Amphibious Transport Dock

LPD 7  -  USS Cleveland

 

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland patch crest insignia

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Austin class amphibious transport dock landing ship US Navy

Type, Class:

 

Amphibious Transport Dock (LPD); Austin - class;

Builder:

 

Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA

STATUS:

 

Awarded: January 25, 1963

Laid down: November 30, 1964

Launched: May 7, 1966

Commissioned: April 21, 1967

Decommissioned: September 30, 2011

Fate: planned for transit to NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Facility, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Homeport:

 

-

Namesake:

 

named after and in honor of the City of Cleveland, capital of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA

Ship's Motto:

 

PROMPTUS ET PARATUS  ‘prepared and ready’

Technical Data:

(Measures, Propulsion,

Armament, Aviation, etc.)

 

see: INFO >> Amphibious Transport Dock / Austin - class

 

ship images

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Austin class amphibious transport dock Ingalls shipbuilding

San Diego, California - August 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Pearl Harbor Hawaii 2011

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Hawaii

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2011

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7 Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Pohnpei Micronesia 2011

Pohnpei, Micronesia - July 2011

 

USS Cleveland Dili Timor Leste 2011

Dili, Timor-Leste - June 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Timor Leste 2011

Dili, Timor-Leste - June 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Lae Papua New Guinea 2011

Lae, Papua New Guinea - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Pacific Partnership 2011

“Pacific Partnership 2011” - Lae, Papua New Guinea - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Lae, Papua New Guinea - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland well deck operations

Lae, Papua New Guinea - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland well deck LCU-1665

Lae, Papua New Guinea - May 2011

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7 well deck

Lae, Papua New Guinea - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Lae, Papua New Guinea - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland well deck LCU LARC pacific partnership 2011

“Pacific Partnership 2011” - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland replenishment

Pacific Ocean - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Pacific Ocean 2011

Pacific Ocean - May 2011

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7

Pacific Ocean - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pacific Ocean - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pacific Ocean - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Espiritu Santo Island Vanuatu 2011

Espiritu Santo Island, Vanuatu - May 2011

 

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland well deck view

Espiritu Santo Island, Vanuatu - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland well deck New Zealand

a New Zealand Landing Craft enters the well deck of USS Cleveland - Pacific Ocean - May 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Tonga 2011

Tonga - April 2011

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7

Tonga - April 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Tonga - April 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Tonga - April 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Tonga - April 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Tonga 2011

Tonga - April 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pacific Ocean - April 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pacific Ocean - April 2011

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7

Pacific Ocean - April 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - April 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Pearl Harbor Hawaii 2011

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - April 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland flight deck night

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - April 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - March 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - March 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - March 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - March 2011

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7 Pacific Ocean 2011

Pacific Ocean - March 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland San Diego

San Diego, California - March 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - March 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2011

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland well deck AAV

exercise RIMPAC 2010 - Pacific Ocean - July 2010

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland RIMPAC 2010

exercise RIMPAC 2010 - Pacific Ocean - July 2010

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Pearl Harbor Hawaii 2010

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2010

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - July 2010

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - June 2010

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - June 2010

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - June 2010

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - June 2010

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii - June 2010

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland replenishment with USNS Guadelupe T-AO 200

replenishment with USNS Guadalupe (T-AO 200) - Pacific Ocean - June 2010

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland AV-8B Harriers on flight deck

Pacific Ocean - July 2009

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Indian Ocean 2008

Indian Ocean - April 2008

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Seattle Washington 2007

Seattle, Washington - August 2007

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Seattle, Washington - August 2007

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7

Seattle, Washington - August 2006

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Seattle, Washington - August 2006

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Vancouver Canada 2006

Vancouver, Canada - April 2006

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Manama Bahrain 2005

Manama, Bahrain - October 2005

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

Pacific Ocean - August 2005

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7 San Francisco California 2003

San Francisco, California - October 2003

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland San Diego

San Diego, California - July 2003

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - July 2003

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland

San Diego, California - January 2003

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Apra Harbor 2001

Apra Harbor, Guam - August 2001

 

USS ClevelandLPD-7 Guam 2001

Apra Harbor, Guam - August 2001

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Apra Harbor Guam 2001

Apra Harbor, Guam - August 2001

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland off California 2000

off California - February 2000

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Diamond Head Hawaii 1995

Diamond Head, Hawaii - September 1995

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Austin class amphibious transport dock landing ship

off California - November 1989

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7 1989

off California - November 1989

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland San Diego 1987

San Diego, California - February 1987

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland Perth Australia 1986

Perth, Australia - August 1986

 

 

History:

USS Cleveland (LPD 7):

 

USS Cleveland (LPD-7), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city in Ohio. Her keel was laid down at Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was launched on 7 May 1966, and was commissioned on 21 April 1967 at Norfolk, Virginia. At the time of decommissioning, she was the third-oldest commissioned ship in the US Navy, behind USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") and USS Enterprise (CVN-65).

