HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an
amphibious assault Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted u ...
. The design evolved from
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
s converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, as a result, are often mistaken for conventional fixed-wing aircraft carriers). Modern ships support amphibious
landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...
, with most designs including a well deck. Coming full circle, some amphibious assault ships also support V/STOL fixed-wing aircraft, now having a secondary role as aircraft carriers. The role of the amphibious assault ship is fundamentally different from that of a standard aircraft carrier: its aviation facilities have the primary role of hosting helicopters to support forces ashore rather than to support strike aircraft. However, some are capable of serving in the sea-control role, embarking aircraft like Harrier or the new F-35B variant of the Lightning II fighters for
combat air patrol Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, ...
and helicopters for
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typ ...
or operating as a safe base for large numbers of STOVL fighters conducting air support for an expeditionary unit ashore. Most of these ships can also carry or support landing craft, such as air-cushioned landing craft (
hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or air cushion, ...
) or LCUs. The largest fleet of these types is operated by the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, including the dating back to 1989 and the very similar ships that entered service in 2014. Just as an aircraft carrier leads a carrier strike group in the US Navy, an amphibious assault ship leads an expeditionary strike group. Amphibious assault ships are also operated by the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...
, the
Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= " Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship '' Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibio ...
, the Chinese
People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chines ...
, the
Egyptian Navy The Egyptian Navy ( ar, القوات البحرية المصرية, El-Quwwāt el-Bahareya el-Miṣriyya, Egyptian Navy Forces), also known as the Egyptian Naval Force, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy ...
, the
French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
, the
Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...
, the
Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy inc ...
(South Korea) and the Spanish Navy. The term amphibious assault ship is often used interchangeably with other ship classifications. It applies to all large-deck amphibious ships such as the landing platform helicopter (LPH), landing helicopter assault (LHA), and
landing helicopter dock A landing helicopter dock (LHD) is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship which is capable of operating helicopters and has a well deck. The United States Navy (USN) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) use the term as a hull classification sy ...
(LHD).


History


World War II

In the Pacific theater of World War II,
escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...
s would often escort the landing ships and troop carriers during the island-hopping campaign. In this role, they would provide air cover for the troopships as well as fly the first wave of attacks on the beach fortifications in amphibious landing operations. On occasion, they would even escort the large carriers, serving as emergency airstrips and providing fighter cover for their larger sisters while these were busy readying or refueling their own planes. They would also transport aircraft and spare parts from the US to the remote island airstrips. The
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...
had its own special army ships being similar to aircraft carriers of the
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
: they were landing craft carriers that carried both landing craft and aircraft, and the plan was to launch the aircraft at the same time as the landing crafts carrying the troops, and to use them for
combat air patrol Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, ...
,
aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of im ...
and
close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movemen ...
. First, ( or ), completed in 1934 as the world's first purpose-built landing ship, was designed to launch aircraft, but it did not have the facilities for landing. Its successor, the (), completed in 1942, had a full-length flight deck in addition to the floodable well deck, making it more like a full-fledged aircraft carrier. However, the Japanese were already in a state of defeat, and the ship was eventually not used as an aircraft carrier until it was sunk in the fall of 1944. With the deployment of the 8,000-ton ''Shinshū Maru'' and a further refinement, the 9,000-ton ''Akitsu Maru'' (1941), the Japanese amphibious forces had in hand prototypes for all-purpose amphibious ships. Today the U.S. Navy and
Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
use this fundamental concept to the exclusion of all others in their LHA and LHD class amphibious assault carriers. In 1937, British and American observers watched ''Shinshū Maru'' at work off
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
and immediately recognized a significant development in amphibious warfare. ''Shinshū Maru'' carried landing craft in a well deck that could be flooded, which allowed the landing craft to float free from an open stern gate. The ship could also hold additional craft on davits, but her next most impressive function was an ability to discharge vehicles from a deck-level parking garage directly onto a pier. The ship also carried two catapults for aircraft but did not embark operational seaplanes. She could, however, transport and unload aircraft if necessary, a capability further developed with ''Akitsu Maru'', which even had a short take-off flight deck.


