USS Kearsarge (LHD-3)

USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), the third Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, is the fifth ship of the United States Navy to be named (the fourth actually commissioned) in honor of the USS Kearsarge, a sloop-of-war that gained fame during the American Civil War. She was, in turn, named for Mount Kearsarge in New Hampshire.

Construction

Kearsarge's keel was laid down on 6 February 1990 at Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation of Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Ingalls built Kearsarge using efficient pre-outfitting and modular construction techniques. Hundreds of smaller sub-assemblies, containing piping, ventilation ducting and other hardware, as well as major machinery equipment, generators, and electrical panels were constructed. The sub-assemblies were then joined with others to form assemblies, which were in turn welded together to form five completed hull and superstructure modules. These giant modules, each weighing thousands of tons, were joined together on land to form the completed ship's hull. The result of this early outfitting was a ship that was over 70 percent complete at launch.

She was launched on 26 March 1992, in a ceremony attended by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell. The warship was christened on 16 May 1992, and commissioned on 16 October 1993.

Characteristics

In carrying out her mission, Kearsarge not only transports and lands ashore troops, but also tanks, trucks, artillery, and the complete logistic support needed to supply an assault.

The assault support system aboard ship coordinates horizontal and vertical movement of troops, cargo and vehicles. Monorail trains, moving at speeds up to 600 ft/min (3 m/s), transport cargo and supplies from storage and staging areas throughout the ship to a 13,600 square feet (1,260 m²) well deck which opens to the sea through huge gates in the ship's stern. There, the cargo, troops and vehicles are loaded aboard landing craft for transit to the beach. The air cushion landing craft can "fly" out of the dry well deck, or the well deck can be flooded so conventional landing craft can float out on their way to the beach.

Simultaneously, helicopters are brought from the hangar deck to the flight deck by two deck-edge elevators and loaded with supplies from three massive cargo elevators.

Kearsarge's armament suite includes the NATO RIM-7 Sea Sparrow point defense system for anti-aircraft support, RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles, 25 mm chain guns and the Phalanx close-in weapon system to counter threats from low-flying aircraft and close-in small craft. Missile decoy launchers augment the anti-ship missile defenses.

Early Successes

Kearsarge is fully capable of amphibious assault, advance force and special purpose operations, as well as non-combatant evacuation and other humanitarian missions. Since her commissioning, she has performed these missions the world over, including evacuating non-combatants from Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 31 May 1997 and rescuing Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady from Serb-controlled territory in Bosnia on 8 June 1995. Additionally, Kearsarge is fully equipped with state of the art command and control (C&C) systems for flagship command duty, and her medical facilities are second in capability only to the Navy's hospital ships, USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) and Mercy (T-AH-19). These facilities allowed Kearsarge to serve a dual role during the 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as a platform for bombing missions against Serb forces in Operation Allied Force, and as a treatment facility for Albanian refugees in Operation Shining Hope.

Combat Action

On 19 August 2005 Kearsarge and USS Ashland (LSD-48) were targeted by rockets while in port in Jordan. The rockets flew over Ashland's bow and struck the pier adjacent to the ships. The vessels were not hit but one Jordanian soldier was killed and another was wounded. The ship and her crew were awarded the Combat Action Ribbon in response to the attack.

According to news reports, the USS Kearsarge is the closest U.S. Navy vessel to the present turmoil in Libya. It could possibly be used to evacuate Americans in the region, or participate in any American military action, if necessary.

Additional Milestones

USS Kearsarge, in 2006, and again in 2008, served as the principal attraction for New York's "Fleet Week". In August 2007 the ship visited the port of Valletta, Malta on the way to a six month deployment to Iraq (5th Fleet AOR). The ship also recently deployed Sailors and Marines in a relief effort in Bangladesh following Cyclone Sidr and provided support for President George W. Bush's January 2008 visit to Israel.

On 6 August 2008, Kearsarge deployed in support of Operation Continuing Promise. The ship's crew, along with augment from The United States Marine Corps, The United States Air Force, The United States Army, The United States Coast Guard, The United States Public Health Service, The Canadian Forces, and other multi-national forces and NGO's provided medical, construction and humanitarian services to seven Central, South, and Caribbean American countries (Panama, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Trinidad). The ship also provided Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) operations in Haiti following four Atlantic hurricanes.

By April 2010, Kearsarge was Docked in Naval Station Norfolk.

On 1 March 2011 Kearsarge was displaced to the Mediterranean Sea because of the Libyan Protests.

Awards

USS Kearsarge has been awarded the Golden Anchor for Retention Excellence, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Service Award, the CNO Environmental Safety Award, the Admiral Flatley Memorial Award (aviation safety), SECNAV Energy Award (2002), Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) Mobility Energy Efficiency Award (2002), the Chief of Naval Operations Safety Award and the Commander Naval Surface Force Atlantic Safety Award.

Additionally, Kearsarge has qualified for the following medals and unit awards: Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation (three awards), Meritorious Unit Commendation (one award), Battle Efficiency "E" Award (six awards), National Defense Service Medal (two awards), Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal (with bronze star), Armed Forces Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (five awards), and the NATO Medal.

General characteristics

Class and type: Wasp-class amphibious assault ship
Displacement: 40,500 long tons (41,100 t) full load

Length: 844 ft (257 m)

Beam: 106 ft (32 m)
Draft: 27 ft (8.2 m)
Propulsion:
2 × geared steam turbines, 70,000 shp (52 MW)
2 × boilers, 600 psi (4.1 MPa)
2 × shafts

Speed: 24 knots (28 mph; 44 km/h)
Boats and landing craft carried: 3 × LCAC (LCAC)
Troops: 1,893 Marines
Complement: 104 Officers, 1,004 Sailors

Armament:

2 × Sea Sparrow missile systems

2 × Rolling Airframe Missile systems

3 × Phalanx CIWS

8 × .50 BMG machine guns

Aircraft carried:


42 × CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters
5 × AV-8B Harrier II V/STOL attack jets
6 × SH-60F/HH-60H ASW helicopters