Tripoli (LPH 10) - Naval Cruise Book

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O AT WORK XO Chows Doum On Liberty! Overlooking Sea Si' An- chor XO and Mr. Donaldson Taking ln Some Rays. CMC AT WORK fl V' 7 X':'. .n qw ' L CoMMAND 7

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CO AT WORK Boredom Sets ln USS Tripoli Brain Trust. Captain Contemplating On The Bridgewing. 5 TYIPQ LPH I0 .4 11 I 05 X U . Jr . , Y 1- , ff ride 2,557 Ligx , Z T. V L f, E' xf. 9 Q l , if fa 'gm ,' 5152, , T. Jam ,ES MA, ,Y , fd? . 2 E 15.33, r, H' P ,H-H R r . 3 Y 1 3 4, Lx -fm ui f 1 ' ' 8 5 1 v 2 1 , g t 1 'A 3 , V 3 v C in , 'Q 1 2 4' 9 la ,A J S . 6 COMMAND 'H - -, y 4, Q Wxlif 0 The Capt. Takes ln Some Liberty

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USS Tripoli fLPI'I-10iis the second ship to be named after the historic battle of Tripoli fought on the Third of August, 1804. The first ship was the escort aircraft carrier, USS Tripoli QCVE-645, which was decommis- sioned in November 1958. Today's Tripoli was built at Ingalls Shipbuild- ing Yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The keel was laid on June 15, 1964. The ship was christened and launched on July 51, 1965. Commis- sioning ceremonies were at the Phila- delphia Naval Shipyard on August 6, 1966 where her first Commanding Of- ficer, Captain Henry Suerstedt Jr. as- sumed command. Tripoli entered her homeport of San Diego, California on 22 November, 1966 and immediately began exten- sive training off the California coast in preparation for her first overseas de- ployment. She departed the States in May of 1967, headed for the South- east Asian Theater. Tripoli entered the Vietnam combat zone, with the first complete squadron of CH-55 lie- lo's to be deployed to Vietnam. She took over as Flagship for Amphibious Group Bravo , stationed off Danang, near the demilitarized zone KDMZJ. For the next seven months Tripoli conducted many special operations and launched eight full scale am- phibious assaults against insurgent forces and North Vietnamese regu- lars. She also served as a medical base, providing hospital services for the immediate evacuation and treat- ment of wounded personnel. Throughout the Vietnam war, Tripoli was a key player in numerous naval operations and strategic evolutions. Over the years she has made a sig- nificant impact on naval history, prov- ing herself to be a versatile and record setting platfonn. She was the first Pa- cific Fleet ship to land VfSTOL aircraft and the first amphibious ship to carry a full squadron of AV-8 Harrier air- craft. In 1985, she won the COIVIPI'II- BRON ONE Professional Olympics award for the third consecutive year. In 1985, she was awarded nine out of a possible eleven Departmental Ex- cellence awards. In 1988, she won the Chief of Naval Operations Safety Award and once again won nine De- lb 8 WSTORY Quail' xl' 4' , :tr 1'-Fu I - V Q 1 QR partmental awards. Tripoli was sec- ond to none in 1989, as she won the coveted COMNAVSURFPAC Battle Efficiency Award. On 1 December 1990, in support of Operation Desert Shield Tripoli em- barked on an eight month deploy- ment as part of the largest Naval Am- phibious Ready Group to deploy over- seas since 1965. With the advent of surgical attacks launched from air, land, and sea against strategic mili- tary installations in Iraq, Operation Desert Storm was bom. On the eve of the ground war at 0456, February 18, 1991, Tripoli's hull was rocked by the powerful blast of an Iraqi laid mine. 555 pounds of high explosives blast- ed a 20 by 50 foot hole into the star- board bow, destroying two thirds of her jet fuel storage capacity. The for- ward emergency diesel and emergen- cy switchboards and several other surrounding spaces were immediate- ly flooded with over 1,200 tons of seawater. I'ler crew spent the next nine and a half hours isolating the damaged areas and adding additional support to those spaces through the use of shoring. Despite her damage, she remained off the coast of Kuwait for five grueling days of etemal flight operations, clearing a mine infested deepwater channel for the Battleships Missouri and Wisconsin. Tripoli was finally forced to withdraw to effect bat- tle damage repairs only because she ran out of jet fuel for the mammoth MH-55E mine sweeping helicopters. Tripoli is the first U. S. Naval vessel to sustain major mine damage and continue operating since the civil war. After a brief drydock period and the replacement of 120 tons of steel to repair her sides, keel and intemal spaces, she was back on station clear- ing mines in the treacherous waters off the coast of Iraq and Kuwait. The USS Tripoli has proven that when there is a tough mission to be completed, she is the ship to call. Ser- vice to the community, support to the fleet. The best of the best. UThe Fam- ous Fighting Ship that takes a licking and keeps on ticking. The United States Navy at its best.