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Anamphibious assault ship is a type ofamphibious warfare ship designed forvanguardingamphibious operations into enemy territories during anarmed conflict via launching eithernaval landings orair assaults, and also by providingshipborneclose air support andlogistics for landed friendly forces (usuallymarines).[1] Such a ship is typically thecapital ship of a dedicatedfleet known as theamphibious ready group orexpeditionary strike group.
Amphibious assault ships evolved fromaircraft carriers converted for specific use ashelicopter carriers (which, as a result, are often mistaken for conventional fixed-wing aircraft carriers). Modern designs support amphibiouslanding craft, with most designs including awell deck. Like the aircraft carriers they were developed from, some amphibious assault ships also supportV/STOL fixed-wing aircraft and have a secondary role as aircraft carriers.[2][3]
The role of the amphibious assault ship is fundamentally different from that of a standard aircraft carrier: its aviation facilities have the primary role of hosting helicopters to support forces ashore rather than to support strike aircraft. However, some are capable of serving in thesea-control role, embarking aircraft likeHarrier or theF-35B variant of theLightning II fighters forcombat air patrol and helicopters foranti-submarine warfare or operating as a safe base for large numbers ofSTOVL fighters conducting air support for an expeditionary unit ashore. Most of these ships can also carry or support landing craft, such asair-cushioned landing craft (hovercraft) orLCUs.
The largest fleet of these types is operated by theUnited States Navy, including theWasp class dating back to 1989 and the very similarAmerica-class ships which entered service in 2014. Just as an aircraft carrier leads acarrier strike group in the US Navy, an amphibious assault ship leads anexpeditionary strike group. Amphibious assault ships are also operated by the ChinesePeople's Liberation Army Navy, theRoyal Navy, theFrench Navy, theItalian Navy, theSpanish Navy, theRoyal Australian Navy, theBrazilian Navy, theEgyptian Navy, theRepublic of Korea Navy (South Korea) and theTurkish Naval Forces.
The term amphibious assault ship is often used interchangeably with other ship classifications. It applies to all large-deck amphibious ships such as thelanding platform helicopter (LPH),landing helicopter assault (LHA), andlanding helicopter dock (LHD).[4]
In thePacific theater of World War II,escort carriers would often escort the landing ships and troop carriers during the island-hopping campaign. In this role, they would provide air cover for the troopships as well as fly the first wave of attacks on the beach fortifications in amphibious landing operations. On occasion, they would even escort the large carriers, serving as emergency airstrips and providing fighter cover for their larger sisters while these were busy readying or refueling their own planes. They would also transport aircraft and spare parts from the US to the remote island airstrips.
TheImperial Japanese Army had its own landing ships, independent of theNavy, the "landing craft carriers" (officially named "Army Special Purpose Ship"), which were designed to deploy multiple landing craft such as theDaihatsu-class landing craft and other small boats in short order.
First,Shinshū Maru, completed in 1934 as the world's first purpose-built landing ship,[5] was able to deploy landing craft via cranes and a floodablewell dock, and was also initially designed to launch seaplanes, but those facilities were never installed.It was succeeded by three standardized classes of ship, the "Type A" with the same capacities asShinshū Maru but with a larger size and resembling cargo liners (six completed), the "Type B", being similar to the Type A but smaller (one completed), and finally the "Type C", which instead of resembling cargo liners, had aflight deck, able to lauch small STOL planes and autogyros forcombat air patrol,aerial reconnaissance andclose air support of the landing troops, similar in role to a limited escort carrier (two completed).[6]
The two ships of the Type C,Akitsu Maru andKumano Maru, completed in 1942 and 1945 respectively, had full-length flight decks in addition to the floodable well deck, however, the Japanese were already in a state of defeat by that time, and the ships were eventually not used as carriers until the end of the war.[6] With the deployment of the 7,000 tShinshū Maru and a further refinement, the 10,000 t Type A and Type C, the Japanese amphibious forces had in hand prototypes for all-purpose amphibious warfare ships. Today theU.S. Navy andMarines use this fundamental concept in their LHA and LHD class amphibious assault carriers.[7]
In 1937, British and American observers watchedShinshū Maru at work offShanghai and immediately recognized a significant development in amphibious warfare.Shinshū Maru carried landing craft in a well deck that could be flooded, which allowed the landing craft to float free from an open stern gate. The ship could also hold additional craft on davits, but her next most impressive function was an ability to discharge vehicles from a deck-level parking garage directly onto a pier. The ship also carried two catapults for aircraft but did not embark operational seaplanes. She could, however, transport and unload aircraft if necessary, a capability further developed withAkitsu Maru, which even had a short take-off flight deck.[8]
Despite all the progress that was seen during World War II, there were still fundamental limitations in the types of coastline that were suitable for assault. Beaches had to be relatively free of obstacles, and have the right tidal conditions and the correct slope. However, the development of the helicopter fundamentally changed the equation. The first use of helicopters in an amphibious assault came during the invasion of Egypt during theSuez War in 1956. In this engagement, two British light fleet carriers,Ocean andTheseus, were converted to perform a battalion-size airborne assault with helicopters.
