USS Bataan (LHD-5)

USS Bataan (LHD-5) is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship commissioned in 1997. The ship is named to honor the defense of the Bataan Peninsula on the western side of Manila Bay in the Philippines during the early days of US involvement in World War II.

Christening

Ship's sponsor, Linda Sloan Mundy, wife of former Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Carl E. Mundy, Jr., christened the new ship "in the name of the United States and in honor of the heroic defenders of Bataan." at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi. More than 100 members of veterans groups associated with the defense of Bataan and the subsequent infamous "Death March", the Battle of Corregidor, and the aircraft carrier USS Bataan (CVL-29) were at the christening ceremony.

Missions

2001 to 2003 Operation Enduring Freedom

The USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) were the first ships to respond after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The ship was home on leave during the attack and was scheduled to be deployed on 19 September 2001. The crew was called back from early leave and the ship headed for New York Harbor, as it is capable of acting as a 600-bed hospital ship with surgical suites on board. Once it was determined there were few survivors, Bataan returned to Norfolk, Virginia. The ship's crew prepared and onloaded the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit with gear both pierside in Norfolk, and off the coast of North Carolina from Cherry Point and Camp Lejeune. The Bataan ARG delivered more than 2,500 Marines and their equipment to Pakistan with the aim to enter Afghanistan, thus opening Operation Enduring Freedom. The Bataan ARG stayed on station off the coast of Pakistan and completed the longest sustained amphibious assault in U.S. history with sailors not touching ground for over four months.

USS Bataan

Two ships of the United States Navy have been named Bataan, after the Bataan Peninsula, the scene of the Battle of Bataan in 1942 in the Philippines.

See also

Source

USS Bataan (CVL-29)

USS Bataan (CVL-29/AVT-4), originally planned as USS Buffalo (CL-99) and also classified as CV-29, was an 11,000 ton Independence-class light aircraft carrier which was commissioned in the United States Navy during World War II.

Design and Construction

The vessel that eventually became the light aircraft carrier Bataan was originally planned as the Cleveland-class light cruiser Buffalo (CL-99). Following the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the need for more carriers became urgent. In response, the Navy ordered the conversion of nine Cleveland-class light cruiser then under construction to completion as light aircraft carriers. These became known as the Independence-class light aircraft carriers. Thus, CL-99 was reclassified CV-29 and renamed Bataan on 2 June 1942. She was further reclassified as CVL-29 on 15 July 1943.

Bataan displaced 11,000 long tons (11,000 t) light and 16,260 long tons (16,520 t) at full load. She had an overall length of 622 feet 6 inches (189.74 m) and a waterline length of 600 feet (180 m). Her extreme beam was 109 feet 2 inches (33.27 m) and her beam at the waterline was 71 feet 6 inches (21.79 m). Her draft was 26 feet (7.9 m) maximum. For armament she was equipped with 24 Bofors 40 mm gun and 22 Oerlikon 20 mm cannon for anti-aircraft protection. She normally carried 30 aircraft. Her armor consisted of 5 inches (127 mm) of belt armor, 2 inches (51 mm) on the decks, and ¹⁄₂ inch (13 mm) on the conning tower. She was powered by four Babcock & Wilcox steam boilers and General Electric geared turbines producing 100,000 shaft horsepower (75,000 kW) for her four screws. She had a design speed of 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph) and had a range of 12,500 nautical miles (23,200 km; 14,400 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). She normally carried a complement of 1569.

Bataan

Bataan (/bɑːtɑːˈɑːn/) is a province in the Philippines situated in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Balanga. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula on Luzon, Bataan is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north. The peninsula faces the South China Sea to the west and Subic Bay to the north-west, and encloses Manila Bay to the east.

The Battle of Bataan is famous in history as one of the last stands of American and Filipino soldiers before they were overwhelmed by the Japanese forces in World War II. The Bataan Death March was named after the province, where the infamous march started.

Located within the province is the Philippines' only nuclear power plant, the Bataan.

History

In 1647, Dutch naval forces landed in country in an attempt to seize the islands from Spain. The Dutch massacred the people of Abucay in Bataan.

Historian Cornelio Bascara documents that the province of Bataan was established in January 11, 1757 by Governor-General Pedro Manuel Arandia out of territories belonging to Pampanga and the corregimiento of Mariveles which, at the time, included Maragondon, Cavite across the Manila Bay.

Bataan (disambiguation)

Bataan is a province of the Philippines.

Bataan may also refer to:

Places

Other uses

See also

Bataan (film)

Bataan (1943) is a war film about the defense of the Bataan Peninsula during World War II. It was made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Tay Garnett and produced by Irving Starr, with Dore Schary as executive producer. It starred Robert Taylor, Lloyd Nolan, Thomas Mitchell and Robert Walker.

Historical background

The Battle of Bataan followed the Japanese December 1941 invasion of the Philippines and lasted from January 1 to April 9, 1942. The American and Filipino forces retreated from Manila to the nearby mountainous Bataan Peninsula for a desperate last stand, hoping for a relief force. However, the Allies were being driven back in all areas of the Pacific theater and none could be sent. After three months of stubborn resistance, the starving and malaria-ridden defenders surrendered and were forced to undertake the infamous Bataan Death March.

Plot

The US Army is conducting a fighting retreat. A high bridge spans a ravine on the Bataan Peninsula. After the army and some civilians cross, a group of eleven hastily assembled soldiers from different units is assigned to blow it up and delay Japanese rebuilding efforts as long as possible. The rear guard is a mixed lot, including: