Tuscaloosa (LST 1187) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 6 text:

The current USS TUSCALOOSA CLST-11871 was built by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company and was commissioned on 24 October 1970 at Long Beach Shipyard in Long Beach, California. She is designed to load, transport and land troops and their equipment in amphibious assault operations. During her eighteen years of service, TUSCALOOSA has made ten Western Pacific Deployments and has served in Amphibious Squadrons seven, five and one. TUSCALOOSA has participated in the evacua- tion of South Vietnam in 1975 and a multitude of Amphibious exercises including Beagle Dancer '73, Fortress Gale '79, Bell Volcano, Valiant Usher, Kerwal Blitz, Team Spirit and Quick J ab. She has visited such places as Numazu, Yokosuka, and Sasebo, Japan, Kaoh Siung and Keelung, Taiwan, Inchon, Pusan, Pohang and Chinhae, Korea, Mindord, Dumaghett, and Subic Bay, Phillippines, Phattaya Beach, Thai- land, Freemantle, Australia, Acapulco, Mexico, Belewan, Sumatra, Esquimalt, British Columbia, and Singapore. . During TUSCALOOSA'S distinguished history she gained the honor of being the first ship in the Paci-fic fleet to successfully pass a diesel operational propulsion plant examination QOPPEJ. TUSCALOOSA, was also the first U.S. Naval ship to visit the country of Bangladesh. Three weeks after returning from Westpace '85, the ship departed on a two month cruise to the Panama Canal, and escort vessel for the tow of EX-USS Nautilus on her historic last voyage from San Francisco to New Groton, Connecticut. Recently TUSCALOOSA completed drug interdiction operations in cooperation with the Coast Guard off the coast of Mexico. 2 5

Page 5 text:

CH 74338 w A . V, , fl TUSCALOOSA IS SIXTH NEW DESIGN TANK Landing Ship to be delivered to the Navy by! Natlonal SItleel and Shlpbuildlng Company. This design represents a complete departure from previous concepts. e function of the traditional bow doors have been supplanted in the new ships by a huge thirty-five ton bow ramp supported by two outstretched derrick arms. The conventional flatbottomed hull has been replaced by a destroyer-type bow which will enable TUSCALOOSA to maintain speeds in excess of 20 knots and to operate with modern high-speed amphibious forces. Many innovations in ship design incorporated into TUSCALOOSA will help her crew fulfill many varied obligations to the Fleet. Predominant in the ship's design is the distinctive bow rampfderrick system. This sytem enables TUSCALOOSA to marry to causeways for unloading her payload or for direct ship-to-beach unloading. TUSCALOOSA is equipped with a bow-thruster or transversely mounted, variable-pitch propeller in the forward part of the hull, allowing intricate maneuvering of the vessel. The ship's two stacks are offset and of unequal size, thus allowing the quickest and most direct passage of exhaust gases from the engineering spaces to the atmosphere. In the space behind the stacks, a helicopter landing area is provided. For supplemental loading and offloading TUSCALOOSA can use the tank deck stern gate or the 10 ton booms over the cargo hatch. Ship's speed is controlled by a new advanced arrangement, control consoles are provided in two of the engineering spaces and on the bridge for control of shaft speed from any of these three locations. The six main diesel engines and twin variable-pitch screws are controlled by a sophisticated governor control system allowing the engines to operate efficiently at any given speed. USS TUSCALOOSA CLST-11875 is the second ship of the fleet to honor the city and county of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Two ships of the name served the confederate navy during the Civil War. The first of these confederate ships was the Bark TUSCALOOSA, formerly Union Bark CONRAD captured by CSS ALABAMA in June, 1863. Her fighting days ended abruptly in December that year when she was seized by British authorities at Simonis Bay. The confederate Iron-Clad Ram launched at Selma, Alabama, in February, 1863 also bore the name TUSCALOOSA. A DEFENDER OF Mobile, Alabama until 12 April 1865, when that city fell to the Union Forces, she was scuttled to avoid capture. The original USS TUSCALOOSA in the United States Navy was a heavy cruiser QCA-375 built by New York Shipbuilding Company, Camden, New Jersey. She was commissioned 17 August 1934 in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was 558 feet long with a beam of 61 feet 9 inches and she displaced 9,375 tons. Her complement was 51 Officers and 700 men, she was armed with nine 8 inch .55 caliber guns. During World War II she served as a flag ship and saw action in both Europe and the Pacific. She was decommissioned in March 1959 as pictured below.

Page 7 text:

5 The Ship's Insignia The insignia of the USS TUSCALOOSA incorporates the rich heritage of the city and county for which she is named, the proud history of the previous TUSCALOOSA, and the strength of the NavyfMarine Corps amphibious team. The black Indian figure is in honor of the city and county of Tuscaloosa which were named for the Choctaw Indian warrior, Tuscaloosa. Tusca- loosa means black warrior in Choctaw and the city is located on the Black Warrior River. The red cross on the white field is taken from the state flag of Alabama. The tusks on the sides of the emblem represent the former TUSCA- LOOSA CCA-371 which was affectionately known as Tusky . The note Extra Three Percent is from that ship, and her reputation for meeting commitments by can-do spirit. The blue color is selected for the blue waters which will pass under the keel of the USS TUSCALOOSA during her lifetime. The red highlights the role of the Marines in the NavyfMarine Corps amphibious team.