USS Tripoli (LHA-7)

Design and construction

The design of Tripoli is based on , which is itself an improved version of the . Approximately 45% of the Flight 0 design is based on LHD-8, with the well deck removed to allow more room for aircraft and aviation fuel. The removal of the well deck for landing craft allows for an extended hangar deck with two significantly wider high bay areas, each fitted with an overhead crane for aircraft maintenance.

Other enhancements include a reconfigurable command and control complex, an on-board hospital, and numerous aviation support spaces. The design of Tripoli features an enlarged hangar deck, realignment and expansion of the aviation maintenance facilities, and a significant increase in her available stowage for parts and support equipment. She was intended to be the first LHA replacement ship to deliver fully ready to integrate the entire future air combat element of the U.S. Marine Corps to include the F-35B Lightning II, but construction delays have pushed final F-35 capability installs until delivery.

Tripoli was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding (Huntington Ingalls Industries) at the company's shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Fabrication of ship components began in July 2013, and the ship's keel was laid in a ceremony on 20 June 2014 in Pascagoula. Tripoli was launched on 1 May and later christened on 16 September 2017, with Lynne Mabus, wife of former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, as her sponsor.

By 2019, Tripoli was about a year behind production schedules. The ship was delivered to the Navy on 28 February 2020.

Covid pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, on 17 April 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that Navy officials had stated that at least 9 sailors assigned to the ship had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. At the time, the ship was docked in Pascagoula, Mississippi. About 630 sailors were moved off the ship as a preventative measure, which resulted in the outbreak spreading to only "around a couple dozen sailors". As a result of the pandemic, the ship's public commissioning ceremony originally planned to occur at NAS Pensacola in June was also cancelled. Subsequently, Tripoli was commissioned on 15 July 2020 in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where the ship was built.

Ship's history

In September 2020, Tripoli completed a homeport shift from Pascagoula, Mississippi to San Diego, California.

On 2 May 2022, Tripoli departed Naval Station San Diego for the Western Pacific Ocean on her maiden deployment, taking on 20 F-35Bs at one point in a test of the "lightning carrier" concept. On 25 July 2022, she transitioned to an amphibious ready role by embarking the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit at Naval Base Okinawa, Japan, before transiting the South China Sea to make a port call at Singapore's Changi Naval Base on 31 Aug 2022. She returned to San Diego on 29 November 2022.

In February 2025, Tripoli was confirmed to be deploying to Sasebo, Japan as the forward-deployed amphibious warship, replacing America.{{cite news |title=USS Tripoli Moving to Japan to Serve as Forward-deployed Big Deck

Awards

• Admiral James Flatley Memorial Award for Naval Aviation Safety - (2022)
• CNO Afloat Safety Award (PACFLT) - (2023)

Etymology

Tripoli is the third U.S. Navy ship named for the Battle of Derne in 1805. It was the decisive victory of a mercenary army led by a detachment of United States Marines and soldiers against the forces of Tripoli during the First Barbary War. It was the first recorded land battle of the United States fought overseas. Fallujah, after the Second Battle of Fallujah, was suggested as a name but was ultimately not chosen. This name was given to another America-class ship, .

Gallery

File:Launch of USS Tripoli (LHA-7) at Pascagoula on 1 May 2017.JPG|Tripoli being launched at Pascagoula on 1 May 2017 File:USS Tripoli (LHA-7) underway in the Gulf of Mexico during builder’s trials, 15 July 2019 (190715-N-N0101-150).jpg|Tripoli in the Gulf of Mexico during her sea trial on 15 July 2019 File:USS Tripoli (LHA-7) underway in the Caribbean Sea on 3 August 2020 (200730-N-CD453-1035).JPG|Tripoli in the Caribbean Sea on 3 August 2020 File:USS Tripoli (LHA-7) navegando.jpg|USS Tripoli in the Argentine exclusive economic zone on 23 August 2020 File:USS Tripoli (LHA-7) with 20 F-35B Lightning II jets, 7 April 2022.jpg|Tripoli with 20 F-35B Lightning II jets, 7 April 2022 File:USS Tripoli (LHA 7) conducts flight operations in the Philippine Sea. (52287804236).jpg|An MV-22 Osprey takes off from Tripoli in 2022

Notes

References

References

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5. (2008). "LHA 6 (formerly LHA(R)) New Amphibious Assault Ship". United States Navy.
6. (7 May 2012). "SECNAV Announces USS Tripoli as Name for Next LHA 7". navaltoday.com.
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10. (14 September 2017). "Navy to Christen Amphibious Assault Ship Tripoli". Navy News Service.
11. Werner, Ben. (1 August 2019). "Amphibious Assault Ship Tripoli's Delivery Pushed To Late 2019 or Early 2020". [[United States Naval Institute.
12. Youssef, Nancy A.. (17 April 2020). "Aircraft Carrier Outbreak Spread At First Without Symptoms, Officials Say". The Wall Street Journal.
13. Dyer, Matthew. (2 May 2020). "How coronavirus outbreaks on four other ships informed response on USS Kidd". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
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15. Fleet, Commander, Naval Surface Force, U. S. Pacific. "USS Tripoli Arrives in San Diego".
16. (3 May 2022). "USS Tripoli Quietly Leaves on Maiden Deployment". USNI News.
17. "3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Expeditionary Strike Group 3 demonstrate Lightning carrier conce". United States Marine Corps Flagship.
18. (31 August 2022). "USS Tripoli Arrives in Singapore as Chinese Warships Continue to Operate Near Japan". USNI News.
19. "UPDATED: USS Tripoli Returns to San Diego After Seven-Month Maiden Deployment - USNI News".
20. "Tripoli Earns Admiral Flatley Memorial Award for Aviation Safety".
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23. (2 May 2016). "When Will The Battle Of Fallujah Get The Recognition It Deserves?".
24. (14 December 2022). "SECNAV Names Future America-Class Amphibious Assault Ship Fallujah". Naval News.