USS Fort Snelling (LSD-30) - Service History

Service History

Homeported at Norfolk, Virginia, Fort Snelling carried out an intensive exercise schedule along the east coast and in the Caribbean, almost always with Marines embarked for amphibious training. She made her first deployment to the Mediterranean in 1956, returning the next year again to serve with the 6th Fleet. During her 1958 deployment, she was at sea bound for the island of Rhodes when on 14 July she was notified to land her Marines at Beirut, Lebanon, the next day. Thus, Fort Snelling took part in the immediate response of the U.S. Navy to the Middle Eastern crisis of summer 1958. Several times more before leaving the Mediterranean she returned to the coast of Lebanon to support the Marines ashore.

Through 1959 and 1963, Fort Snelling continued her training operations with marines in the Caribbean and on the Carolina coast. In 1966, while returning from a Mediterranean deployment, Fort Snelling was assigned as task group commander of the Navy's Palomares Incident recovery operations. Because of her large well deck, Fort Snelling carried the deep diving submarine Aluminaut. In 1966, she participated in the extraction of U.S. Marines from the Dominican Republican crisis.

On 3 April 1978, Fort Snelling and the replenishment oiler Waccamaw (AO-109) collided north of Corsica when the Waccamaw lost steering control during refueling. Despite structural damage both ships proceeded under their own power to Naples, Italy, for repairs.

In October 1983, Fort Snelling participated in Operation URGENT FURY (the invasion of Grenada) as part of Amphibious Squadron Four (PHIBRON-4). Upon conclusion of Operation Urgent Fury, Ft Snelling continued on her deployment with PHIBRON-4 to support peacekeeping operations in Lebanon. During March 1984, Ft Snelling assisted in the evacuation of noncombatants from Beirut, conducting flight operations and subsequently transporting hundreds of evacuees to Cyprus. The US Navy forces had published Notices to Mariners not to approach within 2,000 yards of navy ships. While Ft Snelling was conducting fueling operations with USS Sylvanbia, it was struck by a merchant vessel - the merchant sunk in approximately 20 minutes. Leading many to believe the collision was intentional. The damage suffered from the impact led to her decommissioning following the deployment.

Fort Snelling was decommissioned on 28 September 1984 and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) on 7 September 1989. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 24 February 1992 and she was sold for scrapping on 25 August 1995 to Peck Recycling, Richmond, Virginia, for $268,707.