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The Marines Have Landed
Iwo Jima-class Amphibious Assault Ships

LPH-3 USS Okinawa


Highlights of Ship's Service History



 [USS Okinawa photo]
Crew of USS Okinawa man the rails. Date & location unknown.
U.S. Navy photo

Photo source: Wikipedia [ Wikipedia icon ]
24 Oct 1958
 [ quill pen icon ]
Contract awarded to the U.S. Navy Shipyard, Philadelphia, PA.
1 Apr 1960
 [ keel laid icon ]
Keel laid
19 Aug 1961
 [ champagne bottle icon ]
Launched
14 Apr 1962
 [ bunting icon ]
Commissioned
4 Apr 1968
 [ nasa logo icon ]
Recovery ship for Apollo 6, an unmanned test vehicle
7 Aug 1971
 [ nasa logo icon ]
Flagship for the recovery of Apollo 15
17 Dec 1992
 [ gold watch icon ]
Decommissioned
17 Dec 1992
 [ eraser icon ]
Stricken from the Navy List
6 Jun 2002
 [ targeting reticle icon ]
Sunk during a SINKEX off southern California. Demonstrating the robustness of the design, the ex-Okinawa absorbed hits from several Maverick and Harpoon missiles & a number of general-purpose bombs. She was finally sunk by a Mk48 torpedo launched from the nuclear-powered attack submarine SSN-707 USS Portsmouth.

Sources

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships - U. S. Naval Historical Center  [ Flag of United States ] United States Naval Vessel Register  [ Flag of United States ] Wikipedia [ Wikipedia icon ] NavSource: Photographic History of the U.S. Navy [ World Wide Web icon ] Haze Gray & Underway [ World Wide Web icon ]