USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) is the lead ship of the two amphibious command ships of the United States Navy, and is the third Navy ship named after the Blue Ridge Mountains, a range of mountains in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States.
As flagship of the Seventh Fleet, she continues in the role of her predecessor, , in providing command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) support to the commander and staff of the Fleet. She is currently forward-deployed to U.S. Navy Fleet Activities, Yokosuka in Japan. Blue Ridge is the oldest deployed warship of the U.S. Navy, following the decommissioning of . Blue Ridge, as the U.S. Navy's active commissioned ship having the longest total period as active, flies the First Navy Jack instead of the jack of the United States. Blue Ridge is expected to remain in service until 2039.
History
Blue Ridge was put "in commission special" on 14 November 1970, at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard as an Amphibious Command and Control (LCC) ship, with Captain Kent J. Carroll as the commanding officer. The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Gretchen Byrd, wife of the U.S. Senator from Virginia, Harry F. Byrd Jr. The principal speaker at the ceremony was John W. Warner, Under Secretary of the Navy and later Senator from Virginia.
Blue Ridge was the replacement for , but Estes was decommissioned earlier than planned in October 1969 due to the budget cuts of the late 1960s.
Blue Ridge was the lead ship of her class and represented almost seven years of planning and construction work. The result was a ship specifically designed from the keel up as a command and control ship. As designed, Blue Ridge was capable of supporting the staff of both the Commander of an Amphibious Task Force and the staff of the Commanding General of the Landing Force. The advanced computer system, extensive communications package and modern surveillance and detection systems was molded into the most advanced joint amphibious command and control center ever constructed.Welcome Aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) 1971 file 02 of 10
At the time of her commissioning, Blue Ridge joined her sister ship Mount Whitney as having the distinction of carrying the world's most sophisticated electronics suites, which were said to be some thirty percent larger than that of the aircraft carrier , which had been the most complex. Blue Ridge was armed with a "main battery" of computers, communications gear, and other electronic facilities to fulfill her mission as a command ship. An extremely refined communications system was also an integral part of the ship's radical new design. Through an automated patch panel and computer controlled switching matrix her crew could use any combination of communication equipment desired. The clean topside area is the result of careful design intended to minimize the ship's interference with her own communications system.Welcome Aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) 1971 file 05 of 10 U.S. Navy long-range communications were heavily reliant on high frequency radio systems in the 1970s and have evolved to predominantly satellite communications in the 2000s. This is illustrated by the long wire antennas and the directional HF yagi or log-periodic antenna initially installed on Blue Ridge and later removed and replaced with a number of satellite communications antennas.
Besides small arms, Blue Ridge was armed with two twin Mark 33 3"/50 caliber guns at commissioning, though they have since been removed. She also carried two Mark 25 launchers and electronics for the Basic Point Defense Missile System (BPDMS) which was added sometime in the 1970s and removed in the 1990s. Two 20 mm Phalanx CIWS systems were added in the 1980s for point defense. In recent years she has also carried 25 mm Bushmaster cannons.
1971
In late January 1971, the ship conducted her first INSURV in the North Atlantic, after transiting the Delaware River, from and return to Philadelphia.Blue Ridge First Insurv in Philly Shipyard BEACON Pub page 1 of 2
On 11 February 1971, Blue Ridge steamed on her maiden voyage from the shipyard to the ship's first homeport, San Diego, California, around South America via the Strait of Magellan, making liberty calls at Norfolk, Virginia (15 February), Rio de Janeiro (4–6 March), Lima (20–22 March), Rodman Naval Station, Panama Canal Zone (27–28 March), and Acapulco (2–5 April). Blue Ridges beam is , but the Panama Canal locks at that time were only , creating problems for the Blue Ridge-class of ships with fenders and barges for the sponsons.
As the ship crossed the equator on 26 February at 38 degrees and 24 minutes longitude, bound for Rio de Janeiro, Blue Ridge performed her first crossing the line ceremony, initiating the "wog" majority of the crew, except for one.Blue Ridge "Crossing The Line" 1971 Certificate.
Upon entry to the Strait of Magellan, Blue Ridge took on a passage pilot from the Chilean Navy for the transit. The Chilean patrol boat lost its mast and damaged one of Blue Ridges basket antennas, just aft of the port sponson, in the boarding operation.
In Blue Ridges transit from Lima to Rodman Naval Station, Panama, she was assigned the duty of going to the aid of any U.S. tuna fishing boat being harassed or captured by the Ecuadorian Navy because they were fishing in a claimed fishing zone that the U.S. did not recognize. This was known as the Tuna War, but no incident occurred.
Blue Ridge arrived at San Diego on 9 April, with Rear Admiral David M. Rubel, U.S. Navy, Commander Amphibious Group Three and staff embarked. Rear Admiral Rubel is the first Flag Officer embarked on Blue Ridge. Amphibious Group Three staff came aboard Blue Ridge at the Rodman port call with the next port call being Acapulco.Welcome Aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) 1971 page 06 of 10
The rest of the year was highlighted by Command Post Exercises 3–7 May and 11–13 August. Refresher training was conducted in late June and early July. Blue Ridge acted as amphibious task force and landing force flagship for the major amphibious training exercise of the year, ROPEVAL WESTCO (3-71), from 8–16 September.
