Last Tarawa-Class Ship Decommissioned

The last Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship (LHA), the USS Peleliu, was decommissioned in March of 2015. The fleet has been getting a makeover and becoming more modern, with the first LHA of the new America-class coming just months before USS Peleliu decommissioned. The “Iron Nickel”, as it was called, was decommissioned in San Diego after nearly 34 years of service. It will be placed in a reserve status in Pearl Harbor, the site of the infamous bombing in 1941. It had a long, decorated history of conducting a wide variety of military operations. “Capable of launching a coordinated air and sea attack from one platform, Peleliu has conducted 17 deployments, 178,051 flight operations, served 57,983 personnel and steamed approximately 1,011,946 nautical miles since being commissioned on May 3, 1980, in Pascagoula, Miss.,” read a March 2015 statement from the service. This class of LHA was the first one to be known as a “big deck” amphibious assault ship, as it was larger than the Iwo-Jima class it succeeded.

With large flight decks and well decks, it was a very versatile ship – good for both amphibious warfare and disaster relief. The five Tarawa-class LHAs were all built at the Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Missouri. They were succeeded in production by the eight amphibious assault ships called LHDs. All are of the Wasp class. USS America, the first of a new class of LHA, was commissioned this past October. Though the ship may have sailed for the last time, its legacy will live on, says Capt. Paul Spedero, the last commanding officer. “It lies with the Marines and sailors who fought and died in an amphibious assault and ensuing battle on the coral island of Peleliu during World War II, and the nearly 58,000 Marines and sailors who have served aboard the ship.” Via our proprietary website Just NSN Parts, ASAP Semiconductor is a leading supplier of naval and maritime parts. Prospective customers can browse our inclusive inventory of hard-to-find obsolete and current parts at www.justnsnparts.com. If you are interested in a part, please feel free to contact our knowledgeable sales staff at sales@justnsnparts.com or 1-866-756-8540 for a quote.


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