Blue Ridge (LCC 19) - Naval Cruise Book

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s p i ;■ mw! MmmMwmm USS BLUE RIDGE ... her mission and history. United States Ship BLUE RIDGE is the first ship ever designed from the keel up as a Command and Control ship. Previous ships serving in this capacity have been converted from other uses. Designated LCC-1 9, she is the lead ship of her class. Her identical sister ship, LCC-20, USS Mount Whitney, operates in a role similar to BLUE RIDGE ' s, in the Atlantic area. BLUE RIDGE is the third Navy ship of her name. She derives her name from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The first BLUE RIDGE was a Great Lakes passenger steamer purchased for use as a Navy transport during World War I. The second was an amphibious flagship that saw extensive action in the Pacific during World War II. Unlike her World War II predecessor which was converted from a merchant hull, the new BLUE RIDGE is a unique achievement in Naval design. Longer than two football fields (629 feet overall), she displaces 18,500 tons. She is 108 feet wide and settles some 27 feet into the water. BLUE RIDGE ' s job is Amphibious Force Control and Coordination. Amphibious warfare is probably the most complex form of war fought, and its effective control demands equally complex facilities. BLUE RIDGE utilizes a maze of computers and com- munications equipment to accomplish her assigned tasks. Indeed, she represents the accumulated knowledge gained in four decades of experience with this type of action. BLUE RIDGE was conceived as a budding plan in 1963. Four long years of planning preceeded her start of construction in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1967. On 4 January 1969, almost two years after her keel laying, she was launched. Over a year later, in mid February 1971, she was finished. BLUE RIDGE ' s modern design extends to more than her sophisticated electronics package. She is air conditioned throughout, has spacious galleys and messing areas, stores, recreation and training rooms, a weight lifting room and closed circuit radio and TV facilities.

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United States Ship BLUE RIDGE LCC - 19 West Pac III 1974 - 1975 The third deployment to the Western Pacific for USS BLUE RIDGE (LCC-19), Homeported in San Diego, California. ™ M 1

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A 22,000 horse power steam turbine drives her at speeds of over 20 knots and other engineering equip- ment provides the crew with electricity, steam, high low pressure air and 50,000 gallons of fresh water every day. Following her completion, BLUE RIDGE departed for the long transit to her new homeport, San Diego, California. She took the long route through the Straits of Magellan at the tip of South America. The many thousand mile journey was punc- tuated with brief stops at Norfolk, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, Acapulco, and at long last ended at her home, San Diego, California. Following training on the west coast, BLUE RIDGE made her first deployment to the Western Pacific in January 1972. There she assumed her new role as Flagship for the Commander Amphibious Force — US 7th Fleet and for the Commanding General — 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade. She par- ticipated in several operations during a North Viet- namese spring offensive, seeing considerable time at sea. In fact, she remained on station for periods of 37 and 63 days during that time. Her first cruise ended in August 1972. BLUE RIDGE was underway again in February 1973. The Vietnam war was over by then. She resumed her flagship tasks again and participated in three large scale exercises — Golden Dragon off South Korea, Pagasa I and II in the Philippines. She returned to San Diego in late October 1973. Her third deployment began in October 1974. After brief stops in Hawaii and Yokosuka, BLUE RIDGE again operated out of her home away from home and the homeport of her embarked staffs, White Beach, Okinawa. The cruise ' s work began with a large amphibious exercise, Bayanihan (a native word meaning, work- ing together ) off the island of Mindoro, Republic of the Philippines. Later in the cruise, BLUE RIDGE was a part of Operation Sea Fox, a joint exercise with the British Navy and ships from several other allied navies. Several overseas ports were calling places for BLUE RIDGE and her men, including Yokosuka, Keelung (Taiwan), Manilla, Hong Kong and Subic Bay (Philippines). With the cruise almost over, BLUE RIDGE was suddenly ordered back to Vietnamese waters. There she participated in refugee evacuation operations off Phan Rang, South Vietnam, and as the final curtain came down, she commanded the vast task force assigned to rescue Americans, foreign nationals and many South Vietnamese refugees from the Com- munist takeover there. During this period, beginning on Easter Sunday, she spent 51 of 53 days at sea, many off the coast of Vietnam. Tired but proud, BLUE RIDGE returned to her home in May 1975. From there, she is scheduled for a brief exercise off the coast of California, and then a well earned rest and an overhaul at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. , yLj|jL E L