![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/USS_Whidbey_Island001.jpg/300px-USS_Whidbey_Island001.jpg) USS
Whidbey Island
(LSD-41) in the Persian Gulf in 2006
|
History
|
United States
|
Name
| Whidbey Island
|
Namesake
| Whidbey Island
|
Ordered
| 9 February 1981
[1]
|
Laid down
| 4 August 1981
[1]
|
Launched
| 10 June 1983
[1]
|
Acquired
| 8 January 1985
[1]
|
Commissioned
| 9 February 1985
[1]
|
Decommissioned
| 22 July 2022
[2]
|
Homeport
| NAB Little Creek
,
Virginia
[1]
|
Identification
| |
Motto
| Intrepid Vanguard
|
Fate
| Out of commission, in reserve
|
Status
| Decommissioned
|
Badge
| ![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/USS_Whidbey_Island_LSD-41_Crest.png/150px-USS_Whidbey_Island_LSD-41_Crest.png) |
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| Whidbey Island
-class
dock landing ship
|
Displacement
|
- 11,471 tons (light)
- 16,360 tons (full)
|
Length
| 610 ft (190 m)
|
Beam
| 84 ft (26 m)
|
Draft
| 21 ft (6.4 m)
|
Propulsion
| 4 Colt Industries, 16-cylinder
diesel engines
, 2 shafts, 33,000
shp
(25,000 kW)
|
Speed
| over 20
knots
(37 km/h; 23 mph)
|
Boats & landing
craft carried
| 4
LCACs
or 21 LCM-6s
|
Complement
|
- 22 officers, 391 enlisted
- Marine
detachment: 402 + 102 surge
|
Armament
| |
USS
Whidbey Island
(LSD-41)
is a
Whidbey Island
-class
dock landing ship
(LSD) of the
United States Navy
.
[1]
She was named for
Whidbey Island
, in
Puget Sound
,
Washington
, the location of
NAS Whidbey Island
; the name ultimately derives from the sailor, explorer and engineer
Joseph Whidbey
.
Whidbey Island
was
laid down
on 4 August 1981, by the
Lockheed Shipbuilding
,
Seattle, Washington
;
launched
on 10 June 1983, sponsored by Mrs. Sally Gorton, wife of
Senator
Slade Gorton
; and
commissioned
on 9 February 1985.
History
[
edit
]
In February 1981, the U.S. Navy awarded
Lockheed Shipbuilding Company
of
Seattle
, Washington, a contract to construct LSD-41, first of a new Dock Landing Ship class to replace the aging
Thomaston
-class
LSDs. At the 4 August 1981
keel laying
ceremony, the Honorable
John F. Lehman
,
Secretary of the Navy
, affixed his signature to the LSD-41
keel
; the first keel of an
amphibious assault ship
lain in more than five years.
Although the first ship to carry the name
Whidbey Island
, there was at one time a ship named USS
Whidbey
(AG-141), a small transport purchased from the
U.S. Army
and servicing U.S. Trust Territories in the late 1940s.
Whidbey Island
, the first ship in a class designed specifically to interface with the
Landing Craft Air Cushion
(LCAC), assisted in the operational and developmental testing of the amphibious assault craft from July to September 1985 and again in May and July 1986.
1986 ? 1991
[
edit
]
In August 1986,
Whidbey Island
embarked on her first major operation, participating in the
NATO
Exercise Northern Wedding
/Bold Guard '86.
Whidbey Island
'
s first deployment was to the Mediterranean in January 1987. The ship took part in seven amphibious exercises carrying out duties as Presidential Support Ship for the
World Economic Summit
in
Venice
, Italy, May 1987.
Whidbey Island
deployed to the Mediterranean for the second time in December 1988 with MARG 1-89, participating in three major landing exercises with the
Spanish
,
French
and
Italian
navies before returning to homeport in June 1989.
Whidbey Island
was the first amphibious ship from the East Coast to deploy to the
European Theater
with LCACs. In September and October 1989,
Whidbey Island
participated in
Hurricane Hugo
disaster relief operations in the Caribbean.
In August 1990,
Whidbey Island
again deployed to the Mediterranean as part of MARG 3-90. During the trans-Atlantic crossing, the ship received orders to sail to Mamba Station off the coast of
Monrovia
, Liberia, serving as the
flagship
for evacuation operations in
Operation Sharp Edge
, spending 105 consecutive days at sea. By the time
Whidbey Island
reached her first port,
Las Palmas
,
Canary Islands
, the ship had been out to sea for 126 straight days. After further steaming around the Western Mediterranean in support of
Operation Desert Storm
,
Whidbey Island
returned to homeport March 1991 from her extended seven-month deployment.
