OKINAWA LPH 3

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Iwo Jima Class Amphibious Assault Ship (Helicopter) Keel Laid April 1 1960 - Launched August 19 1960 USS OKINAWA LPH-3 Commissioned April 14 1962 - Decommissioned December 17 1992 Struck from Naval Register December 17 1992 Sunk as target June 6 2002 off the coast of Southern California

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS Okinawa LPH-3 Covers Page 1    (1962-88)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type FDC 2(n) (USS)

1962-04-14

Commissioning. Cachet by Morris W. Beck

 

Locy Type 2(n) (USS)

1962-06-25

Ship's cachet

 

Locy Type 2(n) (USS)

1963-02-22

George Washington's Birthday, cachet artist C. Wright Richell, cachet sponsored by Admiral Farragut Chapter No. 3, USCS

 

Locy Type 2(n) (USS)

1965-11-02

Ship's cachet

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (USS)

1971-08-07

Note:

 

Locy Type 2t(n+u) (A,USS)

1971-08-07

Note:

 

Locy Type 2-1n+ (USS)

1978-03-27

Note:

 

Locy Type 2-1(n+) (USS)

1979-01-24

Note:

 

Locy Type 2-1n+ (D1,USS,USN)

1988-10-27

Note:

 

Locy Type 9-1(n+u) (USS,USN)

1988-10-27

Note:

 

Locy Type Meter OFR2 (#520264) ZIP 96625

1990-07-26 to 1990-07-26

No Image

Notes:

 

Other Information

OKINAWA received the following awards during her Naval career - Combat Action Ribbon (2) - Navy Unit Commendation (5) - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (3) - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon - Navy Expeditionary Medal (2) - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (6) - Vietnam Service Medal (7) - Southwest Asia Service Medal - Humanitarian Service Medal (2) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (5) - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbons - Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

NAMESAKE - The largest of the Ryukyu Islands. Okinawa was the site of one of the last major island landings of World War II and scene of some of its heaviest fighting. The operation, under the strategic command of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, began with 5th Fleet air strikes against Kyushu on March 18 1945, and initial landings on Okinawa itself on Easter Sunday, April 1. An enormous assemblage of ships participated in the operation, during which 36 of them of destroyer size or smaller were lost, most to the heaviest concentration of kamikaze attacks of the war. Almost 8,000 enemy aircraft were destroyed in the air or on the ground. As part of the action, on April 7 last remnants of the Imperial Japanese Navy ventured forth, only to be met by the overwhelming Navy airpower. Japanese super-battleship Yamato, a cruiser, and four destroyers were sunk in the one-day battle. As a result of securing Okinawa, the supply lanes of the East China Sea were blocked, isolating all southern possessions still in Japanese hands; and the last obstacle in the path to the Japanese Home Islands was cleared.
Okinawa's keel was laid April 1 1960 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the invasion of Okinawa.

Two ships of the US Navy have been named OKINAWA -
CVE–127 - Keel Laid May 22 1945, Named OKINAWA June 29 1945, cancelled August 11 1945 before launching and
USS Okinawa LPH-3.

 

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