USS Denver (LPD-9)

USS ''Denver'' (LPD-9), an , was the third ship of United States Navy to bear this name. ''Denver''s keel was laid on 7 July 1964 at Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 23 January 1965, christened by Mrs. Ann Daniels Love, wife of John A. Love, the former governor of Colorado, and commissioned on 26 October 1968. After 46 years of service, ''Denver'' was decommissioned at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam on 14 August 2014. At the time of her decommissioning, ''Denver'' was the oldest deployable warship in the U.S. Navy, and was one of the last active warships to have served in Vietnam.

History

Vietnam War

In 1970, ''Denver'' played a key role in the SS ''Columbia Eagle'' incident. When ''Columbia Eagle'' was commandeered by two mutinous crew members on 14 March 1970, ''Denver'' was immediately dispatched to intercept and recapture ''Columbia Eagle''. ''Denver'' never really caught up with ''Columbian Eagle'', and sat outside the limits of Cambodia (to where ''Columbia Eagle'' had been diverted) for a few days then departed the area.

On 21 July 1972 United States Marine Corps AH-1 helicopters operating from ''Denver'' attacked North Vietnamese barges north-northwest of Đồng Hới.

In April 1975, ''Denver'' participated in Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon, South Vietnam.

Somalia Conflict 1993

''Denver'' left her home port of San Diego on 3 September 1993 and deployed with 900 Marines and a platoon from Seal Team 5 to support operations in Somalia as part of United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II).

Collision with USNS ''Yukon''

On 13 July 2000, the ship was participating in a refueling exercise near the end of a deployment. ''Denver'', off the coast of Oahu, collided with its refueling vessel, . ''Denver''s bow was seriously damaged. It remained in port at Pearl Harbor undergoing repairs for two weeks.

Typhoon Morakot

Beginning on 17 August 2009 ''Denver'' started rendering humanitarian assistance to Taiwan due to the destruction caused by Typhoon Morakot. ''Denver'' was tasked independently to render aid with two embarked squadrons, HM-14 and HSC-25.

Cooperating closely with Taiwan Army and Air Force, they were supporting efforts by airlifting food, medical supplies, and providing heavy lift support for earth moving equipment to assist with recovery efforts. Due to the sensitive nature surrounding Taiwan, especially with the One China policy, the Department of Defense did not publicly announce relief efforts. ''Denver'' was planned to be in the vicinity of Taiwan until 22 August 2009 to render aid to the people of Taiwan. ''Denver'' had just completed the exercise Talisman Saber 2009 and was on her way to her homeport when she was directly tasked with this humanitarian mission.

2008 hull swap

In 2008 ''Denver'' replaced . The crew from ''Juneau'' took all relevant gear and documents from ''Juneau'' and transferred them to ''Denver''. ''Denver'' was then home-ported at Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, where it would remain until being decommissioned.

2009 Sumatra earthquakes

''Denver'' was sent to Sumatra to assist in the recovery efforts following the earthquakes there in September 2009.

2010

During the 2010 Fall Patrol, from 1 September to 25 November 2010, ''Denver'' accompanied and on a tour of Southeast Asia. During the patrol, ''Denver'' took part in the 60th anniversary of the invasion of Incheon, Korea and assisted the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Megi. On 17 November, ''Denver'' and ''Essex'' became the first U.S. warships to visit Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour in more than two years.

2011

The ship departed Sasebo in September 2011 for a patrol of the western Pacific. Accompanying the ship were and USS ''Essex''.

2012

In fall 2012, ''Denver'' departed for the 31st MEU fall patrol. During certification exercises around Guam, ''Denver''s boilers suffered severe damage. After three weeks of repair at Guam, ''Denver'' left to continue patrol. ''Denver'' finished the patrol with limited power.

Decommissioning

''Denver'' was decommissioned on 14 August 2014 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam in Hawaii. She had been the oldest active duty ship in the US Navy behind . Upon ''Denver''s decommissioning, became the Navy's second oldest ship. The US government had offered to sell the ship to Malaysia to replace KD ''Sri Inderapura'' which was destroyed by fire in an incident in 2009.

The Navy announced that would replace ''Denver'' in Sasebo in the summer of 2015.

On 22 July 2022, ''Denver'' was sunk during a sinking exercise (SINKEX), as part of a multinational exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, approximately northwest of Kauai, Hawaii. She was hit by U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornets launching long-range anti-ship missiles; United States Army AH-64 Apache helicopters shot air-to-ground Hellfire missiles, rockets, and 30 mm guns; and Marine Corps F/A-18C/D Hornets fired AGM-88 HARM missiles, followed by a Harpoon (AGM-84) missile, and JDAMs. She was also shelled by with her Mark 45 gun, Japanese Self Defence Force Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles and the U.S. Army's High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, sinking her in of water in the Pacific Ocean.

References

External links

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* USS ''Denver'' (LPD-9) command histories – Naval History & Heritage Command

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denver (Lpd-9)
Austin-class amphibious transport docks
Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
Vietnam War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
Ships built by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company
1965 ships
Ships sunk as targets