due to the riots in Albania - almost throughout the mission in the Adriatic.
In 1999, the Saipan for the experimental test platform for the Bell - Boeing V-22 Osprey.
In July 2000, the eighth Mediterranean mission of Saipan began. The ship was there - during the fall elections - before the Yugoslav coast presence.
On 12 February 2001, Saipan was scheduled for a fourth phase overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Following the ship took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The decommissioning of Saipan on 20 April 2007. Until October 2009, Saipan was mothballed in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, then it was towed to Brownsville, Texas and there interrupted by International Shipbreaking. The work was completed on February 23, 2011.