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.
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.
Ships Ship NameHull No.BuilderLaid DownLaunchedCommissionedDecommissionedHomeportFateNVRLSD-41Lockheed, Seattle4 August 198110 June 19839 February 198522 July 2022Towed for scrap.LSD-425 August 198229 June 19848 February 198624 September 2026LSD-4310 June 19831 February 19868 August 198727 March 2021Towed for scrap.LSD-44Avondale Shipyard26 May 198627 June 198722 April 1989Little Creek, VirginiaLSD-4527 October 198615 January 19883 February 1990San Diego, CaliforniaLSD-4623 March 198715 September 198817 November 1990Little Creek, VirginiaLSD-479 November 19876 May 19891 June 1991Sasebo, JapanLSD-484 April 198811 November 19899 May 1992San Diego, California
Whidbey Island and Tortuga were scheduled to be decommissioned during the FYDP 2013-2018, and the remaining ships of the class were scheduled to be retired before the end of their service lives.IHS Jane's Fighting Ships Executive Summary 2012 However, the Navy reversed its plan to decommission Whidbey Island, and in 2015 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley informed Congress of the Navy's plans to modernize Whidbey Island, Tortuga, and Germantown to extend them each to a 44-year total service life.
See also Equivalent landing ships of the same era
Citations
References US Navy Type Information Hutchinson, R. (ed.) (2002) Jane's Warship Recognition Guide, London : HarperCollins,
External links
Federation of American Scientists (FAS): LSD-41 Whidbey Island class GlobalSecurity.org: LSD-41 Whidbey Island class