New Orleans (LPH 11) - Naval Cruise Book

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. i ' li HERITAGE The Amphibious Assault Ship NEW ORLEANS 'lLP1-l- 111 is named after the city of New Orleans and the two battles of New Orleans fin the War of 1812 and in the Civil War.l The city of New Orleans, a major sea and river port on the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico, has played an important role in American History since its earliest days. The battle of New Orleans, in the War of 1812, witnessed the defeat of a large British amphibious expedition by the delaying tactics of a small fleet of gunboats and two sloops under the command of Commodore Daniel T. Patterson, Commander of the naval station of New Orleans. This delaying action enabled the forces of Andrew Jackson to select a desirable downriver defense and await the arrival of needed, reinforcements. The New Orleans victory preserved U.S. national honor, self respect, and prestige at home and abroad. New Orleans again played a major role in American Military history during the Civil War. When Farragut's fleet passed the forts guarding New Orleans, 24 April 1862, to capture New Orleans, the fate of the Confederacy was sealed, assuring that the United States would not be divided. The delta of the Mississippi was open to the Naval union assault force which joined the Union forces coming south in the great pincer which severed the Confederacy. Thus reported Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, the great southern depot of the trade of the immense central emporium of the wealthy region was restored to national authorityg the mouth of the Mississippi was under our control and an .outlet for the great west to the ocean was secured. The first NEW ORLEANS ship, a 3,430 toin cruiser, was placed in commission on March 18, 1898. The cruiser NEW ORLEANS served with distinction in the Spanish-American WEB and in World War 1 and remained in commission until 19 . i A The second NEW ORLEANS ship CCA-321 was a 10,000 ton cruiser, commissioned on February 15, 1934. The cruiser operated with the Atlantic Fleet until 1936 when it was assigned as a fleet unit of the Pacific Fleet. Surviving the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the NEW ORLEANS went on to participate in a total of seventeen engagements in the Pacific Campaign during W0fld War II and was decommissioned in 1946. USS NEW ORLEANS CLPH-115, an amphibious assault ship, is the third in line to bear the name NEW ORLEANS and carry on the heritage of its valiant predecessors. H ISTORY The USS NEW ORLEANS is one of the newest amphibious ships in the Pacific Fleet and is the third ship to bear the name NEW ORLEANS. Her keel was laid at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 1 March 1966, and she was commissioned on 16 November 1968 under the command of Captain G.M. Even, USN. After commissioning and completion of final outfitting, NEW ORLEANS proceeded to her homeport, San Diego, California arriving on March 1969. Upon her arrival in San Diego she became the flagship for Amphibious Squadron ONE. NEW ORLEANS is a floating helicopter base with a landing area 596 feet long and 105 feet wide, and can support 20 helicopters and 2,000 marines for extended operations anywhere in the world. NEW ORLEANS is specifically designed to support the vertical envelopment technique in amphibious warfare. When employing this technique, more than 1,000 combat ready marines are airlifted by helicopter several miles inland to tactically engage enemy troops. NEW ORLEANS also has a large hospital on board with over 150 beds and supporting facilities to care for patients. Following various refresher training exercises, the ship deployed on 1 August 1969 for the Western Pacific and operations as a member of the SEVENTH Fleet. While engaged in these Far East operations she was the Flagship for Amphibious Ready Group BRAVO and maintained a combat ready status with her embarked battalion landing team and marine helicopter squadron. To maintain her high degree of readiness NEW ORLEANS conducted numerous amphibious exercises. , ln October 1969 ORLEANS was host for the Eighth Vietnamese Awards Ceremony. Guests for this ceremony included the Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam, Comma-nder in Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet and numerous other dignitaries. During October the NEW ORLEANS also participated in Keystone Cardinal operations, a retrograde movement of marines out of Vietnam. ln December of 1969 Captain Boudinot, USN relieved Captain Even as Commanding Officer. In March 1970 NEW ORLEANS completed her Western Pacific deployment, having participated in five amphibious exercises, conducted many weeks of amphibious ready group