USS Eldorado (AGC-11) was a Mount McKinley-classamphibious force command ship, named after a mountain range in Nevada. The ship was designed as an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.
The Eldorado arrived at Guam on March 12, 1945, and embarked Lieutenant GeneralSimon B. Buckner, Commanding General of the 10th Army, then after rehearsals at Leyte in the Philippines, sailed off to the Hagushi Beaches, Okinawa, for the initial invasion landings on April 1. The ship carried out the same type of duties it had performed at Iwo Jima. Since both the Commander, Air Support Control Unit, and the Force Fighter Director Officer were embarked, Eldorado's combat information center was the central unit in the air defense against the day and night air raids. General Buckner and his staff debarked on April 18 to establish headquarters on the island itself, and until the ship's departure on May 18, it was visited by several guests, including AdmiralsChester W. Nimitz, William F. Halsey, Jr. and Raymond A. Spruance and war correspondent Ernie Pyle.
Alternately at Pearl Harbor and at west coast ports, the Eldorado continued to serve as the flagship for succeeding amphibious commanders in the Pacific. There were two exceptions: From April to September 1947 and again from January to July 1949, it flew the flag of Commander, Naval Forces, Western Pacific, and cruised to Chinese waters. During the second tour, the Eldorado departed Shanghai only a short time before that city fell to the Communists.
Korean War
With the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the Eldorado was ordered to the Far East. The Eldorado was the flagship for Rear Admiral Lyman A. Thackrey, Commander, Amphibious Group 3, and it acted as standby for the USSMount McKinley during the invasion of Inchon, South Korea, and coordinated and controlled the logistics operations. In October 1950, it sailed to Riwon to support the continued northwest advance of United Nations troops. Returning to Japan in November, the Eldorado was ordered again to Inchon to direct the evacuation. It was at Inchon again in the spring and summer of 1951, and in June hoisted the flag of Vice Admiral Ingolf N. Kiland, Commander, Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet. The Eldorado was visited by Generals Matthew B. Ridgway and Van Fleet, and the commanding generals of the British troops and Turkish Brigades during its stay at Inchon, and sent the first pictures of the Korean Armistice Agreement talks to the outside world.
The Eldorado returned to the States and became the flagship for Rear Admiral W. E. Moore, Commander, Amphibious Group 1, in October 1952. It sailed for the Far East where Admiral Moore assumed command of TF90's amphibious forces. During this tour, the Eldorado assisted the Japanese Government during the floods at Fukuoka, and directed Operation Big Switch, the transportation of Chinese and Koreanprisoners of war from the camps at Cheju Do and Koje-do to the port of Inchon for repatriation.
Post-war
The Eldorado returned to the west coast in the fall of 1953, and continued to serve as the flagship for Amphibious Group 1, now commanded by Rear Admiral Lorenzo Sabin, Jr., until June 1954. It embarked Vice Admiral Thomas G. W. Settle, Commander, Amphibious Forces, Pacific, until August. On February 15, 1955, the Eldorado sailed for Keeling, Formosa, where it operated as the flagship for Vice Admiral Alfred M. Pride, Commander, 7th Fleet, until August 17. The Eldorado returned to San Diego for amphibious exercises, and on December 13, Rear Admiral George C. Towner broke his flag on board as Commander, Amphibious Group 3 and Eastern Pacific.
In the summer of 1956, the Eldorado sailed to arctic waters with Army officers embarked, to resupply bases at Wainwright, Alaska, and Point Barrow, Alaska. From December 1956 to January 1957, it was the flagship for Vice Admiral Carl F. Espe, Commander, Amphibious Forces, Pacific, and during the next month, for Vice Admiral Robert L. Dennison, Commander, United States First Fleet. From June 1957 through 1960, the Eldorado served as the flagship for four successive commanders of Amphibious Group 1, Rear Admirals Frederick C. Stelter, Jr., Charles K. Duncan, Charles O. Triebel, and Charles C. Kirkpatrick. The only interruption to this service was in October and November 1958, when it served Vice Admiral John Sylvester, Commander, Amphibious Forces, Pacific, as flagship.
In addition to operations along the west coast from her home port at San Diego, the Eldorado took part in Arctic supply operations once more in the summer of 1957, and cruised to the Far East from January to May 1958, and again from December 1959 into 1960. During the second of these, as the flagship, the Eldorado participated in exercise "Blue Star," a joint Navy-Marine and Nationalist Chinese Navy-Marine amphibious operation off southern Taiwan. In April and May, the Eldorado visited ports in Indonesia and Australia, participating in Australia's 18th annual celebration of the Battle of the Coral Sea before returning to San Diego on May 31 where it remained. The Eldorado was the flagship for the eight-week expedition for the 5th MEB during the Cuban Missile Crisis and then participating in local operations through 1962.
Vietnam War
The Eldorado served as the flagship for the Commander Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet in rotation with USSEstes and Mount McKinley during the Vietnam War. In 1967, the ship received the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation for its role in twelve amphibious assaults in Vietnam, in conjunction with the Amphibious Ready Group and the Marine Special Landing Force.