1992 ? 1997
[
edit
]
On 5 December 1991
Whidbey Island
deployed with MARG 1-92 representing the
Amphibious Ready Group
's operations in the
Black Sea
with a series of port calls. With members of the
Sixth Fleet
, the
USS
Inchon
Band, and representatives from the other MARG ships,
Whidbey Island
made port calls to
Samsun
, Turkey;
Constan?a
, Romania; and
Burgas
, Bulgaria, becoming the first United States amphibious ship and the largest U.S. warship to operate in the
Black Sea
, the first U.S. Navy ship to visit Samsun in 70 years and the first U.S. Navy ship to ever visit Burgas.
Whidbey Island
returned to homeport on 5 June 1992.
In January 1993,
Whidbey Island
deployed in support of
Operation Sea Signal
/Able Manner, enforcing alien migration policies off the coast of
Haiti
.
Later that year,
Whidbey Island
deployed to the
littorals
of South America and
West Africa
during UNITAS 34-93/WATC 93, the first
Whidbey Island
-class ship to deploy to this region, leading the southernmost amphibious exercise ever at
Tierra del Fuego
, returning from deployment 17 December 1993.
In August 1994, in a Combined Joint Task Force
Whidbey Island
provided emergent lift services for the evacuation of 160 migrant camps from
Grand Turk Island
. Shortly after,
Whidbey Island
rescued and transported over 8,100
Cuban
migrants from the
Straits of Florida
during Operation Able Vigil and participated in the restoration of the legitimate government to Haiti during
Operation Uphold Democracy
.
At the turn of 1995,
Whidbey Island
along with
Wasp
and
Shreveport
participated in NATO cold weather training in the North Atlantic for Exercise Strong Resolve 95. On 28 August 1995,
Whidbey Island
deployed for a fifth Mediterranean Deployment with the
26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
(
MEU
). During this deployment, the ship participated in Exercises Atlas Hinge, Odysseus 95, Noble Shirley, Bright Star and Alexander the Great, spending over three months in the
Adriatic Sea
in support of peacekeeping operations for the
Dayton Peace Accords
in the former
Yugoslavia
. The crew received the
Armed Forces Service Medal
and the
NATO Medal
, returning to homeport 29 February 1996.
On 3 June 1996,
Whidbey Island
entered
Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
(NORSHIPCO) for a Dry-docking Phased Maintenance Availability (DPMA) and received a Women at Sea Certification. On 1 July 1997,
Whidbey Island
departed for Unitas 38-97 setting a record for amphibious landings with several UNITAS participating nations before returning home 13 December 1997.
1999 ? 2002
[
edit
]
Whidbey Island
departed for her sixth Mediterranean deployment 15 September 1999. Along with
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
,
Whidbey Island
participated in Exercises
Bright Star
,
Noble Shirley
and
Infinite Moonlight
. During these exercises the ship worked in partnership with members of the
British
,
Egyptian
and
Jordanian Armed Forces
.
Whidbey Island
safely transited the
Suez Canal
as well as the
Straits of Tiran
, Toranto,
Gibraltar
, and
of Messina
, visiting ports such as
Alicante
, Spain;
Antalya
, Turkey;
Haifa
, Israel;
Palermo
, Italy;
Genoa
, Italy;
Souda Bay
, Greece; and
Aqaba
, Jordan.
On 24 May 2000,
Whidbey Island
returned to NORSHIPCO for multiple upgrades and additions to the ship's configuration and systems. During this PMA period the ship received two
Rolling Airframe Missiles
(RAM) Launchers as well as the Ship's Self Defense System (SSDS) Mk-1, significantly enhancing
Whidbey Island
'
s ability to track, engage and destroy incoming
missiles
at close range.
On 11 June 2001,
Whidbey Island
completed her Basic Phase of Training and started a five-week pre-deployment maintenance period. Starting 11 July 2001 the ship began her intermediate training cycle in preparation for deployment as part of Amphibious Squadron 8, Amphibious Ready Group.
On 19 September 2001, eight days after the
terrorist attacks
on
the Pentagon
and the
World Trade Center
,
Whidbey Island
weighed anchor for her seventh deployment. With troops of
26th MEU
(
Special Operations
Capable), the ship participated in Exercise Bright Star off the coast of
Egypt
. At the completion of the exercise, crew and troops enjoyed a few days in the port of
Marmaris
, Turkey, before transiting the
Suez Canal
en route to the North
Persian Gulf
. While there,
Whidbey Island
spent 123 consecutive days on station in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom
. During this operation, 26th MEU set the record for conducting the longest amphibious operation ever (distance-wise)?nearly 700 nautical miles (1300 km) inland.
While deployed,
Whidbey Island
'
s crew visited
Jebel Ali
, United Arab Emirates;
Split
, Croatia; and
Rota, Spain
. The ship also participated in the National Training Continuum,
Operations Noble Eagle
,
Operation Enduring Freedom
and
Operation Swift Freedom
.
