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General Characteristics Crew List Memorabilia Cruise Books Accidents aboard the Ship About the Name "Bataan" About the Ship's Coat of Arms History Homeports of USS Bataan Image Gallery to end of page |  |  |
USS BATAAN is the fifth Multi-Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship in the WASP class and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name.
| General Characteristics: | Keel Laid: June 22, 1994 |
| Launched: March 15, 1996 | |
| Commissioned: September 20, 1997 | |
| 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) | |
| Well deck capacity: three LCAC or two LCU or six LCM-8 or 40 Amphibious Assault Vessels (AAV) (normal) or 61 AAVs (stowed) | |
| Crew: Ship: 73 officers, 1,009 enlisted Marine Detachment: 1,894 | |
| Armament: two Mk-29 NATO | |
| Cost: approx. $731 million | |
| Homeport: Norfolk, VA |
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 BATAAN. 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 BATAAN Cruise Books:
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Accidents aboard USS BATAAN:
| Date | Where | Events |
|---|---|---|
| April 1999 | Naval Station Norfolk, Va., Pier 7 | USS BATAAN pulled a cleat off Pier 7 at Naval Station Norfolk. Damage was $10,000.  |
| July 23, 2005 | Gulf of Mexico | An AOAN dies after being crushed between a weapons-magazine safety rail and a forklift. |
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About the Ship’s Name, about the heroic Defense of the Bataan Peninsula:
Just ten short hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941, Japanese planes again surprised US forces with an attack on Clark Field, the main US air base on the Philippine island of Luzon. Subsequent Japanese landings on Luzon took place on December 10th and 12th, and on December 22, after two weeks of diversionary tactics, a large Japanese invasion force landed at Lingayen Gulf. Japanese General Masaharu Homma, with a contingent of 80 ships and 43,000 troops, waded ashore through both a typhoon and the resistance of US trained Philippine reservists. Homma landed tanks and artillery later that day and began advancing south toward Manila despite the valiant resistance of Major General Jonathan Wainwright's Philippine Scouts.
On Christmas Eve, 1941, more of Homma's forces landed to the east at Lamon Bay and began their advance toward Manila, preparing to crush the American-Philippine forces in a 'pincer' maneuver. General Douglas MacArthur put into effect plan 'Orange 3'; the original plan for defense of the island. The Philippine Scouts heroically opposed the Japanese advance while the main forces complied with MacArthur's order to withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula. The retreating units were forced into leaving behind the stockpiles of food and medical supplies which were to sustain them. On December 26th Manila is declared an open city by General MacArthur and he orders all troops and anti-aircraft guns to be withdrawn in accordance with The Hague Convention of 1907.
On 30 December 1941, President Manuel Quezon is inaugurated on Corregidor for his second term of office. Quezon pledges to "stand by America and fight with her until victory is won." The War Department receives a radiogram from MacArthur declaring that the Japanese raids on Manila are "completely violative of international law" and that "at the proper time I bespeak due retaliatory measures." The Japanese occupation force move into Manila on 02 January 1942, and Japanese planes begin daily attacks on Corregidor. The Japanese assumed that overall victory was assured, and a small Japanese reserve force was tasked with clearing the Bataan Peninsula of remaining opposition forces. On January 10, these Japanese troops met up against an Allied stronghold just north of Abucay. Allied forces held off the Japanese advance at the Abucay line until their foes took advantage of a weakness at Mt. Natib on January 22nd. The American-Filipino fighters were forced to retreat further into the Bataan peninsula. The rugged terrain forced a slowdown in the Japanese pursuit , and the Allies were able to establish another stronghold further south on Mt. Samat.
On February 8, Homma received reinforcements from Tokyo, and began to regroup for another assault. The continued successful opposition of the American-Filipino fighters to the Japanese takeover of Bataan provided the much needed hope to the US homeland that the battle in the Pacific was not yet lost. In March 1942, General MacArthur received orders to escape to Australia and take over as Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific Theater. He reluctantly left Bataan on March 11th with the proclamation "I shall return." General Jonathan M. Wainwright, U.S. Army, immediately assumed command of the forces on the island of Corregidor off the southern tip of the Bataan peninsula.
Major General Edward King commanded the remaining Allied forces on Bataan. While relatively well armed, these forces were living on one quarter the prescribed combat rations and had virtually no available medical supplies. Malnutrition and disease were becoming rampant. Hunger and sickness eventually accomplished what the Allies' Japanese enemies could not.
The odds against the American-Filipino troops remaining on Bataan became overwhelming, and on April 9, 1942, with face in palm, Major General King surrendered all forces on the peninsula. Thousands of prisoners were taken almost immediately by the Japanese. With Allied fighters spread throughout Bataan, it would be days before the word of surrender could reach them all. Many refused to believe that the news of US surrender was real, and some retreated further into the mountains and continued to fight.
