Belleau Wood (LHA 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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USS BELLE AU WOOD(LHA 3) USS BELLEAU WOOD incorporates the best design features and capa- bilities of several amphibious assault ships currently in service: the Am- phibious Assault Ship (LPH), Amphibious Transport Dock (LDP), and Dock Landing Ship (LSD). BELLEAU WOOD is the third ship of her class and is the third largest class ship in the U.S. Navy. Two-marine boilers provide steam to the turbines which drive the twin screw ship at speeds in excess of 20 knots. The ship possesses the capability to create enough fresh water each day to supply the needs of 6,000 people, and has one of the larg- est hospitals afloat with 300 beds, four operating rooms, and three den- tal operating stations. The LHA ' s full length flight deck can handle ten helicopters simulta- neously, as well as the AV-8 HARRIER |ump-jet aircraft. There is also a large well deck in the stern of the ship for a number of amphibious as- sault craft, both displacement hull and air cushion. BELLEAU WOOD has an extensive mechanical system for vertical and horizontal move- ment of containerized and palletized supplies from deep cargo holds to assault craft or helicopters. A system of five centerline elevators, con- veyor lines and a monorail system move cargo and supplies. Two large elevators, one aft and one portside, move aircraft and equipment from the hangar deck to the flight deck. Wheeled vehicles, trucks, jeeps and tanks can be driven or pulled from any deck level storage position via inclined ramps to either awaiting craft in the well deck or helicopters on the flight deck. BELLEAU WOOD is designed to operate independently or as a unit of a force and as a flagship or individual ship unit in both air and or sur- face assaults. BELLEAU WOOD and her sister ships are key elements of the amphibious assault forces for the Navy. BELLEAU WOOD is designed to maintain what the Marine Corps calls tactical integrity -getting a balanced force to the same place at the same time. One LHA can carry a complete Marine battalion, along with the supplies and equipment needed in an assault, and land them ashore by either helicopter or amphibious craft. This two pronged ca- pability, with emphasis on airborne landing of troops and equipment, enables the Navy and Marine Corps to fulfill their present-day mission. Whether the landing force is involved in an arnieci conflict, acting as a deterrent force in a unfavorable political situation or serving in a hu- manitarian mission, BELLEAU WOOD offers versatility. BELLEAU WOOD has an extensive command, communication and control suite. These electronic systems give the amphibious task force commander nearly unlimited versatility in directing the assault mis- sion. The heart of the LHA ' s electronic system is a tactical amphibious warfare computer which not only keeps track of the landing force ' s po- sition after leaving the ship, but tracks enemy targets ashore. With cur- rent information on troop positions in relation to enemy targets, the tactical data system can also direct the targeting of guns and missiles from our ship as well as the support ships. Additionally, the system maintains air and surface traffic control during the landing not only for her own helicopters and assault craft, but for the combat air control and task force support ships as well. Introduction

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Follow Me •••••• : USS BELLEAU WOOD WHAT ' S IN A NAME? The stage was set in World War I for the Battle of Belleau Wood by General Liindendorff when he launched his Chemin des Dames offensive against the Allied Northern Front on 27 May 1918. The Fourth Bri- gade, American Expeditionary Forces, with other Allied units, was ordered to move up from training areas. At four o ' clock on the morning of 30 May, Marines climbed into trucks and headed north. The Americans were placed astride the strategic Paris-Metz highway. Fragments of the Allied armies began retreating along the highway, and a senior French officer advised the Marines to join them. A Marine officer replied: Retreat hell. We just got here. To the left of the Marines was Bois de Belleau, three st]uare miles of rocks, wood, and 1,200 elite soldiers from the 461st Imperial German Infantry. On 4 and 5 June, Marines held their positions along the highway. On 6 June, the Fifth Ma- rines counterattacked against the woods and Hill 142. By day ' s end, the edge of Belleau Wood and Hill 142 were taken at the expense of over 1,000 casualties. Devil Dogis! For four days. Marines hammered their way through the woods. On the 13th, the Germans counterattacked. The en- trenched Marines started to drop the en emy at 400 yards with concentrated ritle fire. After the attack waned, the lines did not change until the 24th, when Marines began mopping up the area. On 26 June, they loudly announced that the Woods are now United States Marine Corps ' en- tirely. At the end of the battle, the Marine Brigade had suf- fered 55 percent casualties, 1062 killed and 3,615 wounded. What was gained was not just a small battered woodland. The action stopped the last major offensive of the war by the Germans. In doing so, it drew the Corps the respect and admiration of our allies and our country. The 4th Brigade was awarded the French Citation, A L ' Orde de L ' Armee, and the wood was officially renamed Bois de la Brigade Marine. German soldiers later referred to the U.S. Marines, respect- fully, as Teufilhunde, Devil Dogs, because of their fierce- ness in battle. Introduction

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COMMAND HISTORY USS BELLEAU WOOD was commissioned on September 23, 1978 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Honieported in San Diego in October 1978, BELLEAU WOOD participated in her first full-scale operation in 1979 off the coast of Hawaii. BELLEAU WOOD began her first major deployment and participated in four major amphibious exercises and eight port visits. In August 1982, the ship began its second deployment and participated in four major amphibious exercises. BELLEAU WOOD ' S Third success- ful SEVENTH Fleet deployment ran from January to July 1984. The ship then completed an 11-month complex overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington. In January 1987, BELLEAU WOOD began a deployment which in- cluded the first winter amphibious exercises off Alaska since WWII, and introduced the ship to the AV-8B Harrier jump jet. The ship also received the Admiral Flatley Memorial Award for Aviation Safety. On October 4, 1989, the ship hosted the Minister of Defense of the So- viet Union, during his historic visit to the United States. BELLEAU WOOD entered her second complex overhaul in Long Beach, California in 1990. Major work included an upgrade to CIWS and installation of the Rolling Airframe Missile Svstem. On August 31, 1992, BELLEAU WOOD sailed from San Diego, bound for her new homeport in Sasebo, Japan. During this transit, the ship provided disaster relief to the people of Kauai, Hawaii after Hurricane Iniki ravaged the island. For this, she was awarded a second Humani- tarian Service Medal. On November 24, 1992, BELLEAU WOOD was the last U.S. Navy ship to sail out of the Philippines while conducting the final withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Naval Station Subic Bav and Naval .■ ir Station Cubi Point. Since her move to Japan, BELLEAU WOOD has become a familiar sight at joint-militarv exercises such as VALIANT USHER in Korea, COBRA GOLD in Thailand and TANDEM THRUST in Australia. BELLEAU WOOD participated in World War II 50th Anniversary com- memoration ceremonies in Guam and the Philippines and served off the coast of Somalia as the command ship for Operat ion UNITED SHIELD. In August 1996, BELLEAU WOOD participated in COOPER.ATION FROM THE SEA ' 96 in Vladivostok, Russia. Finally, in December 1996, the ship went into the floating drydock SAGAMI, marking the first time in the Pacific that a ship of her size was towed while docked in a floating drydock. BELLEAU WOOD has won eight consecutive Battle Efficiency awards with numerous related command excellence awards including eight Maritime Warfare awards, five Engineering Survivability awards, eight Command and Control awards, six Logistics Management awards, the 1996 Surface Ship Safety award, the 1996 Top Financial Performer award, and won the 1998 Captain Edward F. Ney Food Service Excel- lence Award. Introduction