Wasp-class Amphibious Assault Ship

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The Wasp-class is a class of Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy. Based on the Tarawa-class, with modifications to operate more advanced aircraft and landing craft, the Wasp-class is capable of transporting almost the full strength of a United States Marine Corps Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and landing them in hostile territory via landing craft or helicopters. All Wasp-class ships were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, at Pascagoula, Mississippi, with lead ship USS Wasp (LHD-01) commissioned on July 29, 1989. Eight Wasp-class ships were built, and as of 2013, all eight are active.

Specifications[edit | edit source]

  • Type: Amphibious Assault Ship (Hull designation symbol LHD)
  • Service Period: 1989-Present
  • Characteristics:
    • Length: 831 feet (253.29 meters)
    • Beam: 104 feet (31.7 meters)
    • Draft: 27 feet (8.23 meters)
    • Displacement: 40,500 tons (Full Load)
  • Capacity: 1 x MEU (1,894 Marines, 5 x M1 Abrams MBTs, 25 x AAVs, 8 x M198 howitzers, 68 trucks, 12 support vehicles)
  • Crew: 1,206
  • Propulsion: 2 x General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 2 x shafts
  • Range: 9,500 nautical miles (17,594 kilometers) at 15 knots (27.78 km/h)
  • Speed: 22 knots (40.74 km/h)
  • Sensor Suite:
    • 1 x AN/SPS-49 2-D Air Search Radar
    • 1 x AN/SPS-48 3-D Air Search Radar
    • 1 x AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar
    • 1 x Mk.23 Target Acquisition System (TAS)
    • 1 x AN/SPN-43 Marshalling Air Traffic Control Radar
    • 1 x AN/SPN-35 Air Traffic Control Radar
    • 1 x AN/URN-25 TACAN system
    • 1 x AN/UPX-24 Identification Friend Foe
  • Countermeasures:
    • AN/SLQ-25 Nixie torpedo countermeasures suite
    • AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare Suite
    • AN/SLQ-49 Chaff Buoy Decoy System
    • Sea Gnat Missile Decoy
    • Mk.36 SBROC
  • Armament
    • 2 x Mk.29 Sea Sparrow Missile Launchers
    • 2 x Mk.49 Rolling Airframe Missile Launchers
    • 3 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS
    • 4 x Mk.38 25mm Chain guns
    • 4 x .50-caliber BMG machine guns
  • Aircraft Carried: Dependent on mission
  • Boats Carried: 3 Landing Craft Air Cushion or 12 Landing Craft Mechanized

Unit Run[edit | edit source]

  • USS Wasp (LHD-01)
  • USS Essex (LHD-02)
  • USS Kearsarge (LHD-03)
  • USS Boxer (LHD-04)
  • USS Bataan (LHD-05)
  • USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-06)
  • USS Iwo Jima (LHD-07)
  • USS Makin Island (LHD-08)