When Japanese forces entered Mariveles, they had captured 76,000 prisoners, most of whom were sick, wounded or suffering from malnutrition. The Japanese supply line, barely sufficient to support their own troops, would be unable to transport these POWs. The prisoners were forced to march the 65 miles of treacherous terrain to the Japanese POW Camp, Camp O'Donnell, to the north. The infamous "Death March" had begun. Many members of the prisoner garrison were systematically executed, while the sick and weak were pushed to exhaustion before being bayoneted or beaten to death with the butt end of a Japanese rifle. Many of the 54,000 who survived the march across Bataan would later succumb to disease or torture while imprisoned. The Bataan "Death March", recognized as one of the greatest inhumanities of WWII, is also one of the greatest displays of heroism and human spirit on the part of those who did survive.
By May 6, on the island of Corregidor, Japanese troops forced the surrender of Wainwright and all U.S. and Allied forces in the Philippines. It would be nearly two-and-a-half years before General MacArthur could fulfill his promise to return to, and retake from the Japanese, the Philippine Islands.
USS BATAAN commemorates those who served and sacrificed in the Philippines in the name of freedom in the Pacific.
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About the Ship’s Coat of Arms:
The Shield:
Dark blue and gold are the traditional Navy colors and reflect the sea and excellence. Red denotes courage and sacrifice. White is for integrity. The seahorse represents BATAAN’s natural association with the sea. The red path commemorates the Bataan Death March. The spears form a wedge underscoring amphibious assault and deployment of men and cargo ashore, as well as combat readiness, while highlighting first BATAAN’s 12 battlestars. Bamboo alludes to the tropics and Pacific Theater where the first BATAAN served.
The Crest:
The wings represent the aviation heritage of the ship. The gold stars are for the seven battle stars earned during the Korean conflict, while the five points of the central star are for World War II Battle stars. The black mount suggests the mountainous terrain of Korea; the sun is adapted from the Seal of the Republic of the Philippines.
back to top go to the end of the pageUSS BATAAN History:
USS BATAAN was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi - laid down on June 22, 1994, christened on March 15, 1996, and commissioned on September 20, 1997 - entering service as the fifth WASP-class amphibious assault ship and the second U.S. warship to carry the name. From the outset she was homeported in Norfolk, Virginia, prepared to embark a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and act as the centerpiece of an Amphibious Ready Group (ARG).
After post-shakedown training and local operations along the U.S. East Coast, BATAAN's first extended deployment followed in September 1999, to the Mediterranean during the immediate post-Kosovo period, when NATO's presence missions and humanitarian stabilization defined the theater's tempo. She conducted a Caribbean phase in early 2000, before returning to the Atlantic Fleet routine of workups and maintenance.
The ship's trajectory changed abruptly after the September 11 attacks in 2001. Slated to deploy on September 19, 2001, BATAAN rapidly embarked the 26th MEU and sailed for the North Arabian Sea to support the opening phase of Operation Enduring Freedom. Stationed off Pakistan, her air and amphibious elements underpinned early U.S. and coalition operations against Al-Qaida and Taliban targets in Afghanistan through 2001-2002.
BATAAN returned to sea for the Iraq War less than a year later. From January to June 2003, she deployed with Amphibious Task Force East, operating in U.S. Fifth Fleet waters as one of Task Force 51's designated "Harrier carriers" together with USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD 6). Embarking a large complement of AV-8B Harrier IIs, she launched strike and close-air-support sorties during the major-combat phase following the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom on March 20, 2003. In early 2004, she supported the rotation of forces into Iraq by offloading Marines and heavy equipment into Kuwait, a reminder that sustaining a land campaign depended on steady amphibious logistics from the Gulf.
When Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, BATAAN was already positioned off southeastern Louisiana and began humanitarian assistance the next day - using her medical facilities, helicopters, and well deck to move people, water, and supplies ashore while serving as a forward afloat base for relief teams around New Orleans. Weeks later she hosted OPEVAL II testing for the MV-22B Osprey, and by 2009, she became the first U.S. Navy ship to embark an operational V-22 squadron - VMM-263 - marking a step-change in the aviation reach of an LHD.
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti. Ordered south the next day, BATAAN anchored off Grand-Goave and supported Operation Unified Response through March, flying relief sorties, clearing rubble, and delivering food, water, and medical aid alongside USS FORT MCHENRY (LSD 43), USS GUNSTON HALL (LSD 44), and USS CARTER HALL (LSD 50). Her sailors and embarked Marines shifted seamlessly from sea-based logistics to direct assistance ashore as Joint Task Force-Haiti scaled to more than twenty ships at peak.
