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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Landing Craft Utility
LCU-1659

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation
Bottom Row - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (3) - National Defense Service Ribbon - Humanitarian Service Medal (Cuban Resettlement)
LCU-1646 Landing Craft Utility
  • Built in 1970, at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, MI.
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Placed in service with Assault Craft Unit Two (ACU-2), NAB Little Creek, VA.
  • Status, active
    Specifications:
    Displacement 200 t.(lt), 375 t.(fl)
    Length 134' 9"
    Beam 29'
    Draft 6' 1"
    Speed 11 kts.
    Complement 14
    Armament
    four .50 cal. machine guns
    two M60 machine guns
    one M203 grenade launcher
    twelve M16 rifles
    two 9mm pistols
    Load 170 tons
    Military Lift three M1A1 tanks, 10 LAVs or 400+ troops, 125 tons of cargo.
    Radar Navigation: LN 66 or SPS-53; I band.
    Propulsion
    two Detroit 12V-71 Diesel engines
    twin shafts, 680shp sustained, Kort nozzles
    Fuel Capacity 3220 gals.
    Range 1,200nm at eight knots
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    LCU-1659 171k LCU-1659 passes by the bow of Soviet Kashin class DDG Krasny Krim. The US Navy Amphibious Ready Group was at anchor in the Kithira Straits, 25 June 1976. Note USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) in the background.
    Photos taken from DDG Krasny Krim (191)    		 Eugene Ivkin
    LCU-1659 129k
    LCU-1659 839k LCU-1659 alongside USS Coronado (LPD-11) at Genoa, Italy, November 1976 Photo by Carlo Martinelli
    LCU-1659 47k LCU-1659 beached while off-loading a truck, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Combat Index web site
    LCU-1659 51k LCU-1659 beached while landing infantry, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Combat Index web site
    LCU-1659 80k LCU-1659 preparing to beach , date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Combat Index web site
    LCU-1659 179k LCU-1659 beached while unloading, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 NavSource
    LCU-1645 103k LCU-1659 beached while loading or unloading vehicles, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 NavSource
    LCU-1659 223k LCU-1659 beached during amphibious exercises, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, August 1982.    		 NavSource
    LCU-1659 124k LCU-1659 beached while loading or unloading vehicles, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, September 1994.    		 NavSource
    LCU-1645 180k LCU-1659 and LCU-1645 underway during amphibious exercises in 1980, location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    LCU-1659 313k An MH-60S Seahawk attached to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC-28) inserts a Tunisian boarding team by fast rope onto LCU 1659, attached to Assault Craft Unit (ACU-2), during Phoenix Express (PE) 2008. PE-08 is the third annual exercise in a long-term effort to improve regional cooperation and maritime security. The principal aim is to increase interoperability by developing individual and collective maritime proficiencies of participating nations, as well as promoting friendship, mutual understanding and cooperation. Exercises like PE-08 enable participants to advance information sharing which is crucial to maintaining a region free from transnational threats, as well as enhance capability to conduct multinational peacekeeping missions.
    US Navy photo # 080417-N-7945K-075 MEDITERRANEAN SEA (April 17, 2008) by MC2 Andrew King.    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Oak Hill 2683k USS Oak Hill (LSD-51) assisted by tugs Dakanawida (YTB-831) and Wanamassa (YTB-820) arrives at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to conduct agricultural counter-measure wash downs of all embarked equipment. Guantanamo Bay is Oak Hill's final port visit before returning to the U.S. after supporting Amphibious Southern Partnership Station 2011 in the Caribbean. Oak Hill supported Southern Partnership Station 2012, an annual deployment of U.S naval assets in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility. LCU 1659 is moving vehicles for wash down.
    US Navy photo # 111213-N-IQ128-049 GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (Dec. 13, 2011) by R. Vargas.    		 Lee Wahler
    LCU-1659 1167k LCU 1659 departs for Onslow Beach, N.C. from USS Wasp (LHD-1), which is off the coast, 11 April 2012. The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit is under way to support the commemoration of the Battle of New Orleans. Starting this April and continuing through 2015, the US Navy, US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard will commemorate the War of 1812 and the Star Spangled Banner. The War of 1812 celebration will commemorate the rich naval history and showcase the capabilities of todays Navy-Marine Corps Team.
    US Marine Corps. photo # 120411-M-AF823-005 by R. Vargas, United States Navy News Stand.    		 Robert Hurst
    There is no DANFS history available for LCU-1659 at NavSource
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information Web Sites
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Navy Fact File - Landing Craft, Mechanized and Utility - LCM/LCU
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 13 December 2019