Post-World War II

Despite all the progress that was seen during World War II, there were still fundamental limitations in the types of coastline that were suitable for assault. Beaches had to be relatively free of obstacles, and have the right tidal conditions and the correct slope. However, the development of the helicopter fundamentally changed the equation. The first use of helicopters in an amphibious assault came during the invasion of Egypt during the
Suez War The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
in 1956. In this engagement, two British light fleet carriers, and , were converted to perform a battalion-size airborne assault with helicopters. The techniques were developed further by American forces during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and refined during training exercises. The modern amphibious assault can take place at virtually any point of the coast, making defending against them extremely difficult. Most early amphibious assault ships were converted from small aircraft carriers. As well as the two light aircraft carriers converted for use in the Suez War, the Royal Navy converted the carriers and into " commando carriers" during the 1950s. Their sister ship was also converted to a commando carrier in the early 1970s, but was restored to aircraft carrier operations before the end of the 1970s. In the early 1950s the United States Navy and Marine Corps tested the concept of airborne amphibious operations from aircraft carriers. In 1955 the escort carrier was converted to an assault helicopter carrier (CVHA-1), ultimately re-designated LPH-6 in 1959. ''Thetis Bay'' did not fully meet the Marine Corps requirements so three aircraft carriers; , , and , which had greater aircraft capacity, longer range, and higher speed were converted to helicopter carriers as LPH-4, LPH-5, and LPH-8 between 1959 and 1961. They are sometimes referred to as the ''Boxer'' class after the lead ship in the series. These provided a valuable interim during the construction from 1959 to 1970 of the full complement of seven new ships designed specifically for the landing platform helicopter role. Later amphibious assault craft were constructed for the role. The United States Navy constructed the ''Tarawa'' class of five landing helicopter assault ships, which began to enter service from the late 1970s, and the ''Wasp'' class of eight
landing helicopter dock A landing helicopter dock (LHD) is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship which is capable of operating helicopters and has a well deck. The United States Navy (USN) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) use the term as a hull classification sy ...
ships, the first of which was commissioned in 1989. The United States Navy is also designing a new class of assault ships: the first ship entered service in October 2014. The first British ship to be constructed specifically for the amphibious assault role was , which was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1998. Other nations have built amphibious assault ships; the French , South Korea's , and Spain's are all currently active, while Australia has two ships based on the Spanish design. Most modern amphibious assault ships have a well deck (docking well), allowing them to launch landing craft in rougher seas than a ship that has to use cranes or a stern ramp. The US Navy hull classification symbols differ among these vessels, depending on, among other things, their facilities for aircraft: a modern landing ship dock (LSD) has a helicopter deck, a landing platform dock (LPD) also has a hangar, and a landing helicopter dock (LHD) or landing helicopter assault (LHA) has a full-length flight deck with internal aviation facilities for both rotary and fixed wing craft below deck.


Design

Due to their aircraft carrier heritage, all amphibious assault ships resemble aircraft carriers in design. The flight deck is used to operate attack and utility helicopters for landing troops and supplies and on some ship types also launch and recover fixed wing aircraft such as V/STOL Harrier "jump jet"s to provide air support to landing operations. STOL aircraft such as the North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco were sometimes deployed on large-deck amphibious assault ships and were able to perform short take-offs and landings without needing catapults or arresting wires, although for safety and clearance reasons landings were most often not permitted.
Landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...
are also carried, either on deck-mounted
davit Boat suspended from radial davits; the boat is mechanically lowered Gravity multi-pivot on Scandinavia'' file:Bossoir a gravité.jpg, Gravity Roller Davit file:Davits-starbrd.png, Gravity multi-pivot davit holding rescue vessel on North Sea ferr ...
s, or in an internal
well dock A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. Th ...
(USN: "well deck").


List of types

*Commando carrier ** ''Centaur''-class aircraft carrier (UK) - retired ** HMS ''Hermes'' (R12) (UK) - restored to full carrier, in service with the Indian Navy from 1986 as INS Viraat until 2017 * Landing helicopter assault (LHA) ** (United States) – Retired ** (United States) *
Landing helicopter dock A landing helicopter dock (LHD) is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship which is capable of operating helicopters and has a well deck. The United States Navy (USN) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) use the term as a hull classification sy ...
(LHD) ** (Australia) **
Type 075 The Type 075 landing helicopter dock ( NATO reporting name: Yushen-class landing helicopter assault) is a class of Chinese amphibious assault ships built by Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding for the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). It has a fu ...
(China) ** ''Juan Carlos I'' (Spain) ** (France and Egypt) ** (United States) ** (Italy) – Under sea trial ** (Turkey) – Under sea trial ** Project 23900 (Russia) – Under construction * Landing platform helicopter (LPH) ** (South Korea) ** (Brazil), formerly HMS ''Ocean'' ** (United States) – Retired


See also

*
Amphibious Assault Ship Project The Amphibious Assault Ship Project was a proposed procurement project by the Government of Canada for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). However, no such project was incorporated into the Government's defence plan '' Strong, Secure and Engaged'' rele ...
* Amphibious assault submarine – theoretical type * Aviation-capable naval vessels * List of amphibious warfare ships * Mobile offshore base


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


In-depth look at various classes
{{Authority control