USS New Orleans ( LPH - 11 ) 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 . " New Orleans " was laid down on 1 March 1966 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . She was launched on 3 February 1968 and sponsored by Mrs . Arthur A . De la Houssaye . She was commissioned on 16 November 1968 with Captain G . M . Even in command . 1960s and 1970s . " New Orleans " made her first appearance in the Western Pacific in August 1969 as flagship for Amphibious Ready Group Bravo . Her embarked Marine helicopter squadron and battalion leading team were ready to be landed within hours . In October , she hosted the Eighth Vietnamese Awards . Later that month , she participated in Keystone Cardinal Operation , a retrograde movement of Marines out of Vietnam . The ship ' s first deployment terminated in March 1970 . After having participated in five amphibious exercises , conducted many weeks of Amphibious Ready Group ( ARG ) maneuvers in the South China Sea , and visiting such ports as Hong Kong , Manila , Subic Bay , Okinawa , and Taipei , " New Orleans " returned to San Diego . Two other interesting assignments were given to " New Orleans " prior to her next Western Pacific deployment . In August 1970 , she became flagship for Commander First Fleet and provided support for president Richard Nixon ' s visit to Puerto Vallarta , Mexico , and made a port call to Acapulco . Then , in late 1970 , she prepared for the recovery of Apollo 14 . On 9 February 1971 , she picked up astronauts Alan Shepard , Stuart Roosa , and Edgar Mitchell some south of American Samoa . In May 1971 , " New Orleans " made her second Western Pacific appearance , conducting various contingency exercises , a multi - national cruising exercise simulating a convoy under combat conditions , and a simulated assault with the Marines on the island of Mindoro , Republic of the Philippines . This deployment was completed in November of that same year . Following a rather extensive yard period , " New Orleans " began her next Western Pacific deployment on 17 July 1972 under the command of Captain R . W . Carius . She became flagship for Amphibious Squadron Three and later Amphibious Ready Group Alfa under Commodore W . H . Ellis . During late July and early August , " New Orleans " and her embarked units participated in the Philippine flood relief operations , earning the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation . The helicopter carrier became engaged in contingency operations again with the ready group off the coast of Vietnam until early February 1973 , at which time she became the flagship for Commander Task Force 78 and the control ship for Operation End Sweep . CTF 78 , headed by Rear Admiral Brian McCauley , was tasked with de - mining operations for the coast and harbors of North Vietnam . She ceased operations in Haiphong Harbor on 17 April 1973 . " New Orleans " next participated in recovery operations for the Skylab 2 , Skylab 3 , and Skylab 4 missions . She was also present for the recovery of astronauts Thomas Stafford , Deke Slayton , and Vance Brand during the joint American - Soviet Apollo - Soyuz mission of 5 July 1975 . 1980s . In 1980 , the ship deployed and spent several months in the Indian Ocean during the Iran hostage crisis . She completed a major overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 1981 . Deployments and exercises in 1982 and 1983 included RIMPAC ' 82 , Exercise Kernel Usher ' 83 - 1 , Operation Team Spirit 83 , and WESTPAC ' 83 . From May to December 1984 , " New Orleans " sailed the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific , participating in eight major amphibious operations . These included Operation Beach Guard , Operation Cobra Gold & Operation Valiant Usher While on WESTPAC in 1986 , she served in an alert status off the Philippine coast during that country ' s national elections . She also served as the medical and communications support ship for president Ronald Reagan ' s trip to Bali , Indonesia . Upon her return to home port , " New Orleans " participated in two major exercises leading to her thirteenth deployment to the Western Pacific . During this time , she participated in four amphibious exercises , including Cobra Gold ' 88 , Valiant Usher ' 89 - 1 , and Valiant Blitz ' 89 - 1 . The ship called on the port of Perth , Australia , during that country ' s bicentennial . In 1989 , she made port visits to Mazatlán ( Mexico ) and Seattle , Washington , for the Seattle Sea Fair . She also conducted a humanitarian relief effort in Cabo San Lucas ( Mexico ) . 1990s . Following completion of a phased maintenance availability in January 1990 , " New Orleans " sailed the Western Pacific , Indian Ocean , and Persian Gulf in support of Operations Desert Storm , Desert Saber and Desert Shield from 1 December 1990 to 28 August 1991 . She served as a member of CTG - 36 / CTF - 156 , the largest amphibious task force to deploy from the West Coast of the United States in 25 years . Significant accomplishments included the off - load of 1 , 700 Marine combat troops on G - Day and aviation mine countermeasures in the North Persian Gulf , ten nautical miles ( 19 km ) off the coast of Kuwait . In November 1991 , " New Orleans " returned to San Diego for a six - month overhaul . In October 1992 , she hosted festivities at Fleet Week ' 92 in San Francisco . After returning to San Diego , she was the first LPH to go through Afloat Training Group Pacific ' s " Tailored Ship ' s Training Availability " and was instrumental in developing a training track for LPH - class ships . In September 1993 , " New Orleans " deployed on her fifteenth WESTPAC cruise where she participated in Exercise Valiant Usher ' 93 and was a member of the Amphibious Ready Group that conducted operations in support of Operation Restore Hope at Mogadishu , Somalia . " New Orleans " next sailed onto the movie screen in November 1994 when astronaut Captain Jim Lovell , USN , director Ron Howard , and actors Tom Hanks , Kevin Bacon , and Bill Paxton came aboard to film several portions of the Oscar - winning film " Apollo 13 " . She portrayed the then - decommissioned USS " Iwo Jima " , one of her sister ships . June 1995 saw " New Orleans " underway again for WESTPAC operations . She was present to support the Marine raid on the Al Hamra Facility on 24 October of that year . She returned to San Diego on 22 December 1995 , after embarking 198 Sea Scouts as part of a " Tiger Cruise " during the last leg of her journey from Pearl Harbor to San Diego . The ship got underway again on 31 January 1997 , for another WESTPAC cruise which included boarding the Marines from the 31st MEU ( SOC ) based out of Okinawa , Japan and participating in Operation Tandem Thrust ' 97 in Townsville , Australia in which it weathered Cyclone Justin before returning to port on 2 May . Fate . " New Orleans " was decommissioned and placed in reserve in San Diego , California , in October 1997 . She was the recipient of the Navy Unit Commendation , four Battle Efficiency Award s , the Meritorious Unit Commendation , the Navy Expeditionary Medal , the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal , the Southwest Asia Campaign Medal , the Vietnam Service Medal , and the Kuwait Liberation Medal . She was mothballed in Suisun Bay , California at 38° 4 ' 37 . 86 " N , 122° 5 ' 24 . 66 " W from 1997 until 2006 while a group tried to save her as a museum in Long Beach , California . In 2006 , the ship was relocated to Pearl Harbor to be prepared for a ' SINKEX ' . In February 2008 , " New Orleans " was listed for scrapping , instead of sinking , however , as of June 2010 , " New Orleans " was once again scheduled to be sunk . Finally , " New Orleans " was sunk on 10 July 2010 during the RIMPAC 2010 exercise . The ship sustained direct hits by five 2000 - pound GBU - 10 precision bombs dropped from 2d Bomb Wing and 5th Bomb Wing B - 52s . Prior to the B - 52 strike at least seven Harpoon missiles , and naval gunfire of the joint force of the five nations – United States , Japan , Australia , Canada and France struck the ship with the majority hitting above the water line . " New Orleans " rolled on her side and sank at about 6 : 15 pm 70 miles north - west of Kauai .