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Anchorage-class dock landing ship
U.S. series of ships

The Anchorage-class dock landing ships were a series of five dock landing ships (LSD) constructed and commissioned by the United States Navy between 1965 and 1972. US Navy decommissioned all five of them by 2003. They are succeeded by Whidbey Island-class LSDs and Harpers Ferry-class LSDs.

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Design and development

The Anchorage class of dock landing ships was built as a replacement for the remaining aging war-built LSDs of the Ashland and Casa Grande classes. Their principal intended role was to carry additional landing craft to supplement those carried by the Amphibious transport docks (LPD)s, which carried less landing craft in order to accommodate more troops and cargo.12

The Anchorage class was slightly larger than the preceding Thomaston class, but were of generally similar design, with a large Well dock aft to accommodate landing craft, and a removable flight deck fitted above the well deck to allow the operation of helicopters, although no hangar was provided. The well dock was 430 feet (130 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide, and could accommodate three Landing Craft Utilitys or nine LCM-8 Landing Craft Mechanised.3 The ship could carry 375 troops compared with the 345 carried by the Thomastons,4 while 12,000 square feet (1,115 m2) of vehicle parking space was provided.5

The ships were propelled by two geared steam turbines driving two shafts and giving a total of 24,000 shaft horsepower (18,000 kW). This gave a speed of 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h), the standard speed of the postwar US Navy amphibious fleet.678 As built, the ships had a defensive armament of eight 3"/50 Mark 33 anti-aircraft guns in four twin mounts, while major sensors included SPS-10 surface search radar and SPS-40 air-search radar.9

Construction and service

The name ship of the class, USS Anchorage (LSD-36) was ordered under the Fiscal year 1965 (FY65) shipbuilding program, with three more (USS Portland (LSD-37), USS Pensacola (LSD-38) and USS Mount Vernon (LSD-39)) ordered under the FY66 program and the final ship of the class, USS Fort Fisher (LSD-40), under the FY67 programme.10 They were laid down between 1967 and 1970 and entered service between 1969 and 1972.11

The fire-control directors for the 3 in guns were removed in the late 1970s, while the ships' gun armament was gradually reduced, with two mounts removed by 1990, and the remaining 3 inch guns removed by 1994.12 Two 20mm Phalanx CIWS mounts to defend against anti-ship missiles and two 25 mm Bushmaster cannon to defend against surface targets were fitted to replace these weapons.13

Ship List

NameBuilder14Laid Down15LaunchedCommissionedFate
USS Anchorage (LSD-36)Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi13 March 19675 May 19681615 March 196917Decommissioned 1 October 200318 Sunk as target 17 July 201019
USS Portland (LSD-37)General Dynamics, Quincy, Massachusetts21 September 196720 December 1969 203 October 197021Decommissioned 4 August 200322Sunk as target 25 April 200423
USS Pensacola (LSD-38)General Dynamics, Quincy, Massachusetts12 March 196911 July 19702427 March 197125Sold to Taiwan Navy in 2000 ROCS Hsu Hai (LSD-193)
USS Mount Vernon (LSD-39)General Dynamics, Quincy, Massachusetts29 January 197017 April 19712613 May 197227Decommissioned 25 July 200328Sunk as target 16 June 200529
USS Fort Fisher (LSD-40)General Dynamics, Quincy, Massachusetts15 July 197022 April 19723012 September 197231Decommissioned 27 February 199832Sold for scrapping 22 May 200933

Citations

  • Baker, A. D. (1998). The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 1998–1999. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: U.S. Naval Institute. ISBN 1-55750-111-4.
  • Blackman, Raymond V. B. (1971). Jane's Fighting Ships 1971–72. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd. ISBN 0-354-00096-9.
  • Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen (1995). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
  • Polmar, Norman (1981). The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet (Twelfth ed.). London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-397-2.

References

  1. Blackman 1971, p. 509. ↩

  2. Polmar 1981, pp. 144, 146. ↩

  3. Polmar 1981, p. 146. ↩

  4. Polmar 1981, pp. 145–146. ↩

  5. Baker 1998, p. 1046. ↩

  6. Blackman 1971, p. 509. ↩

  7. Polmar 1981, p. 125. ↩

  8. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, pp. 549–550. ↩

  9. Polmar 1981, pp. 145–146. ↩

  10. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 619. ↩

  11. Baker 1998, p. 1045. ↩

  12. Baker 1998, p. 1046. ↩

  13. Gardiner and Chumbley 1995, p. 620. ↩

  14. Blackman 1971, p. 509. ↩

  15. Blackman 1971, p. 509. ↩

  16. Blackman 1971, p. 509. ↩

  17. Blackman 1971, p. 509. ↩

  18. Priolo, Gary P. (1 March 2013). "USS Anchorage (LSD-36)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 4 August 2013. http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/12/1236.htm ↩

  19. Priolo, Gary P. (1 March 2013). "USS Anchorage (LSD-36)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 4 August 2013. http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/12/1236.htm ↩

  20. Blackman 1971, p. 509. ↩

  21. Blackman 1971, p. 509. ↩

  22. Priolo, Gary P. (15 February 2013). "USS Portland (LSD-37)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 4 August 2013. http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/12/1237.htm ↩

  23. Priolo, Gary P. (15 February 2013). "USS Portland (LSD-37)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 4 August 2013. http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/12/1237.htm ↩

  24. Blackman 1971, p. 509. ↩

  25. Blackman 1971, p. 509. ↩

  26. Blackman 1971, p. 509. ↩

  27. Baker 1998, p. 1045. ↩

  28. Priolo, Gary P. (25 January 2013). "USS Vernon (LSD-39)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 4 August 2013. http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/12/1239.htm ↩

  29. Priolo, Gary P. (25 January 2013). "USS Vernon (LSD-39)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 4 August 2013. http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/12/1239.htm ↩

  30. Baker 1998, p. 1045. ↩

  31. Baker 1998, p. 1045. ↩

  32. Priolo, Gary P. (19 November 2010). "USS Fort Fisher (LSD-40)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 4 August 2013. http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/12/1240.htm ↩

  33. Priolo, Gary P. (19 November 2010). "USS Fort Fisher (LSD-40)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 4 August 2013. http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/12/1240.htm ↩