The ''Blue Ridge'' class is the first and only class of amphibious command and control ships to be specifically designed as such from the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

up. The ''Blue Ridge'' class resulted from almost seven years of planning and construction work. Under the designation SCB-248 (later SCB-400.65), the hull of the was used as the basis of the design due to the flight deck's ability to distance antennas to minimize interference between the ships' multiple communications systems and to the deck's ability to act as a

ground plane In electrical engineering, a ground plane is an electrically conductive surface, usually connected to electrical ground. Ground planes are typically made of copper or aluminum, and they are often located on the bottom of printed circuit boards ...

; the LPH island was replaced with a small centralized superstructure. As designed, the ''Blue Ridge'' class was capable of supporting the staff of both the Commander of an Amphibious Task Force and the staff of the Commanding General of the Landing Force. The ships were the most advanced joint amphibious command-and-control centers constructed at the time, due to their advanced computer systems, extensive communications package and modern surveillance and detection systems. At the time of their commissionings, the ships of the ''Blue Ridge'' class had the distinction of carrying the world's most sophisticated electronics suites, thirty percent larger than that of the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

, which had been the most complex. They were fitted with a "main battery" of computers, communications gear, and other electronic facilities to fulfill their mission as command ships. An advanced communications system was also an integral part of the ships' radical new design. Through an automated patch panel and computer controlled switching matrix her crew could use any combination of communication equipment desired. Welcome Aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) 1971 file 05 of 10 US Navy long-range communications were heavily reliant on

high frequency High frequency (HF) is the ITU designation for the band of radio waves with frequency between 3 and 30 megahertz (MHz). It is also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as its wavelengths range from one to ten decameters (ten to one ...

radio systems in the 1970s and have evolved to predominantly satellite communications in the 2000s. This was illustrated by the long wire antennas, discone antennas, and directional HF yagi or

log-periodic antenna A log-periodic antenna (LP), also known as a log-periodic array or log-periodic aerial, is a multi-element, directional antenna designed to operate over a wide band of frequencies. It was invented by John Dunlavy in 1952. The most common form ...

initially installed on the class and later removed and replaced with a number of satellite communications antennas. Besides small arms, the ''Blue Ridge'' class was initially armed with two twin Mark 33

3"/50 caliber gun The 3-inch/50-caliber gun (spoken "three-inch fifty-caliber") in United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile in diameter, and the barrel was 50 Caliber (artillery), calibers long (barrel length is 3 in × 50 = ). ...

s at commissioning, though they have since been removed. They also carried two Mark 25 launchers and electronics for the Basic Point Defense Missile System (BPDMS) which was added sometime in the 1970s and removed in the 1990s. Two 20 mm

Phalanx CIWS The Phalanx CIWS () is an automated gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Co ...

systems were added in the 1980s for point defense. In recent years they have also carried Mk 38 25 mm Bushmaster cannons. The ''Blue Ridge'' class consists of two ships. Originally six were requested, three were planned, and only two were built.

Ships in class

References

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