The techniques were developed further by American forces during theVietnam War and refined during training exercises. The modern amphibious assault can take place at virtually any point of the coast, making defending against them extremely difficult.
Most early amphibious assault ships were converted from small aircraft carriers. As well as the twoColossus-class light aircraft carriers converted for use in the Suez War, the Royal Navy converted theCentaur-class carriersAlbion andBulwark into "commando carriers" during the 1950s.[9] Their sister shipHMS Hermes was also converted to a commando carrier in the early 1970s, but was restored to aircraft carrier operations before the end of the 1970s.
In the early 1950s the United States Navy and Marine Corps tested the concept of airborne amphibious operations from aircraft carriers. In 1955 theCasablanca-class escort carrierUSS Thetis Bay was converted to an assault helicopter carrier (CVHA-1), ultimately re-designated LPH-6 in 1959.[10]Thetis Bay did not fully meet the Marine Corps requirements so threeEssex-class aircraft carriers;Boxer,Princeton, andValley Forge, which had greater aircraft capacity, longer range, and higher speed were converted to helicopter carriers as LPH-4, LPH-5, and LPH-8 between 1959 and 1961. They are sometimes referred to as theBoxer class after the lead ship in the series.[11] These provided a valuable interim during the construction from 1959 to 1970 of the full complement of seven newIwo Jima-class ships designed specifically for thelanding platform helicopter role.
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Later amphibious assault craft were constructed for the role. The United States Navy constructed theTarawa class of fivelanding helicopter assault ships, which began to enter service from the late 1970s, and theWasp class of eightlanding helicopter dock ships, the first of which was commissioned in 1989. The United States Navy is also designing a new class of assault ships: the firstAmerica-class ship entered service in October 2014.[12]
The first British ship to be constructed specifically for the amphibious assault role wasHMS Ocean, which was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1998. Other nations have built amphibious assault ships; the FrenchMistral class, South Korea'sROKS Dokdo, and Spain'sJuan Carlos I are all currently active, while Australia and Turkey have twoCanberra-class and oneAnadulu-class ships respectively, all based on the Spanish design.
Most modern amphibious assault ships have awell deck (docking well), allowing them to launch landing craft in rougher seas than a ship that has to use cranes or a stern ramp. TheUS Navy hull classification symbols differ among these vessels, depending on, among other things, theirfacilities for aircraft: a modernlanding ship dock (LSD) has ahelicopter deck, alanding platform dock (LPD) also has a hangar, and alanding helicopter dock (LHD) orlanding helicopter assault (LHA) has a full-length flight deck with internal aviation facilities for both rotary and fixed wing craft below deck.[13]
Due to their aircraft carrier heritage, all amphibious assault ships resemble aircraft carriers in design. The flight deck is used to operate attack and utility helicopters for landing troops and supplies and on some ship types also launch and recover fixed wing aircraft such as V/STOLHarrier "jump jet"s orF-35Bs to provide air support to landing operations. STOL aircraft such as theNorth American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco were sometimes deployed on large-deck amphibious assault ships and were able to perform short take-offs and landings without needing catapults or arresting wires, although for safety and clearance reasons landings were most often not permitted.[14]Landing craft are also carried, either on deck-mounteddavits, or in an internalwell dock (USN: "well deck").
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