USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2)

USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) was the lead ship of her class and type and the first amphibious assault ship to be designed and built from the keel up as a dedicated helicopter carrier. She carried helicopters and typically embarked USMC elements of a Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU)/later Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) principally the Aviation Combat Element (ACE) to conduct heliborne operations in support of an amphibious operation. There was no well deck to support landing craft movement of personnel or equipment to/from shore. Iwo Jima was the second of three ships of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of Iwo Jima, although the first to be completed and see service (the first was cancelled during construction).

For other ships with the same name, see USS Iwo Jima.

First cruises and Cuban Missile Crisis[edit]

Iwo Jima was laid down on 2 April 1959 by Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington; launched on 17 September 1960, sponsored by Mrs. Harry Schmidt; and commissioned on 26 August 1961.

Following shakedown training, she spent the rest of 1961 off the California coast in amphibious exercises. In April 1962, the ship joined Joint Task Force 8 in the Johnston Island-Hawaii area for an important series of nuclear tests. Iwo Jima evacuated several islands and took part in the test evaluation. On 26 July, she sailed from the test area to Pearl Harbor, and continued on to San Diego, where she arrived on 10 August 1962.

In September, the ship took part in full-scale amphibious exercises in California, departing from San Diego on 17 October for her first deployment to the western Pacific. However, as the crisis flared up on 19 October over the introduction of offensive missiles into Cuba, Iwo Jima returned to San Diego, embarked Marines 22 to 27 October, and departed quickly for the Caribbean. As part of America's powerful and mobile force afloat, she cruised in a "ready" status until December brought an easing of the Cuban situation. She arrived in San Diego on 13 December.

WestPac cruises[edit]

Iwo Jima operated out of her home port during the first half of 1963, carrying out amphibious exercises and training. She departed on 30 August on her long-delayed Western Pacific cruise. Joining the 7th Fleet, she ranged from Hawaii to the Philippines and Taiwan.

On 31 October 1963, Iwo Jima departed Philippine waters for special operations along the coast of South Vietnam, standing by to protect American nationals during a period of increased strife. She returned to Subic Bay on 12 November. The following months, she sailed with Special Landing Forces of Marines for rigorous amphibious assault and landing raids practice off the coasts of Taiwan and Okinawa. After unloading ammunition at Sasebo, Japan, she departed on 13 April 1964 to return to San Diego, arriving on 28 April. Following amphibious training with Marines along the California seaboard, she overhauled in the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. This work was completed by 7 December 1964, when Iwo Jima began amphibious refresher training ranging to the Hawaiian Islands. On 13 March 1965, she departed Pearl Harbor for San Diego, arriving six days later.

Multinational Peacekeeping Force[edit]

From 10 May 1983 to 8 December 1983, Iwo Jima operated off the Lebanese coast as part of Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group 2-83 (Marg 2-83). The ships hosted the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit (24th MAU), the main body of which disembarked on 29 May to take position in and around Beirut International Airport, relieving the 22nd MAU as the principal US component of the Multinational Force in Lebanon.^[2] On 23 October 1983, an attack on the Marine's barracks caused the death of 241 US servicemen and wounded a further 60. The ship's commanding officer at the time was Arden W. Jones, CAPT USN. During the deployment, it served as the flagship for Amphibious Squadron Eight (PHIBRON-8), with Morgan France, CAPT USN serving as squadron commander (AKA Commodore").

Friendly fire incident[edit]

On 11 October 1989, El Paso (LKA-117) was conducting a live fire exercise off the east coast of the United States using the Phalanx against a target drone. The drone was successfully engaged, but as the drone fell to the sea, the CIWS re-engaged it as a continued threat to El Paso. Rounds from the Phalanx struck the bridge of Iwo Jima, killing one officer and injuring a petty officer.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Catastrophic boiler accident[edit]

In October 1990, Iwo Jima was in the Persian Gulf, as part of the buildup for Operation Desert Shield. After two months of operation there she developed a leak in a steam valve which supplied steam to a stand-by electrical generator. She docked in Manama, Bahrain, where the valve was repaired by a local contractor under US government inspection.

Repairs were completed towards the end of October. On 30 October, as she raised steam to get underway and rejoin the fleet, the valve began to leak once more. The bonnet blew off the valve, flooding the boiler room with steam from two boilers. Ten of the eleven crewmen in the room were killed during or immediately after the incident, with the last surviving until 23:30 that evening.

The cause of the accident was determined to be the use of fasteners of the wrong material (namely black oxide coated brass) on the valve, combined with a lack of proper inspection.^[6]^[7]

Decommissioning[edit]

Iwo Jima was decommissioned on 14 July 1993, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 24 September. She was sold for scrap on 18 December 1995. The ship's island was at the Museum of the American GI in College Station, Texas, for several years but due to no funding for maintenance it was scrapped.

Potential role in the Falklands War[edit]

A July 2012 article by USNI News of the United States Naval Institute revealed that the Reagan Administration offered the use of Iwo Jima as a replacement in case either of the two British carriers, Hermes and Invincible, had been damaged or destroyed during the 1982 Falklands War. This top-secret contingency plan was revealed to the staff of the Naval Institute by John Lehman, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy at the time of the Falklands War, from a speech provided to the Naval Institute that Lehman made in Portsmouth, UK on 26 June 2012. Lehman stated that the loan of Iwo Jima was made in response to a request from the Royal Navy, and it had the endorsement of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. The actual planning for Iwo Jima loan-out was done by the staff of the U.S. Second Fleet under the direction of Vice Admiral James Lyons, who confirmed Lehman's revelations with the Naval Institute staff. Contingency planning envisioned American military contractors, likely retired sailors with knowledge of Iwo Jima's systems, assisting the British in manning the U.S. helicopter carrier during the loan-out. Naval analyst Eric Wertheim compared this arrangement to the Flying Tigers. Significantly, except for U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig, the U.S. Department of State was not included in the loan-out negotiations.^[8]^[9]