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US Navy - Amphibious Assault Ship LPH 7 USS Guadalcanal |
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| 11/21 | ||
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Type,
class: Amphibious Assault Ship, Landing Platform
Helicopter - LPH / Iwo Jima class Builder: Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Pennsylvania, USA STATUS: Awarded: December 21, 1959 Laid down: September 1, 1961 Launched: March 16, 1963 Commissioned: July 20, 1963 Decommissioned: August 31, 1994 Fate: sunk as a target off Virginia on May 19, 2005 Namesake: The Battle of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands (1942-43) Ships Motto: there when needed Technical Data: see: INFO > Iwo Jima class Amphibious Assault Ship - LPH |
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Deployments: September 1971 - November 1971 with 34th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) and HMM-261(C) embarked - North Atlantic Ocean February 1972 - August 1972 with 34th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) and HMM-261(C) embarked - Mediterranean Sea January 1976 - July 1976 with 34th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) and HMM-162(C) embarked - Mediterranean Sea September 1976 - November 1976 with 34th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) and HMH-362(C) embarked - North Atlantic Ocean August 1978 - October 1978 with 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) and HMM-162(C) embarked - North Atlantic Ocean June 1980 - November 1980 with 32nd Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) and HMM-264(C) embarked - Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean January 1983 - June 1983 with 32nd Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) and HMM-264(C) embarked - Mediterranean Sea November 1985 - May 1986 with 26th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) and HMM-263(C) embarked - Mediterranean Sea April 1987 - November 1987 with 24th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) and HMM-263(C) embarked - Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf December 1988 - June 1989 with 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit - SOC (MEU/SOC) and HMM-162(C) embarked - Mediterranean Sea January 1991 - August 1991 with 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit - SOC (MEU/SOC) and HMM-262(C) embarked - Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf August 1993 - February 1994 with 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit - SOC (MEU/SOC) and HMM-162(REIN) embarked - Mediterranean Sea, Adriatic, Indian Ocean |
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 during Exercise Ocean Venture 93 - May 1993  during Exercise Ocean Venture 93 - May 1993  Fleet Week New York - May 1992  Fleet Week New York - May 1992  Fleet Week New York - May 1992  Fleet Week New York - May 1992  Fleet Week New York - May 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during NATO Exercise Team Work 92 - off Norway - March 1992  during Operation Provide Comfort - Iskenderun, Turkey - April 1991  during Operation Provide Comfort - Iskenderun, Turkey - April 1991  during Operation Provide Comfort - April 1991  during Operation Provide Comfort - April 1991  departing Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - January 1991  in dry dock at Metro Machine Corporation, Norfolk, Virginia - April 1990  in dry dock at Metro Machine Corporation, Norfolk, Virginia - April 1990  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - September 1988  during Exercise Ocean Venture 88 - off Puerto Rico - March 1988  during Exercise Ocean Venture 88 - off Puerto Rico - March 1988  during Exercise Ocean Venture 88 - off Puerto Rico - March 1988  Persian Gulf - November 1987  Persian Gulf - November 1987  Persian Gulf - November 1987  Persian Gulf - November 1987  Gulf of Oman - September 1987  Gulf of Oman - September 1987  Persian Gulf - August 1987  Persian Gulf - August 1987  Persian Gulf - August 1987  Persian Gulf - August 1987  flight deck operations (AH-1 Sea Cobra / HMLA-269) - Persian Gulf - August 1987  flight deck operations (AH-1 Sea Cobra / HMLA-269) - Persian Gulf - August 1987  with RH-53D Sea Stallions of HM-14 embarked - Persian Gulf - August 1987  Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory - August 1987  Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory - August 1987  Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory - August 1987  flight deck operations (AH-1 Sea Cobra) - August 1987  flight deck operations - August 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  off Virginia - May 1987  undated  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - May 1987  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - May 1987  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - May 1987  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - May 1987  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - May 1987  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - May 1987  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - May 1987  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - May 1987  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - April 1987  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - April 1987  during Exercise AHUAS TARA II - off Honduras - November 1983  Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia - October 1983  off Beirut, Lebanon - May 1983  off Beirut, Lebanon - May 1983  off Beirut, Lebanon - May 1983  Atlantic Ocean - May 1978  Atlantic Ocean - May 1978  Atlantic Ocean - May 1978  September 1976  1972  undated  NASA Apollo 9 capsule recovery - March 13, 1969  1969  1968  undated  cutout |
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USS Guadalcanal (LPH 7): USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7), the third Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship (helicopter), was launched by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 16 March 1963, sponsored by Zola Shoup, wife of General Shoup, the former Commandant of the Marine Corps; and commissioned 20 July 1963, Captain Dale K. Peterson in command. It was the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. Operational history: Upon completion of sea trials and outfitting, Guadalcanal departed Philadelphia to join the Amphibious Forces, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. One of a new class of ships designed from the keel up to embark, transport, and land assault marines by means of helicopters, she lent new strength and flexibility to amphibious operations. After departing Norfolk 23 October 1963 for six weeks' shakedown training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Guadalcanal steamed to Onslow Beach, North Carolina, 6 December for practice amphibious landings. She then carried on training and readiness operations with the Atlantic Fleet, based in Norfolk until departing for Panama 11 February 1964. Following 2 months on station as flagship for Commander PhibRon 12 with the 12 Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked and ready to land anywhere needed. Guadalcanal entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 26 May, but was deployed again 7 October as a unit of Operation "Steel Pike 1", a NATO landing exercise on the beaches of southern Spain. Career highlights include 21 July 1966, when she recovered the Gemini X astronauts and their spacecraft after they landed in the Atlantic east of Cape Kennedy, and 13 March 1969, when she recovered the Apollo 9 capsule and crew off the Bahamas. In October 1985 the ship logged its 100,000th aircraft landing. In 1987 Guadalcanal was leading minesweeping operations in the Persian Gulf when she encountered Iran Ajr laying mines in the shipping lanes. Helicopters from Guadalcanal attacked the ship; troops from Guadalcanal boarded and captured the ship. (Iran Ajr was the second enemy warship captured on the high seas by the U.S. Navy since 1815; the first was the German submarine U-505, captured in 1944 by the first USS Guadalcanal, an escort carrier.) Guadalcanal also provided the Marines for the first wave of Operation Provide Comfort, the Kurdish relief operations in Northern Iraq immediately following the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Guadalcanal was decommissioned in 1994, and stored as part of the James River Reserve Fleet until she was used as a target and sunk in the Virginia Capes area on 19 May 2005. Other incidents: On 1 November 1966, a UH-2B Seasprite helicopter assigned to the ship crashed as it was taking off from the flight deck. Guadalcanal was in the Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, VA to start a major overhaul at the time. Three Navy men and one civilian shipyard worker were killed and 12 others were hospitalized. Nine more sailors and civilians were treated for minor injuries. On 9 May 1968 she floated adrift off North Carolina due to a burned out bearing in the propulsion system. On 27 January 1976 she went aground in Augusta Bay, Sicily on a peak of coral which pushed in areas on either side of the bow, but did not crack or hole the ship. Three days later, with cargo, personnel, helicopters, and fuel off-loaded to assist the effort, the ship was refloated. On 17 September 1981 near Sardinia, Italy, a USMC CH-53D helicopter crashed while attempting to land aboard the ship during training exercises killing all five crewmen. On 24 September 1981 Guadalcanal and the USNS Waccamaw (T-AO-109), collided during underway replenishment south of Sardinia, Italy, causing minor damage but no injuries. On 25 May 1993 Guadalcanal and the USS Monongahela (AO-178), collided during underway replenishment off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina when Guadalcanal's main gyrocompass failed. Five crew suffered minor injuries and $1.635M in damage was caused to the two ships. source: wikipedia - - - - - another history: The second Guadalcanal (LPH-7), an amphibious assault ship, was launched by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 16 March 1963, sponsored by Mrs. David Shoup, wife of the former Commandant of the Marine Corps; and commissioned 20 July 1963, Captain Dale K. Peterson in command. Upon completion of sea trials and outfitting, Guadalcanal departed Philadelphia to join the Amphibious Forces, United States Atlantic Fleet. One of a new class of ships designed from the keel up to embark, transport, and land assault Marines by means of helicopters, she lends new strength and flexibility to amphibious operations. After departing Norfolk 23 October 1963 for 6 weeks shakedown training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Guadalcanal steamed to Onslow Beach, North Carolina, 6 December for practice amphibious landings. She then carried on training and readiness operations with the Atlantic Fleet, based in Norfolk until departing for Panama 11 February 1964. Following 2 months on station as flagship for Commander PhibRon 12 with the 12 Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked and ready to land anywhere needed. Guadalcanal entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 26 May, but was deployed again 7 October as a unit of Operation "Steel Pike 1", a NATO landing exercise on the beaches of southern Spain. Guadalcanal has continued to serve in the Atlantic Fleet into 1967. One of the highlights of her career occurred 21 July 1966 when she recovered Gemini X astronauts after their spacecraft landed in the Atlantic east of Cape Kennedy. source: US NHHC |
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The Battle of Guadalcanal: The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War II. It was the first major land offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan. On 7 August 1942, Allied forces, predominantly United States Marines, landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands, with the objective of using Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases in supporting a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The Japanese defenders, who had occupied those islands since May 1942, were outnumbered and overwhelmed by the Allies, who captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as the airfield - later named Henderson Field – that was under construction on Guadalcanal. Surprised by the Allied offensive, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November to retake Henderson Field. Three major land battles, seven large naval battles (five nighttime surface actions and two carrier battles), and almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November, with the defeat of the last Japanese attempt to bombard Henderson Field from the sea and to land enough troops to retake it. In December, the Japanese abandoned their efforts to retake Guadalcanal, and evacuated their remaining forces by 7 February 1943, in the face of an offensive by the U.S. Army's XIV Corps, with the Battle of Rennell Island, the last major naval engagement, serving to secure protection for the Japanese troops to evacuate safely. The campaign followed the successful Allied defensive actions at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway in May and June, 1942. Along with the battles at Milne Bay and Buna–Gona, the Guadalcanal campaign marked the Allies' transition from defensive operations to offensive ones and effectively seized the strategic initiative in the Pacific theater from the Japanese. The campaign was followed by other Allied offensives in the Pacific, most notably: the Solomon Islands campaign, New Guinea campaign, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, the Philippines campaign (1944-1945), and the Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign prior to the surrender of Japan in August, 1945. Guadalcanal ... is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the second by population (after Malaita). The island is mainly covered in dense tropical rainforest and has a mountainous hinterland. Guadalcanal's discovery by westerners was under the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendana in 1568. The name comes from the village of Guadalcanal, in the province of Seville, in Andalusia, Spain, birthplace of Pedro de Ortega Valencia, a member of Mendaña's expedition. |
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