Marine Detachment or MarDet was a unit of 35 to 55 United States Marines aboard battleships or aircraft carriers. They were a regular component of a ship's company since the formation of the United States Marine Corps up until the 1990s. Missions of the Marine Detachment evolved over time, and included protecting the ship's captain, security and defense of the ship, operating the brig, limited action ashore, securing nuclear weapons and ceremonial details.
USS Los Angeles (CA-135) CLASS - BALTIMORE
Displacement 13,600 Tons, Dimensions, 673' 5" (oa) x 70' 10" x 26' 10" (Max)
Armament 9 x 8"/55, 12 x 5"/38AA, 48 x 40mm, 24 x 20mm, 4 Aircraft
Armor, 6" Belt, 8" Turrets, 2 1/2" Deck, 6 1/2" Conning Tower.
Machinery, 120,000 SHP; G. E. Geared Turbines, 4 screws
Speed, 33 Knots, Crew 2000. Operational and Building Data
Ordered 07 AUG 1942
Keel laid on 28 JUL 1943 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa
Launched 20 AUG 1944
Commissioned 22 JUL 1945
Decommissioned 09 APR 1948
Recommissioned 27 JAN 1951
Decommissioned 15 NOV 1963
Stricken 01 JAN 1974 Fate: Sold for scrap to Terminal Island's National Metal and Steel Corp. on 16 MAY 1975 for $1,036,089
Description
The Allied occupation of Japan at the end of World War II was led by General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, with support from the British Commonwealth. Unlike in the occupation of Germany, the Soviet Union was allowed little to no influence over Japan. This foreign presence marked the only time in Japan's history that it had been occupied by a foreign power. It transformed the country into a parliamentary democracy that recalled "New Deal" priorities of the 1930s politics by Roosevelt. The occupation, codenamed Operation Blacklist, was ended by the San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed on September 8, 1951, and effective from April 28, 1952, after which Japan's sovereignty – with the exception, until 1972, of the Ryukyu Islands – was fully restored.
