Blue Ridge (LCC 19) - Naval Cruise Book

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- v »- COMSEVENTHFLT X , :msr 4 ' W m: - he U.S. Seventh Fleel was established March 15, 3 ■ 1943, when the Southwest Pacific Force was renamed. The Fleet participated in several World War II Pacific campaigns, the most famous of which was at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. After the war, the coast of mainland China became the Fleet ' s operating area, and in 1 947, its name was changed to Naval Forces Western Pacific. Three years later the official designation reverted to Seventh Fleet, just prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Korea. Seventh Fleet units participated in every major operation of the Korean War. Two days after South Korea was invaded in June 1950, Task Force 77, the Fleet ' s attack carrier striking force, was formed. The first Navy jet aircraft used in combat flew from a Task Force 77 carrier, and the famous landings in Inchon, Korea, were launched from Seventh Fleet amphibious ships. Combat action (Continued on page 4, bottom)

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nlike her World War II predecessor of the same name, which had to be converted from a merchantman to an amphibious force flagship, the United Stales Ship Blue Ridge represents a unique effort and achievement in the Navy ' s Command and Control ship design. Blue Ridgeis a platform built from the keel up to accomplish the mission of command coordination. In this 1 8,200-ton ship are found the facilities to direct and manage every phase of command and control operations. The Blue ? tfee represents the accumulated knowledge of ' four decades of the Navy ' s experience in the difficult problem of Control and Coordination. Initially conceived in 1963, Blue Ridgewas in the planning and design stage for four years before construction finally began at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in early 1967. Three and a half years later, on November 14, 1970, she was commissioned. Blue Ridge utilizes her main battery of computers, communications gear, and other electronic facilities to fulfill her mission as flagship for the United Slates Seventh FPeet and her secondary function as a command ship for the Amphibious Task Force and Landing Force Commanders during all phases of fleelwide operations. To maximize the Task Force and Landing Force Commanders ' ability to effectively utilize the vast amount of incoming information. Blue Ridgeh-ds a Command and Control complex which is divided to give precise control of a certain aspect of the operation to a specific control module. At the heart of the Command and Control complex are two computer systems— the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) and the Amphibious Support Information System (ASIS). NTDS, through information provided by Blue Ridge rddixrs as well as through data links with other fieet (Continued on page 4, top)

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History BLUE RIDGE (Continued from page 2) ships, provides a complete tactical picture of air, surface and subsurface contacts. From the NTDS picture, the most expeditious and coordinated weapons assignments may be made to protect the Task Force from attack. ASIS allows commanders to have logistical information instantaneously. In addition to the major computers mentioned above, an extremely refined communications system is also an integral part of the ship ' s radical new design. Through an automated patch panel and computer-controlled switching matrix, any combination of communications equipment desired may be quickly connected. The clean topside area is the result of careful design intended to keep the ship ' s interference to her own communications system at a minimum. A description of Blue ? ( ,tfe would not be complete without mention of her twenty-knot-plus speed capability. She is a great improvement in ship design, not only in speed, but also in habitability. Recreation rooms, air conditioning, ship ' s stores, spacious galleys and messing areas all help make life at sea a great deal more pleasant for the crew and embarked staffs. Blue Ridge has accommodations for 268 officers and 1200 enlisted men. SEVENTH FLEET (Continued from page 3) successes in Korea demonstrated the readiness and mobility of the Fleet. In early 1955, Fleet units evacuated about 38,000 military and civilian personnel from the Nationalist Chinese Tachen Islands, which had come under artillery attack from the mainland. The presence of Fleet units in the South China Sea cooled another hot spot in 1959, when political unrest in Laos threatened to spread to other Southeast Asian countries. Fighting again broke out in Laos in 1962. This time a Seventh Fleet Marine amphibious squadron, at the direction of the U.S. Government, was quickly moved to Thailand. Fourteen hundred Fleet Marines landed in Bangkok, while Fleet carriers and anti-submarine forces operated in the South China Sea. In August 1964, two U.S. destroyers were attacked by North Vietnamese PT boats in international waters in the Tonkin Gulf. This act triggered further U.S. involvement in the Vietnam conflict as aircraft from Task Force 77 carriers were launched against targets in North Vietnam. Throughout the following decade, the Seventh Fleet was heavily engaged in combat operations against Noth Vietnam and enemy forces in South Vietnam— through attack carrier air strikes, naval gunfire strikes, amphibious operations, patrol and reconnaissance operations and mine warfare. In 1973, a cease-fire agreement was signed at negotiations in Paris, after which the Fleet conducted mine countermeasure operations in coastal waterways of North Vietnam. The Fleet ' s continued involvement in Southeast Asia culminated in the spring of 1975, when Fleet units successfully evacuated thousands of refugees from Cambodia and South Vietnam when those two countries fell to opposing forces.