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For other ships of the same name, see USS Nassau.
The second USS Nassau (LHA-4) is a Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship. She is capable of transporting over 3,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel. Originally named Da Nang, the name was changed to Nassau following the fall of the Republic of Vietnam in April 1975.[dubious ] "Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, laid Nassau's keel on August 13, 1973 and the Navy commissioned her on July 28, 1979," the ship celebrated its 30th birthday July 25, 2009.[1]
[edit] Technical DataShe has 1,400 compartments—about the same number as a large hotel, has nine elevators and two horizontal conveyors—more than most department stores. She has 2 boilers—the largest ever manufactured for the United States Navy. They can generate a total of 400 tons of steam per hour and develop 140,000 horsepower (104 MW)—equivalent to the power of more than 700 average automobiles. Nassau's electrical power subsystem creates 14 MW to provide electrical power for the ship—adequate electrical power to light 11,500 homes for 50,000 people. She has air conditioning equipment rated at a total of 1500 tons (5.3 MW), sufficient to environmentally control a 32-story office building or 500 average homes,[citation needed] and can ballast 12,000 tons of seawater for trimming the ship to receive and discharge landing craft from the well deck. She was constructed with more than 20,000 tons of steel, 3,000 tons of aluminum, 400 miles (600 km) of cable and 80 miles (130 km) of pipe and has a 300 bed hospital, 4 medical operating rooms and 3 dental operating rooms. She has a 900 horsepower (671 kW) bow thruster for lateral movement at low speeds that can move the bow with 20,000 pounds of force (90 kN)—equivalent to half the pulling power of a diesel railroad locomotive. Her cargo areas are capable of holding tanks, trucks, artillery, and large warfare supply needs. [edit] Operational HistoryIn support of Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, USS Nassau deployed to the Middle East for over eight months on only eight days notice. Upon leaving the United States, USS Nassau became the Flagship for Commander, Amphibious Task Force and the 4th MEB's Commanding General. In the last week of the war she was employed as a "Harrier Carrier" tasked with operating primarily as a STOVL attack carrier for Marine AV-8B Harrier II fighters.[2] USS Nassau participated in several more operations throughout the 1990s, including Operations Support Democrary, Deny Flight, Allied Force and Noble Anvil. These operations in support of U.S. foreign policy objectives as well as USS Nassau's participation in numerous Navy and joint exercises took USS Nassau to numerous locales in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Adriatic regions, including Haiti, Spain, Morocco, Italy, France, Greece, Israel, Albania, Zaire and Kosovo. USS Nassau was awarded the 2007 Battle Effectiveness "E" award which is awarded annually to ships that demonstrate the highest state of combat readiness in their group, and their ability to execute their wartime tasks.[3] She deployed in February 2008 as the flagship of the Nassau Expeditionary Strike Group in support of Maritime Security Operations and Theater Security Cooperation efforts in the Navy's 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. In addition to her primary role as a Marine transport, USS Nassau has served as a flagship, logistics hub for incoming and outgoing mail, cargo and other supplies, combat search and rescue, and the tactical recovery and rescue of downed aircraft and personnel. As of July 2008 she has returned from deployment and in undergoing the usual maintenance checks. At 4:30 PM Central Time on Thursday September 18, 2008, KHOU News 11 in Houston, TX announced that Nassau will be coming to the aid of Galveston Island. Nassau is set to anchor 7 miles (11 km) offshore. Troops will be deploying to the Island with heavy machinery to aid with clean-up in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ike. [edit] References
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