Two ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Iwo Jima, in memory of the Battle of Iwo Jima, as well as another ship never completed.
USS Iwo Jima CV-46
Iwo Jima (CV-46), a Ticonderoga-class aircraft carrier, was under construction by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia, but was canceled 12 August 1945. Her partially completed hull was scrapped.
USS Iwo Jima LPH-2
The second Iwo Jima (LPH-2) was the first purpose-built amphibious assault ship in the Navy. The lead ship in her class, she served from 1961 to 1993. USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) was the first ship to be designed and built from the keel up as an amphibious assault ship. She carried helicopters and a detachment of embarked Marines for use in the Navy's "vertical envelopment" concept of amphibious operations.
USS Iwo Jima LHD-7
The third Iwo Jima (LHD-7) is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship. She was commissioned into active service in 2001. Fabrication work for Iwo Jima began at Ingalls shipyard on 3 September 1996, and the ship's keel was laid on 12 December 1997. She was launched on 4 February 2000. USS Iwo Jima was christened by her sponsor, Mrs. Zandra Krulak, wife of General Charles C. Krulak, the former Commandant of the Marine Corps, in Pascagoula, Mississippi on 25 March 2000. She was commissioned in Pensacola, Florida, on 30 June 2001.
