Harpers Ferry Class
 USS Harpers Ferry 2002 in Sasebo, Japan |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Type | Dock landing ship |
| units | 4 built, 4 in service |
| Namesake | Location Harpers Ferry |
| period of service |
since 1995 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
fully loaded 16,400 ts |
| length |
185.6 meters |
| width |
25.6 meters |
| Draft |
6.4 meters |
| crew |
24 officers, 328 men, up to 500 Marines |
| drive |
2 propellers, four diesel engines; 33,000 wave horsepower |
| speed |
20+ knots |
| Range |
8000 nautical miles at 20 knots |
| Armament |
2 phalanx, 2 launchers for anti-aircraft missiles |
The Harpers Ferry- class is a class of dock landing craft of the United States Navy . The first of the four units entered service in 1995.
history
After the construction of the Whidbey Island class ships began, it became clear that they could transport four Landing Craft Air Cushioned (LCAC) type hovercraft , but only relatively little cargo. Therefore, the Navy planned a successor, which should become the "packhorse" of the Amphibious Ready Group called amphibious units. To save money and time in designing and building these new freight units, they were designed as a variant of the Whidbey Island class. Therefore she received the project name LSD 41 Cargo Variant or LSD 41 (CV) for short , after the hull number of the type ship of the Whidbey Island class, USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) .
In 1988 the first unit was finally commissioned and laid down in 1991. The shipyard for the entire class was Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans , Louisiana . After the bankruptcy of Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, this shipyard had already manufactured the last five LSD of the Whidbey Island class. In 1991 and 1992 a further unit was laid down each time. Originally, up to twelve ships of the class were planned; However, after no further funds for new buildings had been approved due to cost increases after the third unit, the Navy only applied for supplements for 1994 and 1995 to cover the increased costs. However, the United States Senate allocated the program for the 1995 budget year on its own initiative funding for a fourth unit that was keeled off that year. In 1998 this was the last of the class to enter service.
units
| Surname | Shipyard | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | home port |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49) | Avondale Shipyard , New Orleans | April 15, 1991 | January 16, 1993 | January 7, 1995 | Naval Base San Diego |
| USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) | November 11, 1991 | 2nd October 1993 | September 30, 1995 | Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek | |
| USS Oak Hill (LSD-51) | September 21, 1992 | June 11, 1994 | June 8, 1996 | Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek | |
| USS Pearl Harbor (LSD-52) | January 27, 1995 | February 24, 1996 | May 30, 1998 | Naval Base San Diego |
technology
hull
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The ships of the Harpers Ferry class are, like their sisters in the Whidbey Island class , 185.6 meters long (overall, construction waterline 176.8 meters) and 25.6 meters wide. The draft is around 6.4 meters. When fully loaded, the ships displace around 16,400 ts , a little more than their predecessors. Both the hull and the superstructure are made of steel. The associated higher weight was accepted because steel is far more resistant than light metals when a fire breaks out. Outwardly, both classes are very similar.
The superstructures and the deckhouse take up roughly the front third of the deck, behind which there is an area with several cranes for loading the corrugated deck and a deck area next to the opening where traffic boats are stored. This is followed by a landing deck for helicopters. There is no hangar; two helicopters of all types can operate simultaneously on the landing deck.
The corrugated deck , 134 meters long on LSD-41 , has been cut in half to provide more storage space for cargo. As a result, the capacities for landing vehicles have also decreased by 50%: Instead of four, the Harpers Ferry ships can only carry two LCACs. The well deck can be accessed from the open sea by means of a gate at the stern.
drive
The propulsion system was adopted unchanged from the Whidbey Island class. It consists of four 16-cylinder diesel engines from Colt Industries . These act on two shafts with one propeller each. Five-bladed controllable pitch propellers are used . The power of the drive system is 30,000 shaft horsepower. Power for the on-board systems is generated by four Ship Service Diesel Generators manufactured by Fairbanks, Morse and Company . Each of the generators has an output of up to 1.3 megawatts.
The US Navy officially states that the speed is 20+ knots. The range at a cruising speed of 20 knots is 8,000 nautical miles without bunkering en route.
Armament
The armament of the Harpers Ferry class also comes from its predecessors and is exclusively defensive. It consists of two close-in-weapon systems of the type Phalanx CIWS , which attempt to shoot down approaching missiles with a large number of projectiles, as well as two launcher for 21 surface-to-air missiles RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile .
The armament of each ship also includes six Browning M2 machine guns with a .50 caliber and two Mk. 38 machine guns for defense against enemy speed boats or rubber dinghies, especially when the ships are in port.
electronics
On the deckhouse is a single mast on which the radar systems of the dock landing ships are located. An SPS-49 from Raytheon is in operation as aerial search radar , and a SPS-67 from Norden Systems / Northrop Grumman as surface search radar . SPS-64 , also from Raytheon, is installed as a navigation radar.
For electronic warfare that's AN / SLQ-32 package on board for self-defense against incoming rockets ships can the system Mark 36 SRBOC began, to deflect torpedoes capable AN / SLQ-25 Nixie be dragged.
Mission profile
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The dock landing ships of the Harpers Ferry class are used as part of Expeditionary Strike Groups . These are grouped around an amphibious assault ship of either the America or Wasp class ; three destroyers or cruisers and a nuclear submarine are also used as escorts . The dock landing ships of the Harpers Ferry class serve as cargo ships in these groups; they have less landing capacity than, say, the Whidbey Island class ships .
In addition to carrying out amphibious landing operations in the event of war, dock landing ships are particularly useful for humanitarian missions, for example after Hurricane Katrina or the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake . The embarked air cushion landing craft, together with the helicopters, can quickly bring large quantities of relief supplies to all types of coasts.
Web links
- Fact sheet of the US Navy (English)
- Harpers Ferry Class on globalsecurity.org (English)