Regional turmoil in North Africa soon followed. Surging more than three months ahead of schedule, the BATAAN ARG (with USS MESA VERDE (LPD 19), USS WHIDBEY ISLAND (LSD 41), and the 22nd MEU reinforced by VMM-263) sortied on March 23, 2011, to support the Libya campaign - transitioning from U.S.-led Operation Odyssey Dawn to NATO's Operation Unified Protector by March 31. The deployment, which spanned European, African, and Central Command waters and included contingency and bilateral training, kept BATAAN and her ARG at sea for roughly ten months, returning in early February 2012.
After maintenance and workups, BATAAN deployed again from February to October 2014, with the 22nd MEU amid Syrian and Iraqi instability. Operating first in the Mediterranean and then the Middle East, she conducted extensive crisis-response tasks, including the rescue of 282 people from a sinking boat in the central Mediterranean on June 6, working with USS ELROD (FFG 55) under Italian coordination. On September 8, as ISIS advanced in Anbar Province, a BATAAN-based AV-8B struck an Islamic State target near the strategically vital Haditha Dam - the first U.S. Marine ordnance employment of the campaign. After an unusually long stint at sea, the ship took a long-awaited liberty call in Bahrain on July 15 following 135 consecutive days underway and then continued operations until returning home around Halloween.
From January 2015 to February 2016, BATAAN completed a major Docking Phased Maintenance Availability at BAE Systems in Norfolk/Portsmouth - her mid-life overhaul - then passed sea trials in early February 2016 and rejoined the fleet.
She deployed again on March 1, 2017, as flagship of the BATAAN ARG with USS MESA VERDE and USS CARTER HALL and the 24th MEU. The group operated across the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Arabian Gulf, participating in Jordan's Exercise Eager Lion in May, maintaining maritime security presence, and later re-entering Sixth Fleet in early September before returning to Norfolk on September 25.
With tensions rising around Iran at the turn of 2019-2020, the BATAAN ARG - now with USS NEW YORK (LPD 21) and USS OAK HILL (LSD 51) and the 26th MEU - deployed in December 2019. By January 13, 2020, BATAAN was operating in the Red Sea as part of a broader U.S. force surge, before entering the Arabian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz on April 3 alongside USS VELLA GULF (CG 72) and USNS WILLIAM McLEAN (T-AKE 12). The deployment included periods in both Fifth and Sixth Fleet waters before BATAAN returned to Norfolk on July 18, 2020.
Following another extended maintenance period, BATAAN completed a sixteen-month availability on January 19, 2022, and resumed training and certification.
Her next cruise began on July 10, 2023, with the BATAAN ARG - BATAAN, USS MESA VERDE, and USS CARTER HALL - carrying the 26th MEU(SOC). After initial operations and a port call in Souda Bay, Greece, the ships moved through the Red Sea into the Central Command theater. On October 11, 2023, as the Israel-Hamas war erupted, BATAAN and CARTER HALL were ordered to depart an exercise off Kuwait and posture for potential tasks in the Eastern Mediterranean. For months they shifted between the Red Sea and the Levant, conducting air defense, maritime security, and reassurance operations alongside U.S. and allied task groups. In early 2024, the ARG re-aggregated in the Mediterranean, visited Greek ports including Souda Bay in January and March, and then headed home, with the BATAAN ARG officially marked as returned from an eight-month deployment on March 21, 2024.
back to top go to the end of the pageHomeports of USS BATAAN:
| Period | Homeport |
|---|---|
| commissioned at Pascagoula, Miss. | |
| 1997 - present | Norfolk, Va. |
back to top go to the end of the pageUSS BATAAN Image Gallery:
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The photos below were taken by Wojtek 'VooVoo' Wiza during USS BATAAN's port visit to Lisbon, Portugal, in early June 2003.
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The photos below were taken by me and show the BATAAN returning to Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 29, 2010.
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The photos below were taken by me and show the BATAAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on May 6, 2012.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BATAAN at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, Norfolk, Va., undergoing a Drydocking Phased Maintenance Availability (DPMA) on April 29, 2015.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BATAAN at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, Norfolk, Va., undergoing a Drydocking Phased Maintenance Availability (DPMA) on October 6, 2015.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BATAAN at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, Norfolk, Va., undergoing a Drydocking Phased Maintenance Availability (DPMA) on October 7, 2015.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BATAAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 12, 2016.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BATAAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on October 4, 2017.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BATAAN undergoing a Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA) at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair on September 21, 2018.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BATAAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on December 26, 2021.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning on May 26, 2022, during an open ship event aboard USS BATAAN as part of Fleet Week New York at New York City.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BATAAN at Naval Base Norfolk, Va., on September 6, 2022.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the BATAAN undergoing a Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA) at General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk, Va., on October 4, 2024.
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