Uss Tortuga Lsd-26 Patch
These amphibious ship patches are some of the ships that we have. USS Tortuga LSD-26 Dock Landing Ship Patch. USS Tortuga was a Casa Grande class dock. USS Tortuga (LSD-46), USS. Patch HA(L)-3 Seawolves Details US Navy. 1966 began operating from the USS Tortuga (LSD 26) with Army split crews until August 30, 1966 when DET 29 relieved Army Fire Teams. 10 days later moved to.
For other ships with the same name, see. Contents. History 1945-1947 Commissioned during the final phase of, Tortuga conducted shakedown in the area and was at, en route to the Pacific combat area on 15 August 1945 when she received news of 's surrender. The dock landing ship soon proceeded to, and subsequently operated in and waters, repairing small craft and serving in the mobile support unit attached to Amphibious Forces,. Operating initially out of (now ), Tortuga subsequently conducted her support missions out of, and;; and,. In the spring of 1947, the ship returned to the west coast of the, via and, and was decommissioned and placed in reserve at on 18 August 1947. 1950-1953 Following the outbreak of a civil war between and in the summer of 1950, Tortuga was recommissioned on 15 September 1950, Comdr.
Hermanson in command. Reactivated in response to the Navy's need for amphibious ships created by the, the landing ship dock underwent an abbreviated refitting and shakedown before she sailed for on 29 December. Proceeding via and, she arrived at on 3 February 1951. Tortuga participated in a feint landing which preceded the operation mounted to recapture the strategic port of. About this time, intelligence reports indicated that the might take advantage of American preoccupation with the war in Korea by mounting an invasion, across the, of -held. American strategists felt that, in such an endeavor, the Communist Chinese would utilize many seagoing since, in operations off Korea, vessels of this type had proven to be almost unsinkable. Accordingly, Tortuga raised eight 60-foot junks from the depths of harbor and transported them to to be studied to determine what ordnance would be most effective against them.
Tortuga remained in the through 1952 for two more Korean deployments. During the first, the landing ship provided support services at Inchon; and, in the second, she took part in the massive amphibious feint at, from 13 to 16 October 1952, and in operations off, supporting mine-craft in November and December.
During 1953, Tortuga participated in the Korean exchange after the and also conducted landing exercises and maneuvers in the Far East and off the west coast of the. 1954-1964 Tortuga was deployed to the Western Pacific (WestPac) again in 1954. The signing of the which ended the fighting between the and resulted in the creation of two Vietnams — and.
The former was to be in Communist hands; the latter was to be governed by non-Communist leaders. Diverted to from Yokosuka, Tortuga arrived at her destination on 21 August 1954 to take part in the massive evacuation of French nationals, in ', as well as the moving of who chose not to live in the north. The landing ship conducted four round trips from Haiphong in the north to (now ), and in the south, before she returned to Yokosuka on 4 October. For the remainder of the year, she conducted support operations in Korean waters.
Uss Tortuga Lsd 26
During the 14 years from 1955 to 1969, Tortuga would remain employed in a regular schedule of deployments to. In 1958, Tortuga conducted operations in the Marshall Islands. She was based at until 30 June 1966, when her home port was changed to.
In between deployments — which included exercises and equipment lifts and labors to help maintain the 7th Fleet's readiness — Tortuga conducted local operations put of west coast ports and underwent progressive modifications during regular availabilities. 1964-1965 As American involvement in deepened during the latter half of the 1960s, Tortuga's deployment schedule accordingly reflected her role in the buildup of Allied strength to attempt to check communist domination of Southeast Asia. On 2 and 4 August 1964, torpedo boats attacked and in the. As a direct result, the United States took ever-increasing steps to aid the government in its attempt to combat insurgent activity within its borders. Within a few years, American involvement had been broadened from one of advising Vietnamese troops to the actual commitment of massive land, sea, and air forces. Soon after receiving word of the incident, Tortuga — combat-loaded — got underway from. She remained underway in the from 6 August to 19 September before returning to.
For the remainder of the year 1964, Tortuga operated out of and conducted troop and equipment lifts between and until she headed home and arrived back at on 18 December. In February 1965, the landing ship proceeded to, to participate in Exercise 'Silver Lance,' the largest peacetime landing exercise ever held.
In June, she commenced a WestPac deployment. She proceeded to and and, after operating in the Orient through the early summer, returned to in late August 1965. She subsequently conducted a lift to Okinawa before she returned to San Diego for refresher training. 1966-1967 Tortuga sailed for Vietnamese waters on 1 March 1966, arrived at on 18 April, and relieved as support ship for ' — the Navy's operation designed to interdict the flow of Communist supplies along the coastlines of. Initially, Tortuga operated in the between and, helping to guard the entrance to the shipping channels snaking through territory to the capital city.
Tortuga shifted to the region on 12 June to serve as a floating base for the Navy's fast 's of and for a detachment of Army gunships. The PBR's, attached to River Patrol Squadron 512, were small yet relatively heavily armed craft. Each mounted a.50-caliber machine gun forward and an 'over-and-under' combination mount of one.50-caliber machine gun mounted over an 81 millimeter mortar aft. The helicopters, too, were relatively heavily armed, packing a 'punch' of rockets of varying sizes and up to six machine guns. Initially, the helicopters were 'choppers' from the 145th Aviation Detachment. However, by the end of Tortuga's tour, they were Navy aircraft from Task Force 'Sea Wolf.'
Together, the PBR's and Hueys conducted their patrols and forays into the jungle; the PBR's through the muddy waterways while the helicopters flew close cover above. Occasionally, the teams would capture enemy munitions. On one occasion, on 12 June at the mouth of the, Tortuga's PBR's participated in the capture of a large stock of guns and munitions captured from a damaged trawler which had been forced aground and set afire. During her support operations with the riverine assault groups, Tortuga received a number of distinguished visitors ranging from General, Commander, Military Assistance Group; Rear Admiral,; as well as United States Ambassador to South Vietnam; and news commentator, who brought with him an camera team to record a news story on Tortuga's river-patrol base activities. Her deployment completed in the summer of 1966, Tortuga got underway on 30 August and steamed via to the west coast. She arrived at on 7 November for leave, upkeep, and overhaul. The refit lasted through April 1967, modernizing the ship and preparing her for another WestPac deployment.
Following a period of refresher training and amphibious exercises, Tortuga sailed on 21 July 1967 from San Diego and arrived, via, and the, at on 5 September. Upon arrival, Tortuga relieved with 'Bravo' and operated with that unit into the fall of 1967. She took part in Operations ' and ', before her detachment from ARG 'B' on 9 November. Subsequently, Tortuga loaded a cargo of disabled or damaged for transport from Da Nang to, where they were repaired for further service. For the remainder of the year, from 3 to 31 December, Tortuga conducted cargo lifts from Japanese ports to Vietnam and vice versa.
1968-1969 Tortuga then returned to the west coast — via, and Pearl Harbor — and arrived at Long Beach on 9 March 1968. For the remainder of the year, the landing ship conducted exercises and local operations put of Long Beach, until again deploying to WestPac in February 1969. On 17 February, while en route to Yokosuka, Tortuga conducted her first underway refueling — with receiving 31,000 gallons of (NSFO). Upon arrival at Yokosuka, Tortuga's in-port time was extended to allow the on-loading of a complete destroyer radar system for transport to.
Underway on 11 March with her special cargo, the landing ship soon reached Subic Bay, unloaded, and proceeded for, en route to South Vietnam. On the last leg of her Vietnam-bound voyage, Tortuga instituted a stepped-up shipboard defense program consisting of daily general quarters drills, exercising especially with the ship's guns and in damage control problems — for the ship had received intelligence reports that a rocket attack was expected to coincide with her arrival. When were sighted on the horizon at 02:00 on 14 March, Tortuga knew that she had arrived at her destination and went to general quarters. The expected attack failed to materialize, though, and Tortuga unloaded her cargo unmolested but at piers which, only the day before, had been rocketed by the Viet Cong. When the offloading was completed, Tortuga shifted her berth far away from most of the shipping in the harbor. There, boat crews bent to the task of loading old ammunition on the ship. Meanwhile, one boat crew, composed of one officer and five enlisted men, armed with rifles and, kept a constant vigil in an which circled the ship at a distance of 60-70 yards.
Periodically, at odd intervals, the boat's crew would drop percussion grenades in the water in an effort calculated to discourage enemy. When the task was completed, the ship got underway for the. Reaching after an uneventful passage, the ship unloaded the explosives and soon received orders to transport a much-needed suction dredge up the to, through territory largely controlled by the.
At Tan My, Tortuga embarked the dredge and a warping tug and got underway. During the transit of the, the landing ship stood to general quarters, keeping a sharp eye for enemy attempts to impede the progress of the ship. The enemy failed to appear, however, and Tortuga, her dredge, and her tug arrived at Nha Be soon thereafter. From 5 May to 20 May, Tortuga participated in 'Daring Rebel,' an operation mounted to seek out and destroy rest camps on, 15 miles south of. Joining, and, Tortuga closed the beachhead, while stood offshore to provide initial bombardment. When White River launched a heavy rocket barrage shoreward, 'Daring Rebel' got underway. Landing craft splashed ashore while troop-carrying helicopters quickly airlifted troops ashore in the vertical-envelopment phase of the operation.
For the next two weeks, Tortuga served as primary control ship for the operation which located and destroyed caches of food and ammunition and Viet Cong rest camps. The landing ship again served as primary control ship (PCS) in Da Nang harbor during 'Gallant Leader,' a follow-up to 'Daring Rebel.' Relieved by Duluth on 23 May, Tortuga set sail soon thereafter for and simulated combat landings during exercises with Assault Craft Unit 1 in late June. In July, Tortuga transported the first increment of marines and their equipment for 'Keystone Eagle,' from Cua Vet, South Vietnam, to White Beach, Okinawa, before returning up the to Nha Be with a load of palletized cargo. Subsequently supporting Operation 'Sea Float,' delivering two pontoons and 32 pallets of ammunition from to, Tortuga onloaded men and equipment from 'Charlie' Battery, 1st Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion (LAAM), at harbor for transport to the west coast of the. In this last operation, the second increment of 'Keystone Eagle,' Tortuga headed 'stateside' for the last time, and arrived at, on 12 September 1969, unloading the 58 of the 1st LAAM Battalion, USMC, and then proceeding to the. The wreck of Tortuga on in 1987 Tortuga disembarked her marines and proceeded to pier 7 where she was moored outboard of.
On 3 January 1970, Tortuga got underway for the Inactivation Facility at, where she was decommissioned on 26 January 1970. Transferred to the temporary custody of the (MARAD) on 6 October 1970, the ship was berthed at, where she was later placed in permanent custody of MARAD on 1 September 1971. She was struck from the on 15 October 1976.
Tortuga was awarded five for her service and eight for service off Vietnam. From 1983 to 1987 Tortuga was used as a and based.
Rf moonlight new client torrent. During trials the ship was repeatedly hit. On 15 December 1987 Tortuga ran aground on after breaking its tow during a storm. The ship was scrapped on site, with the process taking over eight months to complete. Awards and decorations.