USS Coronado (LPD-11)

• Namesake: USS Coronado (LPD-11) was named after the city of Coronado, California, which is home to several major U.S. Navy bases, including Naval Air Station North Island and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. • Class and Type: She was an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, designed to transport and land Marines, their equipment, and supplies by embarked landing craft or helicopters. • Commissioning: USS Coronado was commissioned on 23 May 1970, joining the fleet during the Vietnam War era. • Vietnam War Service: Early in her career, she was deployed to the Western Pacific and supported operations during the Vietnam War, including troop transport and amphibious assaults. • Flagship Role: From 1980 onwards, USS Coronado was frequently used as a flagship for various commanders, including Commander, U.S. Third Fleet and Commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet. • Technological Pioneer: In 1998, Coronado was converted into the Navy's Sea-Based Battle Lab (SBBL), experimenting with advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) technologies. • Global Deployments: Throughout her career, Coronado participated in numerous multinational exercises and operations, including RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific Exercise) and Operation Desert Shield/Storm. • Humanitarian Missions: The ship was involved in several humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions, including disaster response efforts in the Philippines and other Pacific nations. • Decommissioning: USS Coronado was decommissioned on 30 September 2006, after 36 years of distinguished service. • Final Fate: After decommissioning, the ship was sunk as a target during a live-fire exercise in the 2012 RIMPAC, serving her final duty in helping train and test modern naval weapons.