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USS Essex (LHD 2)

ESSEX is the second ship in the WASP - class of multipurpose amphibious assault ships and the fifth ship of the Navy to bear the name.

General Characteristics:Awarded: September 10, 1986
Keel laid: March 20, 1989
Launched: February 23, 1991
Commissioned: October 17, 1992
Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding , West Bank, Pascagoula, Miss.
Propulsion system: two boilers, two geared turbines
Propellers: two
Aircraft elevators: two
Length: 840 feet (256 meters)
Flight Deck Width: 140 feet (42.6 meters)
Beam: 106 feet (32,.3 meters)
Draft: 26,5 feet (8.1 meters)
Displacement: approx. 40,500 tons full load
Speed: 23 knots
Aircraft: 30+ (including V-22 Osprey, AH-1Z Viper and AH-1W Super Cobra, F-35B, CH-53K Sea Stallion, MH-60S Naval Hawk)
Crew: Ship: 73 officers, 1,009 enlisted      Marine Detachment: 1,894
Armament: two Mk-29 NATO Sea Sparrow launchers, two 20mm Phalanx CIWS, eight Mk-33 .50 cal. machine guns, two Rolling Airframe Missile Systems
Cost: approx. $403 million
Homeport: San Diego, Calif.


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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS ESSEX. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.


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USS ESSEX Cruise Books:


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Accidents aboard USS ESSEX:

DateWhereEvents
June 7, 2005western Pacific
A DC2 dies June 27, 2005 from complications following inhaling hydrogen sulfide (H2S) while conducting system maintenance on June 7. The accident occurred during routine training involving aqueous film forming foam.
May 16, 2012120 miles west of San Diego, Calif.
USS ESSEX collides with the USNS YUKON (T-AO 202) during an underway replenishment off southern California. The collision happened approx. 9:20 am after a steerage malfunction aboard ESSEX. Both ships received only minor damage and no injuries were reported. ESSEX's starboard aircraft elevator was scraped and dented and parts of the railing and catwalks were damaged. YUKON suffered structural damage to her flight deck, lifeboats and davits.
August 9, 2018Sulu SeaA Marine assigned to the USS ESSEX is reported missing at 9:40 a.m. while the ship is operating west of the Philippines. The missing Marine is believed to be gone overboard prompting a five-day search involving more than 110 flight of US aircraft searching an area of more than 13,000 square miles in the Sulu Sea, the Mindanao Sea and the Surigao Strait. The missing Marine couldn't be found.


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History of USS ESSEX:

After commissioning the ESSEX departed San Diego on her maiden deployment on October 25, 1994 during which, was a major participant in the withdrawal of the Multinational force from Somalia in Operation United Shield.

On its second deployment the ship and embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit participated in Operation Southern Watch/ Exercise; Eager Mace off the coast of Kuwait and Exercise; Tandem Thrust off the coast of Australia.

In July 2000, ESSEX took part in the Navy's largest crew swap to date when she arrived in Sasebo, Japan to relieve the USS BELLEAU WOOD (LHA 3) which was forward deployed to Sasebo since the fall of 1992.
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.

USS ESSEX is the 5th ship to bear the name dating back to the frigate which was launched in Salem, Mass. on September 30, 1799.



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The photos below were taken by me and show the ESSEX at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 3 and 11, 2012.



The photo below was taken by Lydia Perz and shows the ESSEX at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on May 3, 2014.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the ESSEX at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 27, 2014.



The photos below were taken by Shiu On Yee and show the USS ESSEX during a port visit to Hong Kong on June 7, 2015. The ship arrived at Hong Kong on June 5. The ESSEX departed San Diego for a scheduled deployment on May 11.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the ESSEX during a Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA) at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on April 18, 2016.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the ESSEX during her Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA) at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 6, 2016.



The photos below were taken by Sebastian Thoma and show the ESSEX during a Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA) at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 20, 2016.



The photos below were taken by Shiu On Yee during one of the open ship events aboard USS ESSEX as part of Fleet Week San Francisco on October 3, 2017.

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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the ESSEX during the Parade of Ships as part of Fleet Week San Francisco on October 6, 2017.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning during one of the open ship events aboard USS ESSEX as part of Fleet Week San Francisco on October 7, 2017.

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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the ESSEX returning to San Diego, Calif., on October 12, 2017, after participating in Fleet Week San Francisco.



The photo below was taken by Sebastian Thoma and shows the ESSEX at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on November 10, 2017.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the ESSEX at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., on March 2, 2019 - one day after returing from an 8-month deployment to the western Pacific and Middle East. On September 27, 2018, USS ESSEX made history when she launched the US Navy's first-ever F-35B Joint Strike Fighter airstrike. During the strike, F-35B aircraft assigned to VMFA-211 attacked a fixed Taliban target in Afghanistan. Note the homecoming lei on the bow.



The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning during one of the open ship events aboard USS ESSEX as part of Fleet Week Los Angeles at San Pedro, Calif., on May 28, 2022.

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