2006 ? 2007
[
edit
]
In June 2006,
Whidbey Island
deployed in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom
. While in port Aqaba, Jordan in July 2006, she was recalled through the Suez Canal to support contingency operations due to the crisis in Lebanon.
Whidbey Island
subsequently participated in the largest Non-Combatant Evacuation conducted by the U.S. Navy since Vietnam. During July and August, she evacuated 817 American citizens, out of a total of 14,555 evacuated by the
Iwo Jima
Expeditionary Strike Group
, via Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) with Personnel Transport Module. AMCITS were taken to Limassol, Cyprus and released to State Department Control. Following operations off of Lebanon,
Whidbey Island
redeployed through the Suez Canal to the Fifth Fleet Operations Area and offloaded elements of the 24 MEU into Bahrain for operations in Iraq. Following the offload,
Whidbey Island
deployed to the Northern Persian Gulf in support of Commander Task Force 158, responsible as an
Afloat Forward Staging Base
. In this role, she was responsible for defense of the KAAOT and ABOT oil rigs, the primary critical oil infrastructure producing revenue for Iraq. In November 2006,
Whidbey Island
departed the Northern Persian Gulf and returned home, stopping in
Civitavecchia
, Italy and
Tunis
, Tunisia en route, arriving 6 December 2006.
On 16 February 2007,
Whidbey Island
was awarded the 2006
Battle "E"
award.
[3]
On 1 October 2007,
Whidbey Island
deployed from
Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base
. After being deployed to the
Horn of Africa
, she assisted the
Comorian
vessel
MV
Al Marjan
and her crew when they were released by
Somali pirates
on 2 December 2007.
2008 ? 2009
[
edit
]
On 12 January 2008, the US Navy reported that
Whidbey Island
had fired warning shots near a small
Iranian
boat in the
Strait of Hormuz
in December. The boat was reportedly approaching
Whidbey Island
rapidly but stopped after the warning shots were fired.
[4]
2011 ? 2012
[
edit
]
On 23 March 2011,
Whidbey Island
deployed as part of the
Bataan
Amphibious Ready Group with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Whidbey Island
had 11 port visits in eight different countries throughout the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. Sailors and Marines participated in Operation Summer Storm 2011 off the coast of Romania from 30 July - 3 August. The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit disembarked 4 February 2012 in Morehead City, North Carolina.
Whidbey Island
returned to her homeport at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Virginia on 7 February 2012, concluding the
10
+
1
⁄
2
month deployment.
[5]
2016
[
edit
]
On 24 June 2016,
Whidbey Island
deployed from
Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base
, on what would likely be her final deployment. She conducted eight Theater Security Port Visits; country visits vital to reassuring host nations of the commitment of the United States to their partnership. On 21 July 2016
Whidbey Island
transited the Bosphorus Strait during a time of tension following the failed
2016 Turkish coup d'etat attempt
.
2020
[
edit
]
In December 2020 the U.S. Navy's Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels stated that the ship was planned to be placed Out of Commission in Reserve in 2022.
[6]
2022
[
edit
]
Whidbey Island
moored at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia
Whidbey Island
was
decommissioned
during a ceremony at
Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story
in Virginia Beach, Virginia on 22 July 2022.
[7]
She was towed to the
Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by the
USNS
Apache
(T-ATF-172)
in August 2022 and is moored across the basin from her sister ship, ex-
Fort McHenry
.
Ship's coat of arms
[
edit
]
The dark blue and white colors refer to the sea, with the angular green area, representing the evergreen terrain of
Whidbey Island
, backed by blue sky. The color gold is symbolic of excellence, and the ship's wheel of gold reflects the seagoing pride and professionalism of the ship's crew. The green
Maltese Cross
refers to the humanitarian mission of the
USS Whidbey
(AG 141)
, the first ship to carry the name
Whidbey
. The gold crown emblazoned on red at the center of the wheel recalls the expedition under the
British Crown
, which explored the
Pacific Northwest
in the 1790s. The island in these waters is named for Lieutenant
Joseph Whidbey
, who was a member of this English expedition. The crossed swords of the Navy and Marine Corps officers attest to the Navy Marine Corps teamwork and leadership that are the foundation and key elements for accomplishment of
Whidbey Island's
amphibious warfare mission. The
trident
is the traditional symbol of sea power; however, the winged trident of LSD-41 further represents the revolutionary dimension of amphibious warfare this ship introduces. The gold and red colors of the winged trident portray the excellence and courage of those who will man the ship. The wreath of
Western Hemlock
, the State Tree of
Washington
, represents the spirit of the ship's namesake.
References
[
edit
]
This article includes information collected from the
Naval Vessel Register
, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the
public domain
. The entry can be found
here
.
External links
[
edit
]