USS Makin Island (LHD-8), a , is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Makin Island, target of the Marine Raiders' Makin Island raid early on in the United States' involvement in World War II.

Makin Islands task is to embark, deploy, and land elements of a Marine Corps landing force in an amphibious assault by helicopters, landing craft, and amphibious vehicles. The secondary or convertible mission for Makin Island is sea control and power projection.

Design and construction

Makin Island is the eighth ship of the Wasp class, but features noteworthy technological advances. Changes from the previous LHD design include gas turbine main propulsion engines, all-electric auxiliaries, an advanced machinery control system, water-mist fire-protection systems, and the Navy's most advanced command and control and combat systems equipment. The new propulsion system allows the engines to be directly controlled from the throttles on the bridge, replacing the traditional engine order telegraphs on the earlier Wasp-class LHDs.

Makin Island was laid down on 14 February 2004 at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi. The vessel has a light displacement of and a full-load displacement of with a dead weight is . She has an overall length of and a waterline length of . The extreme beam is with the beam at the waterline being and the draft is . Her maximum speed is .

Makin Island is the eighth Wasp-class amphibious assault ships to be ordered for the U.S. Navy, but differs from her older sister ships in her propulsion system. The previous Wasp-class vessels used steam boilers and steam turbines to drive the propellers, while Makin Island is the first U.S. Navy vessel to use a hybrid propulsion system consisting of a combined diesel electric and gas turbine propulsion system.

Makin Island has two General Electric LM 2500+ gas turbines each connected to a separate 20:1 ratio main reduction gear, which then drive two diameter Rolls-Royce controllable pitch propellers.

In conventional Navy ships, the steam boiler drives both the propellers and ship service steam turbine generators to provide electric power for the vessel. The boilers also provide steam to heat the ship in colder climates. Since Makin Island does not have steam boilers, she uses the diesel electric generators for all shipboard power services. Specifically, instead of steam heating, she uses electric heating for laundry and hot water supply as well as for heating interior compartments in cold climates.

The gas turbine propulsion plant, with all electric auxiliaries, is a program first for large-deck amphibious assault ships and provides significant savings in manpower and maintenance costs associated with traditional steam-powered amphibious ships. The ship carries four reverse-osmosis water-purification systems, each capable of processing of fresh water per day.

She was christened on 19 August 2006, sponsored by Silke Hagee, wife of General Michael Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and launched on 15 September 2006. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, U.S. Navy officials announced that several ships under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding had been damaged by the storm, including Makin Island and two s. The ship's completion was delayed due to rewiring during 2008 to repair incorrect wiring installation.

Service history

2009

Makin Island was delivered to the U.S. Navy on 16 April 2009 and was commissioned at Pascagoula, Mississippi, without ceremony on 26 June 2009 with Captain Bob Kopas in command. Six USMC veterans of the Makin Island raid attended the ceremony.

2010

Damage to a turning gear delayed the ship's final check-out trials from August to September 2010.

Makin Island visited San Francisco in October 2010 as part of the city's 2010 Fleet Week festivities. She returned to Fleet Week in 2012 after her maiden deployment to the 5th and 7th Fleet area of operations.

2014

On 1 October 2014, during the early months of Operation Inherent Resolve, Makin Island was part of a naval task force in the northern Gulf with the 11th MEU embarked and engaged in active battle operations against ISIS. Shortly after take-off, an MV-22 lost power and dropped towards the water's surface, prompting two of the crew on board to bail out into the water. The pilot was ultimately able to regain control and land, while other aircraft, watercraft, and ships from the task force began search and rescue efforts. One of the two crewmembers was found. The other, a marine NCO, was eventually declared lost, and later determined to be the first American casualty of the operation.

During the December 2014 US hostage rescue operation in Yemen, wounded hostages were flown to the ship for medical treatment while she was posted in the Gulf of Aden.

2016

In October 2016 Makin Island was deployed alongside the US Coast Guard to search for missing Chinese sailor Guo Chuan, who was attempting to break the world record for solo sailing from San Francisco to Shanghai. Makin Island reached his yacht, Qingdao China, on 27 October, but found her adrift with no sign of the sailor, roughly northwest of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. After searching an area of without locating the missing sailor, Makin Island<nowiki>'</nowiki>s crew recovered his personal items and left the yacht for later salvage.

Hybrid diesel electric propulsion

Makin Island departed on her maiden deployment as the US Navy's first hybrid-drive warship: part gas-turbine and part diesel-electric. About 70% of the time Makin Island can use diesel-electric propulsion, saving on fuel as diesel engines are optimized for cruising, and consume much less fuel than gas turbines. When she needs to travel quickly, at 12 knots or more, the gas turbines are used. This arrangement is also known as combined diesel-electric or gas.

On an average day, Makin Island uses of fuel, versus on an older steam ship of its type, according to Captain James Landers, commanding officer.

Awards

  • Battle "E" – (2012, 2016, 2023)
  • Admiral James Flatley Memorial Award for Naval Aviation Safety - (2016)
  • CNO Afloat Safety Award (PACFLT) - (2020)
  • Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Award for outstanding food service - (2012, 2014, 2022)
  • Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award - (2023)

Notes

References

  • USS Makin Island page on globalsecurity.org
  • USS Makin Island history page on USCarriers.net