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General Characteristics Crew List Memorabilia Cruise Books Accidents aboard the Ship Deployments of USS Bonhomme Richard About the Ship's Coat of Arms Image Gallery to end of page |  |  |
USS BONHOMME RICHARD was the sixth ship in the WASP - class and the last amphibious assault ship in the Navy commissioned in the 20th century. She was the third ship to bear the name. On November 30, 2020, the Navy announced that the BONHOMME RICHARD would be decommissioned and scrapped following the 5-day fire in July 2020 which massively damaged the ship. The BONHOMME RICHARD held a decommissioning ceremony at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on April 14, 2021. The following day, the ship was officially decommissioned and left San Diego under tow bound for Galveston, Tx., to be scrapped.
| General Characteristics: | Awarded: December 11, 1992 |
| Keel laid: April 18, 1995 | |
| Launched: March 14, 1997 | |
| Commissioned: August 15, 1998 | |
| Decommissioned: April 15, 2021 | |
| 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. $761 million |
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 BONHOMME RICHARD. 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 BONHOMME RICHARD Cruise Books:
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Accidents aboard USS BONHOMME RICHARD:
| Date | Where | Events |
|---|---|---|
| March 1998 | Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss. | BONHOMME RICHARD's tanks 7 and 8 ruptured when Ingalls' floating drydock broke loose in 42-knot winds. Damage was $200,000. |
| August 8, 2005 | Strait of Juan de Fuca | The 34-foot Canadian sailboat MAREEKA II collided with the BONHOMME RICHARD. There were no casualties or injuries reported as a result of the collision. |
| January 26, 2007 | off San Clemente Island, Pacific Ocean | A MH-60S helicopter operating from USS BONHOMME RICHARD crashes during a routine training mission killing all 4 crewmembers aboard. The helicopter was assigned to HSC-23. |
| July 12, 2020 | San Diego, Calif. | An explosion occurs and fire breaks out at approx. 8:30 a.m. in the lower parking decks aboard USS BONHOMME RICHARD. At the time, the ship is berthed at Naval Base San Diego's Pier 2 undergoing maintenance. By the end of the first day, at least 17 sailors and 4 civilian workers were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries. The next morning, this number had increased to 57 personnel who were treated for minor injuries including heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. At approx 1:30 a.m. on July 13, the Navy also started aerial firefighting operations via helicopter water bucket with two helicopters from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 3. It finally took until July 16 to extinguish all fires. 63 personnel, 40 US Navy sailors and 23 civilians, were treated for minor injuries.      |
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back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageAbout the Ship's Coat of Arms:
Dark blue and gold are the colors traditionally used by the United States Navy. The red, white, and blue shield reflects the national colors and suggests the coat of arms of the United States. The six red stripes represent the ship's hull number as well as the six coins placed beneath the mast during mast stepping; red being the color of valor and sacrifice. The gold fleur-de-lis highlights the heritage of the first ship BONHOMME RICHARD. The King of France gave an armed ship to the American cause in 1779 which was placed under the command of John Paul Jones. Jones wanted a name with meaning for Americans and French alike, so he selected the pen name of Ben Franklin (then the U.S. Ambassador to France), and named the ship BONHOMME RICHARD in his honor. With this ship, John Paul Jones went on to defeat the British warship SERAPIS in one of the most famous sea battles in American history. The wreath of two green laurel branches symbolizes honor and high achievment commemorating the two previous ships carrying the name BONHOMME RICHARD. The eagle, overlooking the fleur-de-lis, adapted from historic flags and documents of the Revolutionary era, symbolizes the fighting spirit, patriotic fervor, and tenacity of both John Paul Jones and the United States Navy. The eagle is flanked by six gold stars representing the battle stars earned by the second BON HOMME RICHARD during World War II and the Korean War underscoring the heritage and continuing resolve of the fighting Navy. The chief is blue with a wavy edge suggesting a shoreline and reflecting the amphibious mission of the BONHOMME RICHARD.
The trident is emblematic of sea prowess and power from the sea; It has wings to commemorate the second BON HOMME RICHARD, an aircraft carrier and the three tines further represent the three areas of that ships sea battle service: World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The trident is scarlet, a color traditionally used by the United States Marine Corps, and highlights action and zeal thus underscoring the ship's assault and battle insertion mission combining the land, sea, and air elements of the fighting force. The trident, synergistically combined with the crossed U.S. Navy and Marine swords, symbolizes combat readiness and teamwork highlighting the current LHD's potent amphibious and heliborne assault capabilities in the deployment of forces ashore.
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USS BONHOMME RICHARD Image Gallery:
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The photos below were taken by me on July 27, 2006 (the first two photos) and on July 29, 2006, and show the BONHOMME RICHARD berthed at Pearl Harbor, HI., after her participation in RIMPAC 2006.
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The photos below were taken by Ian Johnson and show the BONHOMME RICHARD during her first port visit to Fremantle, Australia. The photos were taken on October 16, 2007 (the first two photos), October 17, 2007 (the third and fourth photo), October 18, 2007 (fifth photo), and October 21, 2007 (last two photos).
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The photos below were taken by me and show the BONHOMME RICHARD at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 10, 2008.
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The photos below were taken by me and show the BONHOMME RICHARD at San Francisco, Calif., on October 7, 2011. The ship was in town for Fleet Week 2011.
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The photos below were taken by Shiu On Yee and show the BONHOMME RICHARD at Hong Kong on September 30, 2016.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning during one of the open ship events aboard USS BONHOMME RICHARD as part of Fleet Week San Francisco on October 4, 2018.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the USS BONHOMME RICHARD during the Parade of Ships as part of Fleet Week San Francisco on October 5, 2018.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the USS BONHOMME RICHARD at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 2, 2019.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the USS BONHOMME RICHARD dry-docked at NASSCO, San Diego, Calif., on September 1, 2019.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the USS BONHOMME RICHARD dry-docked at NASSCO, San Diego, Calif., on October 12, 2019.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the USS BONHOMME RICHARD dry-docked at NASSCO, San Diego, Calif., on November 8, 2019.
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