| Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship | |
|---|---|
 USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43) conducting helicopter operations off the coast of Sumatra, (2005). | |
| Class overview | |
| Builders: | Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company |
| Operators: |
 United States Navy |
| Preceded by: | Anchorage class |
| Succeeded by: | Harpers Ferry class |
| Cost: | $250m |
| In commission: | 1985 - Present |
| Planned: | 8 |
| Completed: | 8 |
| Active: | 8 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 16,100 tons |
| Length: | 609 ft (186 m) |
| Beam: | 84 ft (26 m) |
| Draft: | 19 ft 6 in (5.0 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 Colt Industries, 16-cylinder diesel engines, 2 shafts, 33,000 shp (25 MW) |
| Speed: | 20+ knots (37+ km/h) |
| Boats & landing craft carried: | 4 LCACs or 21 LCM-6s or up to 36 Amphibious Assault Vehicles AAV. |
| Capacity: | on deck: one LCM-6, two LCPL and one LCVP |
| Complement: |
22 officers, 391 enlisted Marine detachment: 500 |
| Armament: |
2 × 25 mm Mk 38 cannons 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS mounts 1 / 2 × Rolling Airframe Missile 6 × .50 caliber M2HB machine guns |
| Aviation facilities: | Large helicopter platform aft, no hangar |
The Whidbey Island class dock landing ship is a dock landing ship of the United States Navy. Introduced to fleet service in 1985, this class of ship features a massive well deck for the transport of four LCAC hovercraft for landing Marines.
All ships of the class are scheduled to undergo a midlife upgrade over the next five years to ensure they remain in service through 2038. The ships will be upgraded each year through 2013, and the last ship will be modernized in 2014. Ships homeported on the East Coast will undergo upgrades at Metro Machine Corp., and ships based on the West Coast will receive upgrades at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego.[1]
Major elements of the upgrade package include diesel engine improvements, fuel and maintenance savings systems, engineering control systems, increased air conditioning and chill water capacity, and replacement of air compressors. The ships also replaced steam systems with all-electric functionality that will decrease maintenance effort and expense.[1]
Ships[]
| Ship | Hull No. | Builder | Commissioned | Home Port | NVR Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whidbey Island | LSD-41 | Lockheed, Seattle | 1985 | Little Creek, Virginia | LSD41 |
| Germantown | LSD-42 | Lockheed, Seattle | 1986 | Sasebo, Japan | LSD42 |
| Fort McHenry | LSD-43 | Lockheed, Seattle | 1987 | Little Creek, Virginia | LSD43 |
| Gunston Hall | LSD-44 | Avondale, New Orleans | 1989 | Little Creek, Virginia | LSD44 |
| Comstock | LSD-45 | Avondale, New Orleans | 1990 | San Diego, California | LSD45 |
| Tortuga | LSD-46 | Avondale, New Orleans | 1990 | Sasebo, Japan | LSD46 |
| Rushmore | LSD-47 | Avondale, New Orleans | 1991 | San Diego, California | LSD47 |
| Ashland | LSD-48 | Avondale, New Orleans | 1992 | Little Creek, Virginia | LSD48 |
The Whidbey Island (LSD 41) and Tortuga (LSD 46) are to be decommissioned during the FYDP 2013-2018 and the remaining ships of the class are to be retired before the end of their service lives.[2]
Sources[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "USS Gunston Hall Completes Sea Trials". Navy News Service. 29 May 2009. http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=45774. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ↑ IHS Jane’s Fighting Ships Executive Summary 2012
- US Navy Type Information
- Hutchinson, R. (ed.) (2002) Jane's Warship Recognition Guide, London : HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-713722-2
- This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Whidbey Island class dock landing ships. |
- Federation of American Scientists (FAS): LSD-41 Whidbey Island class
- GlobalSecurity.org: LSD-41 Whidbey Island class
| |||||||||||
The original article can be found at Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship and the edit history here.