USS La Salle (AGF-3)

USS La Salle (AGF-3) underway in the Persian Gulf in 1990
History
United States
NameLa Salle
NamesakeLa Salle, Illinois
Ordered8 August 1960
BuilderNew York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York
Laid down2 April 1962
Launched3 August 1963
Acquired21 February 1964
Commissioned22 February 1964
Decommissioned27 May 2005
Reclassified1972 as miscellaneous command ship (AGF-3)
Stricken27 May 2005
FateSunk as target in support of Fleet training exercise, 11 April 2007
General characteristics
Class and typeRaleigh-class amphibious transport dock
Displacement
  • 9,559 long tons (9,712 t) light
  • 13,634 long tons (13,853 t) full
  • 4,075 long tons (4,140 t) dead
Length
  • 522 ft (159 m) o/a
  • 500 ft (150 m) w/l
Beam
  • 107 ft (33 m) extreme
  • 84 ft (26 m) w/l
Draft
  • 22 ft (6.7 m) maximum
  • 23 ft (7.0 m) limit
Speed23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Complement72 officers, 593 men, 24 Marines As AGF 750 Marines as LPD
Armament
  • 4 × 3-inch/50-caliber guns in twin turrets
  • 2 x 20 mm Phalanx CIWS
  • 2 x 25 mm chain guns (1987)
  • 2 x 40 mm Mk. 19 grenade launchers
  • 6 x .50 cal. BMG
  • 6 x 7.62 M60 machine guns
  • 2 Stinger missile operator rings
  • SRBOC chaff launchers
  • 40 mm signal gun
Aircraft carriedUp to 6 rotary aircraft
Aviation facilitiesHangar, extensible.

The second USS La Salle (LPD-3/AGF-3) was built as a Raleigh-class amphibious transport dock and entered service with the United States Navy in 1964. La Salle was named for the city in Illinois that was in turn named after René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. La Salle saw service in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and throughout international waters in the Middle East and Europe. The vessel served as a command ship for Joint Task Force Middle East and as flagship for the Sixth Fleet. In 2005 the ship was decommissioned and sunk as a target ship off the Atlantic coast of the United States in 2007.