USS Pensacola (LSD-38)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Pensacola.

USS Pensacola (LSD-38) was an Anchorage-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the fourth Navy ship to be named for the naval town of Pensacola, Florida. She was built at Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, and commissioned in 1971.

History
United States
Name	USS Pensacola
Namesake	Pensacola, Florida
Awarded	25 February 1966
Builder	Fore River Shipyard
Laid down	12 March 1969
Launched	11 July 1970
Commissioned	27 March 1971
Decommissioned	30 September 1999
Stricken	30 September 1999
Fate	Sold to the Republic of China, 30 September 1999
Taiwan
Name	ROCS Hsu Hai (LSD-193)
Acquired	30 September 1999
Commissioned	June 2000
Status	In service
General characteristics
Class and type	Anchorage-class dock landing ship
Displacement	14,000 long tons (14,000 t) full load
Length	553 ft (169 m)
Beam	85 ft (26 m)
Draft	18 ft (5.5 m)
Propulsion	2 × steam turbines 2 × boilers, 600 psi (4.1 MPa) 2 shafts
Speed	22 knots (25 mph; 41 km/h)
Range	14,800 nm at 12 knots
Boats & landing craft carried	well deck size: 131.06 m × 15.24 m for 3 LCACs or 50 AAV7
Capacity	vehicle garage (1,115 m2), on upper deck: 2 LCM(6), on davits: 1 LCVP, and 1 LCPL
Troops	330 man Marine detachment
Complement	18 officers, 340–345 enlisted
Armament	2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS 2 × Mk-38 machine guns 4 × 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns

Operational history

In early 1995, the Commanding Officer of USS Pensacola was relieved because the preceding November, the ship had run aground off the East Coast. In 1995, while cruising in the Mediterranean, the ship suffered a major fuel leak, causing the ship to go to General Quarters. The fuel leak was repaired, and no one was injured. In 1996, USS Pensacola ran aground once again while en route to Newport, Rhode Island. During the 1996 deployment, assisted in the non-combatant evacuation of Albania. During 1999 deployment stood guard during the events that lead to the invasion of Kosovo.

Transfer to the Republic of China in Taiwan

Pensacola was finally decommissioned in 1999, transferred to the Republic of China Navy(ROCN) in Taiwan and redesignated ROCS Hsu Hai (LSD-193).

References

•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.