The ''Austin'' class was a class of twelve amphibious transport dock ships in service with the United States Navy from 1965 to 2017. Note that the U.S.

Naval Vessel Registry The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

list separate ''Cleveland'' (seven built) and ''Trenton'' (two built) class ships, but most sources lists them as a single class. ''Trenton'' was sold to India and is the only ship still active.

Design

The ''Austin'' class was an enlarged version of the preceding . Designed under project SCB 187B, the ships are about longer which increased the displacement by some 3,300 tons. The dock is as large as that of the ''Raleigh''-class. In front of the dock was a 70m long raised level to park vehicles which was connected via a ramp to the flight deck. The ramp ended in a new telescoping hangar. Although the flight deck had room for up to six CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, the hangar was only a temporary shelter for a single helicopter and not a permanent facility. The propulsion consists of two Foster Wheeler boilers (600 psi), powering two De Laval GT turbines, providing 12,000 SHP each for the two propellers. The reason for creating a ''Cleveland''/''Trenton'' sub-class is that the last nine ships of the class were built as flagships for

amphibious ready groups Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

with an additional deck above the bridge and accommodations for additional 90 personnel. The SPS-40 radar is also placed higher on the mast. Otherwise the ships are identical. Originally the ships were armed only with four

3-inch/50-caliber gun The 3"/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 calibers long (barrel length is 3 in × 50 = ). Different guns (identifi ...

Mark 33 twin mounts. These were later removed and the weapon stations were used to fit two Phalanx CIWS.Stefan Terzibaschitsch: ''Seemacht USA''. Bechtermünz Verlang, Augsburg, Germany, 1997, ISBN 3860475762, pp. 576. The last ship of the class, LPD-16, while authorized, was cancelled before being constructed. served for 10 years as an LPD before she was converted into a command ship. She kept her hull number and was redesignated AGF-11. From 2012 to 2017, served with the United States Military Sealift Command as a forward base ship with helicopter facilities, which was designated "Afloat Forward Staging Base, Interim".

Ships

References

Notes

Sources

External links

U.S. Navy Fact File: Amphibious Transport Dock - LPD

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin Class Amphibious Transport Dock Austin class amphibious transport dock Austin class amphibious transport dock Austin class amphibious transport dock Amphibious warfare vessel classes