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General Characteristics Crew List Memorabilia Cruise Books Accidents aboard the Ship About the Sinking of USS Okinawa Image Gallery to end of page
USS OKINAWA was the second IWO JIMA - class Amphibious Assault Ship (Helicopter) and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name.
Decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on December 17, 1992, the OKINAWA was disposed of as a target off the coast of southern California on June 6, 2002. The SINKEX was conducted at 031° 27' 03.0" North, 119° 42' 63.0" West by the USS PORTSMOUTH (SSN 707) using a MK-48 ADCAP torpedo.
| General Characteristics: | Awarded: October 24, 1958 |
| Keel laid: April 1, 1960 | |
| Launched: August 19, 1961 | |
| Commissioned: April 14, 1962 | |
| Decommissioned: December 17, 1992 | |
| Builder: Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Penn. | |
| Propulsion system: Two boilers, one geared steam turbines, one shaft, 22,000 total shaft horsepower | |
| Propellers: one | |
| Length: 603, 65 feet (184 meters) | |
| Beam: 104 feet (31.7 meters) | |
| Draft: 25,9 feet (7.9 meters) | |
| Aircraft elevators: two | |
| Displacement: approx. 19,500 tons full load | |
| Speed: 23 knots | |
| Aircraft: 20 | |
| Armament: two | |
| Crew: 80 officers, 638 enlisted, 1,750 Marine Detachment |
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageCrew List:
This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS OKINAWA. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageUSS OKINAWA Cruise Books:
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Accidents aboard USS OKINAWA:
| Date | Where | Events |
|---|---|---|
| January 16, 1980 | USS OKINAWA is placed in tow when it suffers an engineering casualty. Repairs are completed the next day. | |
| February 21, 1981 | off San Clemente Island, Ca. | USS OKINAWA suffers a small fire during training operations off the US west coast. |
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About the Sinking of USS OKINAWA:
USS OKINAWA which served the US Navy for over 30 years, was put to rest off the coast of Southern California as part of a COMSUBPAC ship sinking exercise (SINKEX) on June 6, 2002. The ship was sunk by a NUWC Keyport-built MK-48 Mod 5 ADCAP torpedo fired by USS PORTSMOUTH (SSN 707). Decommissioned in December of 1992, the OKINAWA had resided at the Suisan Bay Reserve Fleet in Benecia, CA before being transferred to Naval Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Bremerton in August 2000 for SINKEX preparation.
Though the ADCAP torpedo was the weapon that ultimately sank the OKINAWA, it wasn’t the only ordnance employed against her that day. Prior to the warshot firing, naval air training operations were conducted involving several Maverick and Harpoon missile firings as well as a number of general-purpose bomb drops. Though the OKINAWA did sustain some minor damage during the air exercises, there was never any sign of her going down prematurely. After the actual torpedo detonation, the OKINAWA, due to its large size and watertight condition, listed increasingly for almost four hours before ultimately descend below the surface.
back to top go to the end of the pageUSS OKINAWA Image Gallery:
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