In January 1969, Eldorado's designation was changed to LCC-11. Also, in 1969, USS Eldorado LCC11 was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for her actions concerning command and control during Operation Bold Mariner, the largest amphibious landing since WWII. The operation occurred in the Batangan Peninsula area of South Vietnam.
During the Eldorado's decommissioning in November 1972, it was berthed adjacent to the USSBlue Ridge at the 32nd Street Naval Station in San Diego, and transferred much of her equipment to its successor prior to scrapping.
The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii, with large secondary facilities at Naval Air Station North Island, California.
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through the end of the war in September 1945. The task force was made up of several separate task groups, each typically built around three to four aircraft carriers and their supporting vessels. The support vessels were screening destroyers, cruisers, and the newly built fast battleships.
The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with 50 to 70 ships, 150 aircraft and 27,000 Sailors and Marines. Its principal responsibilities are to provide joint command in natural disaster or military operations and operational command of all U.S. naval forces in the region.
USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Iwo Jima of World War II. The ship was commissioned in 2001 and is in service.
USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) was the lead ship of her class and type and the first amphibious assault ship to be designed and built from the keel up as a dedicated helicopter carrier. She carried helicopters and typically embarked USMC elements of a Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU)/later Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) principally the Aviation Combat Element (ACE) to conduct heliborne operations in support of an amphibious operation. There was no well deck to support landing craft movement of personnel or equipment to/from shore. Iwo Jima was the second of three ships of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of Iwo Jima, although the first to be completed and see service.
USS New Orleans (LPH-11) was an Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship in the United States Navy. She was the third Navy ship to be so named, and is the first named for the Battle of New Orleans, which was the last major battle of the War of 1812.
USS Rocky Mount (AGC-3) was an Appalachian-class command ship in the United States Navy.
USS Estes (AGC-12) was a Mount McKinley-class amphibious force command ship. It is officially named after "A mountain peak and national park in Colorado."
USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7/LCC-7) was the lead ship of the Mount McKinley class of amphibious force command ships. She was named after the highest mountain in North America. She was designed as an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.
USS Wasatch (AGC-9) was a Mount McKinley-class amphibious force command ship, named after a mountain chain in northern Utah. She was designed as a cargo ship and converted into an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.
USS Logan (APA-196) was a Haskell-class attack transport of the United States Navy, named for counties in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota, and West Virginia. The Haskell-class design, United States Maritime Commission standard type VC2-S-AP5, is a sub type of the World War II Victory ship design.
USS Bayfield (APA-33) was a Bayfield-class attack transport built for the United States Navy during World War II, the lead ship in her class. Named for Bayfield County, Wisconsin, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
Expeditionary Strike Group 3 is an expeditionary strike group (ESG) of the U.S. Navy. Expeditionary strike groups combine the capabilities of surface action groups, submarines, and maritime patrol aircraft with those of Amphibious Ready Groups for deployment and maintaining staff proficiencies to provide fleet commanders with a highly flexible, ready fly-away unit. It is capable of projecting expeditionary striking power in the maritime, littoral, and inland environs in support of U.S. national interests.
In the United States Navy, the expeditionary strike group (ESG) is a coordinated group of surface ships, aircraft, submarines, and other naval assets. In contrast to carrier strike groups (CSGs), which emphasize air power and are led by a supercarrier, ESGs are strongly suited for amphibious warfare and are led by an amphibious assault ship. The ESG concept was introduced in the early 1990s, based on the Naval Expeditionary Task Force. The U.S. Navy fields nine expeditionary strike groups.
USS Pickaway (APA/LPA-222) was a Haskell-class attack transport that saw service with the US Navy in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. She was of the VC2-S-AP5 Victory ship design type and named after Pickaway County, Ohio.
USS Sanborn (APA-193) was a Haskell-class attack transport acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas.
USS Fremont (APA-44) was a Bayfield-class attack transport that served with the US Navy during World War II.
Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN/Task Force 76 is a United States Navy task force. It is part of the United States Seventh Fleet and the USN's only permanently forward-deployed expeditionary strike group. It is based at the White Beach Naval Facility at the end of the Katsuren Peninsula in Uruma City, Okinawa, Japan.
Jesse Rink Wallace was a United States Navy Rear admiral and the Governor of American Samoa. He served as governor for a period of only ten days from July 30, 1940, to August 8, 1940. After his brief time as governor, Wallace served with the Office of Judge Advocate General of the Navy until August 1944, when he was ordered to the Pacific Theater as commanding officer of the Amphibious command ship Eldorado. He led that ship during the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns while serving as flagship of Vice admiral Richmond K. Turner.
James Henry Doyle was a vice admiral in the United States Navy. During the Korean War, he commanded the U.S. Navy, Marine, and Army forces of Amphibious Group 1, and was personally responsible for the execution of the amphibious phase of the Battle of Inchon in 1950. Admiral Doyle’s naval attack force put 13,000 Marines ashore on a coastline, together with all their heavy weapons and equipment. USS Doyle was named in his honor.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
United States