After commissioning, Cleveland changed homeport to San Diego, California, to become a member of the Pacific Fleet's Amphibious Force. Cleveland divided her time between operations in the Eastern Pacific and extended deployments to the Western Pacific. Cleveland was normally assigned as part of an Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG) and, with her embarked Marines and other forces, performed a wide variety of missions.


1960s to 1980s

Cleveland first saw action during the Tet Offensive in 1967. After the Vietnam War cease-fire in January 1973, Cleveland joined Task Force 78 in the mine-clearing effort of Haiphong Harbor and Operation End Sweep. Cleveland then began a series of seven Western Pacific deployments between 1974 and 1985.

In 1978, portions of the film Inchon was filmed during a practice amphibious assault off the coast of Korea. This is referenced in the ship's logs of 1978.

Assigned duties as Third Fleet flagship from January through November 1988, Cleveland once again demonstrated the flexibility and professionalism that became her hallmark. Cleveland then briefly shifted focus to environmental protection when she deployed to Prince William Sound, Alaska, in support of oil spill cleanup efforts associated with the Exxon Valdez disaster.


1990s

The ship's next two deployments, in 1990 and 1991, were in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. In October 1992 and in March 1993, Cleveland deployed on short notice to Central America in support of law enforcement operations, where she was the first LPD to embark an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. During the March 1993 deployment Cleveland and the embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) played a key role in what was the largest maritime cocaine seizure to date involving the motor vessel Sea Chariot. These two deployments included four transits of the Panama Canal and steaming over 20,000 miles.

While deployed to the Western Pacific in 1994, Cleveland participated in United Nations relief efforts in Rwanda and the relocation of the United States Liaison office from Mogadishu, Somalia, to Nairobi, Kenya. Following the relocation efforts, Cleveland was ordered to steam into the North Persian Gulf to assist in deterring Iraq's massing of troops on the Kuwaiti border as part of Operation Vigilant Warrior.

Her next inter-deployment cycle was highlighted by Exercise "RIMPAC '96" off the coast of Hawaii, which included the first ever multilateral exercise involving US and Russian forces in US waters. The trip to Hawaii for the exercise culminated in a parade of ships for the 50th anniversary celebration to commemorate the end of the Pacific War. Cleveland returned to the North Persian Gulf during her deployment in 1996 and 1997, participating in coalition and bilateral exercises and achieving yet another milestone as the first Amphibious Warship to actively participate in Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq.

In the summer of 1998, Cleveland once again participated in the bi-annual RIMPAC exercise. Cleveland then began her sixteenth major deployment in December 1998, embarking Navy SEALs, elements of the 13th MEU(SOC) – Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operation Capable) – and a detachment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). During this deployment Cleveland stood off the Horn of Africa, inserting a military liaison team into Eritrea and remaining ready to conduct a non-combatant evacuation operation. Cleveland then returned to the Persian Gulf to conduct MIO where she served as flagship for the commander of all MIO forces in the Persian Gulf. During this period, an embarked UAV discovered an Iraqi surface-to-surface missile site that was threatening coalition forces. Aircraft from USS Enterprise (CVN-65) destroyed this missile site while the UAV transmitted live imagery back to Cleveland.


2000s

Cleveland was once again called upon to perform outside her normal realm of operations while participating in recovery and salvage efforts of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 in February 2000, receiving the Coast Guard Unit Commendation with Operational Distinguishing Device. Following a Fleet Week visit to San Francisco, California, Cleveland completed her training cycle and deployed for the seventeenth time in March 2001.

USS Cleveland (LPD 7) arrived in San Diego, August 4, 2011, returning from Pacific Partnership 2011, concluding the ship's final mission prior to its decommissioning. During the course of the ship's final mission, the medical contingent treated 38,696 patients at medical and dental civic action projects, or MEDCAPs and DENCAPs.

Both governments of the U.S. and Mexico could not come to an agreement regarding the sale of the vessel; therefore the ship continued on active duty until its decommissioning on September 30, 2011. USS Cleveland will transit to Hawaii, where the ship will be in an inactive reserve status.


Awards:

In her 44 years of service, Cleveland received two Combat Action Ribbons, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the Navy Unit Commendation, three Meritorious Unit Commendations, eight Navy Excellence Ribbons, three Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals, 23 Vietnam Service Medals, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Coast Guard Unit Commendation with Operational Distinguishing Device, and three Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation.

 

source: wikipedia (July 2012)

 

patches

 

LPD-7 USS Cleveland patch crest insignia  LPD-7 USS Cleveland crest insignia patch

 

USS Cleveland LPD-7 insignia patch crest  USS Cleveland LPD-7 cruise patch

 

 

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