For Blue Ridges first drydock since the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, from 11 October to 19 November she was in the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for Post Shakedown availability. Blue Ridges power plant was switched from Navy Standard Oil fuel to Navy Distillate fuel.Blue Ridge UPDATE 1972-01 file 03 of 09
1972 From 1972 until 1979, Blue Ridge deployed to the Western Pacific on 6 WestPacs, as the flagship of the Commander Amphibious Force, Seventh Fleet.
February - WestPac I
After completing degaussing in the deperming facility at Ballast Point, on 7 January 1972, Blue Ridge departed home port San Diego and steamed to Pearl Harbor for deployment on the ship's first WestPac, with port visits at Guam, Sasebo, Japan, White Beach, Okinawa, Subic Bay, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Making the next leg of the transit to WestPac, Guam, with and , During the transit, four Soviet reconnaissance aircraft overflew the convoy to collect data on the new ship.Blue Ridge UPDATE 1972-01 file 07 of 09
As the ship crossed the equator on 27 February 1972 at , bound for Singapore, Blue Ridge performed her second crossing the line ceremony.
Upon arrival at White Beach, "Blue Ridge" became the flagship for Commander Amphibious Group 1, Rear Admiral W. D. TOOLE, in this relieving USS Paul Revere (LPA-248).
Additional port visits were planned, but in late March 1972, as Blue Ridge prepared at White Beach, Okinawa for exercise Golden Dragon, North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam across the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on 30 March 1972 in their Easter Offensive. This was the largest invasion since the Korean War, radically departing from previous offensives. It was designed to strengthen the North Vietnamese position as the Paris Peace Accords drew towards a conclusion.
April - Easter Offensive
On 3 April 1972, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet (CinCPac) Admiral John S. McCain Jr. cancelled Exercise Golden Dragon. General Miller and the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade (9th MAB) staff were ordered to remain on Blue Ridge for combat or evacuation operations. The 9th MAB had various contingency plans from potentially conducting emergency evacuations to building up their forces.Melson 1991 p. 138, 142, 142-143.
On 5 April 1972, Blue Ridge departed for the war zone, the Gulf of Tonkin. Blue Ridge was the command ship during April through July for the last major combat amphibious engagement of the Vietnam War. The Easter Counter-Offensive was "the largest concentration of wartime amphibious force since the Inchon and Wonsan landings of the Korean War."
Detachment "N" of the 1st Radio Battalion, which collected radio messages to gain signals intelligence, had deployed with the 9th MAB for the exercise in Korea. It was integrated with the Task Force 76 Joint Intelligence Center and operated from the supplemental radio spaces of Blue Ridge using input from the service cryptologic agencies in Southeast Asia. However, operating from Blue Ridge posed reception problems because of the distance from shore. From 24 April 1972, two or three direct support elements were in operation from naval gunfire ships at any one time, with control remaining at the headquarters element on Blue Ridge. In July 1972, they moved to and when Blue Ridge returned to the United States, detachment analysts relocated to the Naval Communications Station, San Miguel, near San Antonio, Zambales, Philippines.Melson 1991 p. 201. As CTU 76.0.1, escorted by , Blue Ridge conducted special operations in the Tonkin Gulf in Operation Venture Road.
June - The Counter-Offensive With a lull in the fighting and 64 days at sea, Blue Ridge made a port call to Subic, from 7 to 14 June, for supplies and sanity, then returned to the Gulf of Tonkin.
Nguyen Van Thieu, president of South Vietnam, came aboard Blue Ridge on 28 June 1972 to confer with Vice Admiral Holloway, Admiral Gaddis, General Miller and "to convey his personal thanks to the sailors and Marines of the amphibious forces for 'the preservation of Peace and Freedom' in South Vietnam."Melson 1991 p. 150.
On the first of July, while steaming outside of Da Nang Harbor, in the combat zone and the ship's port 3-inch gun manned, Blue Ridge had her first change of command. That day was also the day that Blue Ridge earned the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.Blue Ridge UPDATE 1972-07 file 03 of 09
The Easter Counter-Offensive was Blue Ridges longest time at sea, 64 days from 5 April to 7 June 1972. After 7 days in Subic, Blue Ridge returned to the Gulf of Tonkin until 18 July 1972 and was then ordered to the Philippines for typhoon relief along with Tripoli, Juneau, Alamo, and Cayuga. "The 33d MAU and subordinate units were awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for their efforts", but Blue Ridge was not.Melson 1991 p. 149-151.
On 18 August 1972, Blue Ridge returned to San Diego. In September the ship received aboard, CNO Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. and Secretary of the Navy, John Warner for visits. From 5 thru 9 October, Blue Ridge made a port visit to San Francisco, training and a First Fleet sponsored event.
1973 WestPac II