Whidbey Island-class Dock Landing Ship

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 massive well deck for the transport of four LCAC hovercraft for landing Marines.

All ships of the class are scheduled to undergo a midlife upgrade over the next five years to ensure they remain in service through 2038. The ships will be upgraded each year through 2013, and the last ship will be modernized in 2014. Ships homeported on the East Coast will undergo upgrades at Metro Machine Corp., and ships based 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.

Specifications

 * Type: Dock Landing Ship (Hull designation symbol LSD)
 * Service Period: 1985-2038
 * Characteristics:
 * Length: 609 feet (185.62 meters)
 * Beam: 84 feet (25.6 meters)
 * Draft: 19 feet 6 inches (5.94 meters)
 * Displacement: 16,100 tons
 * Capacity: one LCM-6, two LCPL and one LCVP
 * Crew: 413 (22 officers and 391 enlisted), 500 marines
 * Propulsion: 4 Colt Industries, 16-cylinder diesel engines, 2 shafts, 33,000 shp (25 MW)
 * Speed: 22 knots (40.74 km/h)
 * Armament:
 * 2 x 25mm Mk.38 cannons
 * 2 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS mounts
 * 2 x Rolling Airframe Missile
 * 6 x .50 caliber M2HB machine guns
 * Boats Carried: 4 LCACs or 21 LCM-6s or up to 36 Amphibious Assault Vehicles AAV.

Unit Run

 * USS Whidbey Island (LSD-41)
 * USS Germantown (LSD-42)
 * USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43)
 * USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44)
 * USS Comstock (LSD-45)
 * USS Tortuga (LSD-46)
 * USS Rushmore (LSD-47)
 * USS Ashland (LSD-48)