USS Peleliu (LHA-5)
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 USS Peleliu |
|
| Career (US) |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 6 November 1970 |
| Laid down: | 12 November 1976 |
| Launched: | 25 November 1978 |
| Commissioned: | 3 May 1980 |
| Status: | Active in service as of 2006. |
| Homeport: | San Diego, California |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 39,438 tons full, 25,982 tons light, 13,456 tons dead |
| Length: | 820 ft (249.93 m) |
| Beam: | 106.6 ft (32.5 m) |
| Draught: | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam Turbine |
| Speed: | 24 knots (44 km/h) |
| Complement: | 262 officers, 2543 enlisted |
| Armament: | • 2 × RAM launchers, • 4 × 25 mm Mk 38 Bushmaster gun mounts, • 2 × Phalanx CIWS, • 5 × 0.50 cal (12.7 mm) mounts |
| Aircraft carried: | • 6 × AV-8B Harrier attack planes, • 4 × AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters, • 12 × CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, • 9 × CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters, • 4 × UH-1N Huey helicopters |
USS Peleliu (LHA-5) is a Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy, named after the Battle of Peleliu during World War II.
Originally to be named Khe Sanh and then Da Nang, Peleliu was laid down in 1976 at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, launched 25 November 1978, sponsored by Peggy Hayward (wife of then-CNO Thomas B. Hayward), and commissioned 3 May 1980, Captain T. P. Scott in command.
Peleliu immediately headed south, threading the Panama Canal and then crossing the Equator on 27 May, setting a new record for time between commissioning and entrance into the southern hemisphere, then proceeded to Long Beach, California.
In November 2001, Peleliu delivered Marines including then second lieutenant Nathaniel Fick to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. On December 14, 2001, John Walker Lindh was transferred to Peleliu from a Marine base in Afghanistan. David Hicks, "the Australian Taliban", is also reported to have been a prisoner on the Peleliu.[1]
As of 2006, Peleliu is homeported in San Diego, California.
[edit] External links
- Peleliu homepage
- Navysite.de page on Peleliu, with many pictures
- Interrogation of Suspected al Qaeda Affiliates Lead U.S., Australian Navies to Seize More Drugs Story Number: NNS040102-03 "US Navy", January 2, 2004
- Wikimapia.org Satellite view of Peleilu moored in San Diego
| Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship |
| Tarawa | Saipan | Belleau Wood | Nassau | Peleliu |
List of amphibious assault ships of the United States Navy |
