Namesake City of Frederick Laid down 13 April 1968 Commissioned 11 April 1970 Launched 8 March 1969 Weight 8,933 tons | Ordered 15 July 1966 Acquired 1 March 1970 Construction started 13 April 1968 Length 159 m | |
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Sponsored by Mrs. Kleber S. Masterson Builder National Steel and Shipbuilding Company | ||
USS Frederick (LST-1184) is a Newport-class tank landing ship that was named after the city of Frederick, Maryland and Frederick County, Maryland. She was laid down on 13 April 1968 at San Diego, California, by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company; launched on 8 March 1969; sponsored by Mrs. Kleber S. Masterson; and commissioned on 11 April 1970, CDR Robert A. Shaid in command.
Contents
History
Following shakedown, Frederick was assigned to the Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, and was homeported at San Diego. She made over thirteen major deployments to the Western Pacific and Far East. She participated in the Vietnam War's withdrawal operation in 1970 and Operation Frequent Wind the evacuation of Saigon in April 1975.
Frederick, under Commander Smallwood, deployed with Commander Amphibious Squadron One (COMPHIBRON ONE)in May 1983 from San Diego, California. During the deployment she visited Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Okinawa, Japan; Philippines; Hong Kong, due to a typhoon Frederick was forced to leave harbor on 14 July 1983; Thailand; Singapore; Somalia; Kenya, during the short stay at Mombasa Frederick was reassigned for deployment to Beirut; Beirut, Lebanon, Frederick was part of the Multinational Peace Keeping Force at Beirut, Lebanon from Sept 12 to 10 October 1983. Frederick then cruised back to San Diego making three stops along the way. The first was at Singapore. Then a short visit to Subic Bay in the Philippines. Then a relaxed port of call at Pearl Harbor. Frederick arrived in San Diego on 22 November 1983.
Frederick deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. She was part of a 13 ship amphibious task force that departed on 1 December 1990 for the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield. Upon arriving in the Gulf of Oman, Frederick along with various amphibious ships from the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets conducted amphibious exercises in preparation for an amphibious landing, if needed, in Kuwait. Upon commencement of Operation Desert Storm, Frederick and various elements of Commander Amphibious Group Two and Three (COMPHIBGRU TWO and COMPHIBGRU THREE) headed into the Persian Gulf and conducted one of the greatest mock amphibious invasions in modern warfare. That operation pinned down 15 Iraqi divisions, thus ensuring a quick and decisive victory for the allied forces. Frederick was also involved in the only actual amphibious landing of the Gulf War.
Frederick conducted Operation Sea Angel, humanitarian assistance for Bangladesh. In 1994, Frederick deployed to Somalia in support of humanitarian aid operations.
Frederick was transferred to the Naval Reserve Force in January 1995 and changed homeport to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As the only amphibious ship in Pearl Harbor, she conducted bilateral exercises with South East Asian armed forces, continuous training exercises with the United States Marine Corps and was on standby to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, throughout the Pacific.
Frederick earned one award of the Meritorious Unit Commendation and three battle stars for Vietnam service.
Mexican Navy
Frederick decommissioned on 5 October 2002, the last of her class to do so, and was transferred on 22 November that year to the Mexican Navy for $4mn. She was commissioned as ARM Usumacinta (A-412).
ARM Usumacinta, along with an Mi-17 helicopter and a Naval Infantry detachment, took part in RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific Exercise) 2012 in the summer of 2012 off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands. Other participants included vessels and personnel from Japan, the Netherlands, the United States, Australia, South Korea and other nations.