page_title: USS Schenectady (LST-1185)
section_title: Construction and career
hierarchical_section_title: USS Schenectady (LST-1185) / Construction and career
caption_attribution_description: The USS SCHENECTADY, a 522-foot tank landing ship that was decommissioned in 1993, lists after being struck by seven 2,000lb Joint Defense Attack Munitions (JDAM) missiles during exercise Resultant Fury at the Pacific Missile Range Facility off the Island of Kauai, Hawaii, on Nov. 23, 2004. (USAF Photo by Tech. Sgt. Richard Freeland) (Released) Location: KAUAI, HAWAII (HI) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
context_page_description: USS Schenectady (LST-1185) was the fifth Newport-class tank landing ship which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships. It was delivered to the US Navy on 1 May 1970 and commissioned on 13 June 1970. Schenectady operated in support of American forces in Vietnam and Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It was decommissioned on 15 December 1993 and held in reserve and sunk as a target on 23 November 2004.
context_section_description: The LST was ordered as part of the Fiscal Year 1966 group of eight on 15 July 1966. The vessel was laid down on 2 August 1968 by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, in San Diego, California. Named for the county in New York, Schenectady was launched on 24 May 1969, sponsored by the wife of Senator Charles E. Goodell. The ship was commissioned on 13 June 1970 and assigned to Amphibious Squadron (PhibRon) 9 and home ported at San Diego.
  Schenectady conducted training exercises and trials through the summer months of 1970. In October, the LST got underway to accompany USS Defiance and USS Surprise to Panama. The ship detached from its cohorts on 19 October and returned to San Diego on 29 October and, for the next six months, participated in further training exercises along the southern California coast. On 5 May 1971, the LST departed San Diego and headed west to participate in Operation "Keystone Oriole," an operation involving the withdrawal of marine units from Vietnam. Schenectady was diverted en route to avoid Typhoon Carla, and arrived at Danang, South Vietnam, on 24 May 1971. The LST loaded there, and departed again on 25 May. From Vietnam, it proceeded to Hong Kong, then to Subic Bay, Philippines and then on to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
  The vessel returned to San Diego on 19 June 1971 and Schenectady remained on the west coast into until 1 October 1971 when it departed San Diego with six other units comprising PhibRon 5. On 14 October, the LST joined the 7th Fleet. Four days later, it arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. From there the ship participated in training operations in the Ryukyu Island chain and moved into the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, conducting survey operations. The ship returned to Okinawa to load diesel electric generating plants for delivery to the government of the Philippines for use in its rural electrification program. The ship arrived at  Manila on 23 November 1971 to offload its cargo.
  Schenectady sailed to Subic Bay from Manila and joined Amphibious Ready Group Alpha (ARG Alpha). It departed Subic Bay with ARG Alpha on 26 November and, for the next three and a half weeks, conducted operations which ranged from the Philippines to Japan and into the South China Sea. On 20 December 1971, the LST returned to Subic Bay. Six days later, the ship proceeded to Hong Kong, where it remained through the end of the year. On 5 January 1972, Schenectady departed Hong Kong and resumed operations with the 7th Fleet. While operating with the 7th Fleet Schenectady participated in the South Vietnamese Army's offensive to recapture Quang Tri Province, in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. On 29 June 1972, the LST came under the fire during the offensive by enemy shore batteries and became the first ship of its class to return fire in an actual combat situation.
  The LST returned to Coronado, California, on 6 August 1972. For the next year, Schenectady remained on the west coast, participating in exercises and otherwise engaged in normal operations. On 29 August 1973, the ship departed from the United States for another deployment to the western Pacific. It arrived in Subic Bay on 22 September 1972 and, for the next five months, transported men and cargo between ports in Japan, Taiwan, Okinawa, and the Philippines. On 10 February 1974, it stood out of Buckner Bay, Okinawa, to return to the United States via Pearl Harbor, arriving at San Diego on 6 March 1972. Schenectady earned a battle star for service along the coast of Vietnam.
  In 1990, Schenectady was one of ten Newport-class ships to be deployed by the US Navy to the Middle East during the Gulf War.
  Schenectady was decommissioned on 15 December 1993 and laid up in reserve at Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility. The ship was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 13 July 2001. Ex-Schenectady was sunk as a target on 23 November 2004 in operation Resultant Fury, the first time a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress independently dropped guided weapons on a moving ship.
caption: ex-USS Schenectady lists after being struck by four 2,000 lb (910 kg) JDAMs on 23 November 2004
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