An amphibious command ship (LCC) of 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 ...
is a large, special-purpose ship, originally designed to command large
amphibious invasions. However, as amphibious invasions have become unlikely, they are now used as general
command ship
Command ships serve as the flagships of the commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and their staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities.
An auxiliary command ship features ...
s, and serve as floating headquarters for the various
combatant commands
A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...
. Currently, they are assigned to the
6th
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...
and
7th Fleets as
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...
s.
Active ships
*
USS ''Blue Ridge'' (LCC-19)
*
USS ''Mount Whitney'' (LCC-20)
Previous ships
was the
lead ship
The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels.
Large ships are very complex and may ...
of the previous class of amphibious force command ships. She was designed as an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.
World War II
In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
this type of ship was termed Amphibious Force Flagship (AGC).
It was not a specific ship class, but rather one that had appropriate radio capabilities and space for command operations. Typically a merchant ship under construction would be completed as an Amphibious Force Flagship, but some ships were refitted for this purpose.
*, former AP-66
*, former WPG-33
*, former AVP-11
*, former WPG-37
The original meaning of AGC was based on the ''General Auxiliary'' class of miscellaneous unclassified vessels AG and sub-class C, with 3 possible meanings; ''Command'', ''Control'', or ''Communications'', but it became an
anacronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
, since all AGCs were called ''Amphibious Force Flagships''.
The British used the term
Landing Ship Infantry (Headquarters) for this type of ship.
See also
*
List of US Navy Amphibious Force Flagships (AGC)
*
List of US Navy Amphibious Command Ships (LCC)
References
External links
U.S. Navy Factfile
at ''GlobalSecurity.org''
p177 AGC ships of the U.S. fleetp261 U.S. amphibious ships and craft: Command and Control
Ship types
Naval ships of the United States
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