USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3)
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 USS Belleau Wood prepares to receive a Marine landing craft
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| Career | 
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| Ordered: | 15 November 1969 |
| Laid down: | 5 March 1973 |
| Launched: | 11 April 1977 |
| Commissioned: | 23 September 1978 |
| Fate: | Template:Active in service |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 40,000 tons |
| Length: | 820 ft (250 m) |
| Flight Deck Width: | 132 ft (40.2 m) |
| Beam: | 106 ft (32.3 m) |
| Draft: | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Speed: | 24 knots (44 km/h) |
| Complement: | 930 officers and men, 2000 Marines plus equipment |
| Armament: | (2) 21 cell Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), (2) 20 mm Phalanx CIWS, (4) 25 mm Mk 38 gun mounts, (5) .50 cal mounts |
| Aircraft: | 30 helicopters |
USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3), nicknamed "Big Dawg", is the third United States Navy Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship. She is the second ship named after the battle of Belleau Wood in World War I.
Her keel was laid down on 5 March 1973 at Pascagoula, Mississippi, by Ingalls Shipbuilding. She was launched on 11 April 1977, and commissioned on 23 September 1978, Captain T.C. Steele in command.
Belleau Wood is the third of five ships in a new class of general-purpose amphibious assault ships and combines in one ship type the functions previously performed by four different types: the amphibious assault ship (LPH), the amphibious transport dock (LPD), the amphibious cargo ship (LKA), and the dock landing ship (LSD). She is capable of landing elements of a United States Marine Corps battalion landing team and their supporting equipment by landing craft, by helicopters, or by a combination of both.
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Ship History
Homeported in NS San Diego, California in October 1978, Belleau Wood participated in her first full-scale operation in 1979 off the coast of Hawaii.
Belleau Wood began her first major deployment in January 1981. The ship rescued 150 Vietnamese refugees, earning the crew the Humanitarian Service Medal. The deployment included three major exercises and eight port visits. Belleau Wood returned to San Diego in August 1981.
In August 1982, the ship began its second deployment and participated in four major amphibious exercises including JADE TIGER 83. Belleau Wood's third successful deployment ran from January to July 1984. The ship then completed an 11-month complex overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington.
In January 1987, Belleau Wood got underway for her fourth deployment. The crew participated in four major exercises, including the first winter amphibious exercises conducted in the Aleutian Islands since World War II, and introduced the ship to the AV-8B Harrier jump jet. The ship also received the Admiral Flatley Memorial Award in 1987 for Aviation Safety.
In January 1989, Belleau Wood departed for the Western Pacific. Over the next five months, the ship participated in Exercise TEAM SPIRIT 89 in Korea and Exercise VALIANT USHER in the Philippines and Korea.
On 4 October 1989, the ship hosted the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union during his historic visit to the United States.
Belleau Wood entered her second complex overhaul at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in Long Beach, California in 1990. Major work included an upgrade to CIWS and installation of the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) System.
On 31 August 1992, Belleau Wood sailed out of San Diego for the last time, bound for its new homeport in Sasebo, Japan. During this transit, the ship provided disaster relief to the people of Kauai, Hawaii after Hurricane Iniki ravaged the island. For this, the crew was awarded its second Humanitarian Service Medal. Upon arrival in Japan, Belleau Wood became the only forward deployed amphibious assault ship in the world.
On 24 November 1992, Belleau Wood became the last ship to sail out of the Philippines while conducting the final withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Naval Station Subic Bay and Naval Air Station Cubi Point.
Following her move to Japan, Belleau Wood became a familiar sight at joint military exercises such as VALIANT USHER in Australia, TEAM SPIRIT in Korea, COBRA GOLD in Thailand and TANDEM THRUST near Guam. Belleau Wood also became the first large-deck Navy ship to undergo pierside maintenance by COMLOGWESTPAC, Singapore. Belleau Wood participated in the World War II 50th anniversary commemoration ceremonies in Guam and the Philippines and served off the coast of Somalia in 1995 as the command platform for Operation United Shield.
In July 2000, Belleau Wood took part in the largest crew swap to date when she was relieved as forward deployed amphibious assault ship. The procedure started when USS Essex (LHD-2) arrived in Sasebo on 13 July 2000. The swap was part of a planned rotation of forward deployed naval forces in Japan, and was the third crew-swap exchange. The ships’ crews simply switched ships, minimizing the impact of moving families from homeport to homeport. Sailors in Sasebo assigned to USS Belleau Wood, moved on to Essex, while Sailors from San Diego assigned to Essex moved aboard Belleau Wood. Belleau Wood and the San Diego-based crew then returned to San Diego in mid-August to begin overhaul and maintenance cycles.
In November 2003, Belleau Wood was the site of another first when Brigadier General Joseph V. Medina took command of the Expeditionary Strike Group THREE, of which Belleau Wood was the flagship. This event marked the first time in history that a United States Marine Corps officer took command of a Naval flotilla.
The ship will decommission on 28 October 2005.
Significance of the Name
The ship was named in memory of the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood. United States Marines of the Fourth Brigade, American Expeditionary Forces, stopped the last major German offensive of the war. The Marines reportedly fought so ferociously that the Germans respectfully referred to them as teufelhunden—Devil Dogs—and it was this moniker that became the ship's mascot.
Coat of Arms
The official seal of Belleau Wood is a blend of symbols. An image of a fighting U.S. Marine is at the center of the plaque. The leatherneck is in World War I battle dress. He carries a rifle with bayonet, and seems to be beckoning someone to follow him. Surrounding the figure are the gold cross, shield and swords of the Croix de guerre, the French medal awarded to the Marines who distinguished themselves at Belleau Wood. In that tradition, Marines of the Fourth Brigade are permitted to wear the French fourragère to this day.
Twelve gold battle stars in a field of blue line the top of this plaque. They stand for the World War II record of the ship's namesake, USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24). The gap between the sixth and seventh stars represents the ship's only break in her war record. On 30 October 1944, while off Leyte Gulf, Belleau Wood was struck by a kamikaze airplane. The ship then had to undergo repairs and an overhaul, hence the gap.
Blue and gold, prevailing hues of the plaque, are traditional colors of the Navy. The tricolor (red over white over blue) is a reminder that the Battle of Belleau Wood occurred in France, and that Marines who gave their lives at Belleau Wood did so in the defense of another nation's freedom. The segments also bring to mind the colors of the United States.
External Links
- USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3) homepage (http://www.lha3.navy.mil)
- USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3) at Navysite.de (http://navysite.de/ships/lha3.htm)
- USS Belleau Wood Veterans' Association homepage (http://www.ussbelleauwood.com/)
See USS Belleau Wood for other Navy ships of the same name.
Much of the information for this article came from the USS Belleau Wood Public Affairs Office.
| Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship |
| Tarawa | Saipan | Belleau Wood | Nassau | Peleliu |
| List of amphibious assault ships of the United States Navy |