USS Saipan (LHA-2) was a Tarawa class amphibious assault ship and the second ship in the US Navy to be named in honor of the World War II Battle of Saipan. The keel was laid by Ingalls Shipbuilding Co. at Pascagoula, Mississippi on July 21, 1972. She was christened on July 20, 1974 and commissioned as a US Navy vessel on October 15, 1977.

Scale 1/800
Length 12.3"
Width 3.8"
Height 4"

Saipan's operational career began in July 1979 when she was diverted from Fleet Refresher Training to Special Contingency Operations for possible non-combatant evacuation of American personnel from Nicaragua during the country's civil war. On August 25, 1980, the ship departed Norfolk for the first Mediterranean deployment by an LHA. On September 3, 1981, she deployed for her second tour in the Mediterranean, during which she visited seven different countries on three continents, transited the Suez Canal, and participated in several exercises.

In September 1983, while undergoing Refresher Training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Saipan was diverted to participate in Operation Urgent Fury off Grenada. Amphibious Refresher Training was held in May 1986 off the coast of North Carolina, with Saipan achieving a 99.97 overall grade, the highest ever by any amphibious ship. From March to September 1990, she deployed to the Mediterranean and conducted the evacuation of approximately 1,600 civilians from war-torn Liberia in support of Operation Sharp Edge. She has also participated in Operations Desert Storm, Deny Flight and Provide Promise. In December 2006, she returned from her final deployment.

Saipan's awards include the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, two Navy Expeditionary Medals, and four Battle “E” awards, just to name a few. Her motto, “Omnia Facimus”, which translates as “We do it all”, aptly describes the capabilities and history of the ship. Saipan was decommissioned on April 20, 2007, after nearly thirty years of active service.

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