Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship
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 large well deck for transporting United States Marine Corps (USMC) vehicles and a large flight deck for landing helicopters or V-22 Ospreys. The well deck was designed to hold four LCAC hovercraft, five if the vehicle ramp is raised, for landing Marines. Recent deployments have used a combination of LCU(s), AAVs, tanks, LARCs and other USMC vehicles. The Whidbey Island class of ship also uniquely benefits from multiple cranes and a shallow draft that further make it ideal for participating in amphibious operations.
USS Fort McHenry conducting helicopter operations off the coast of Sumatra in 2005 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Whidbey Island class |
| 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 | 6 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Dock landing ship |
| Displacement | 16,100 tons |
| Length | 609 ft (186 m) |
| Beam | 84 ft (26 m) |
| Draft | 19 ft 6 in (5.94 m) |
| Propulsion | 4 Colt Industries, 16-cylinder diesel engines, 2 shafts, 33,000 shp (25,000 kW) |
| Speed | over 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4+1 LCACs or 21 LCM-6s or up to 36 Amphibious Assault Vehicles AAV or 3 LCUs. |
| Capacity | on deck: one LCM-6, two LCPL and one LCVP |
| Complement | 30 officers, 300+ enlisted Embarked Marine complement: up to 504 |
| Armament |
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| Aviation facilities | Large helicopter platform aft, no hangar |
As of 2009, all ships of the class are scheduled to undergo a midlife upgrade over the next five years to ensure that they remain in service through 2038. The ships will be upgraded annually through 2013, and the last ship will be modernized in 2014. Ships homeported on the East Coast will undergo upgrades at Metro Machine Corp., while those on the West Coast will receive upgrades at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego.
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.