Dock landing ship

File:USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49).jpg

Template:USS, a United States Navy dock landing ship

File:Quarter view of a Soviet Ivan Rogov class ship.JPEG

Soviet Ivan Rogov-class landing ship

A dock landing ship (also called landing ship, dock or LSD) is an amphibious warfare ship with a well dock to transport and launch landing craft and amphibious vehicles. Some ships with well decks, such as the Soviet Ivan Rogov class, also have bow doors to enable them to deliver vehicles directly onto a beach (like a tank landing ship). Modern dock landing ships also operate helicopters.

A ship with a well deck (docking well) can transfer cargo to landing craft in rougher seas far more easily than a ship which has to use cranes or a stern ramp. The U.S. Navy hull classification symbol for a ship with a well deck depends on its facilities for aircraft—a (modern) LSD has a helicopter deck, a landing platform dock also has a hangar, and a landing helicopter dock or landing helicopter assault has a full-length flight deck.

History

The LSD (U.S. Navy hull classification for landing ship, dock) came as a result of a British requirement during the Second World War for a vessel that could carry large landing craft across the seas at speed. The predecessor of all modern LSDs is of the Imperial Japanese Army, which could launch her infantry landing craft using an internal rail system and a stern ramp. She entered service in 1935 and saw combat in China and during the initial phase of Japanese offenses during 1942.

The first LSD of the Royal Navy came from a design by Sir Roland Baker who had designed the British landing craft tank. It was an answer to the problem of launching small craft rapidly. The landing ship stern chute, which was a converted train ferry (Train Ferry No. 1 which had been built for British Army use in the First World War), was an early attempt. Thirteen landing craft mechanized (LCM) could be launched from these ships down the chute. The landing ship gantry was a converted tanker with a crane to transfer its cargo of landing craft from deck to sea—15 LCM in a little over half an hour.

The design was developed and built in the U.S. for the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy. The LSD could carry 36 LCM at Template:Convert. It took one and a half hours for the dock to be flooded down and two and half to pump it out. When flooded they could also be used as docks for repairs to small craft. Smaller landing craft could be carried in the hold as could full-tracked and wheeled amphibious assault or support vehicles.

File:AAVs preparing to debark USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44).jpg

Amphibious vehicles inside a US LSD

File:Mounts Bay (L3008).jpg

A British Template:Sclass2

Vessels

In the U.S. Navy, two related groups of vessels classified as LSDs are in service as of 2023, the Template:Sclass and Template:Sclasses, mainly used to carry hovercraft (LCACs), operate helicopters, and carry Marines.

The British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) operates three Template:Sclass2s based on the Dutch-Spanish Enforcer design in support of the Royal Navy's operations, while a fourth ship of the class—previously in RFA service—is now operated by the Royal Australian Navy.

Former U.S. LSDs include the Template:Sclass, Template:Sclass, Template:Sclass, and Template:Sclass.

LSD classes

In service

Country	Class	In service	Commissioned	Length	Beam	Draft	Displacement (mt)	Note
	Choules (L-100)	1	2011	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	17,810	Ex-RFA Largs Bay (L3006) sold to Royal Australian Navy in April 2011.	File:HMAS Choules starboard bow.jpg
	Hsu Hai (LSD-193)	1	2000	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	14,225	Ex-USS Pensacola (LSD-38) sold to Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy in 2000.	File:US Navy 030117-N-2069B-002 USS Anchorage (LSD 36) departs San Diego Bay.jpg
	Ivan Gren	2	2016	Template:Convert	Template:Convert		6,600	Two more building to an improved design	File:Ivan Gren landing ship (1).jpg
	Template:Sclass2	3	2007	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	17,810		File:RFA Lyme Bay in Plymouth Sound.jpg
	Template:Sclass	6	1985	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	16,100		File:USS Germantown (LSD-42).jpg
	Template:Sclass	4	1995	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	19,600		File:US Navy 071007-N-4014G-055 Dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) approaches Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO 199) for an underway replenishment.jpg

Decommissioned

Country	Class	Out of service	Commissioned	Length	Beam	Draft	Displacement (mt)	Note
	Cándido de Lasala (Q-43)	1	1970–1981	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	7,930	Ex-USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) sold to Argentina in 1970, scrapped after 1981.	File:ARACandidodeLasalaQ43.jpg
	Ceará (G-30), Rio de Janeiro (G-31)	2	1990–2012	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	11,989	Ex-USS Hermitage (LSD-34) loaned in 1989 and later sold to Brazilian Navy, sunk as target 2021; ex-USS Alamo (LSD-33) loaned to Brazilian Navy in 1990, scrapped 2015 Turkey.	File:NDD Rio de Janeiro (G-31).jpg
	Chung Cheng (LSD-191)	1	1977–1985	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	7,930	Ex-USS White Marsh (LSD-8) loaned to the ROC Navy in 1960, scrapped 1985.
	Chung Cheng (LSD-191)	1	1984–2012	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	7,930	Ex-USS Comstock (LSD-19) sold for scrapping 1984, salvaged by ROC Navy, sunk as artificial reef June 2015.	File:USS Comstock (LSD-19) underway off Korea 1951.jpg
	Template:Sclass	3	1978–2002	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	14,060	Ivan Rogov and Aleksandr Nikolayev are now being preserved; Mitrofan Moskalenko auctioned off for scrapping in 2012.	File:DoD-Ivan Rogov-DN-SN-85-07169 50pct.jpg
	Template:Sclass	8	1943–1969	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	7,930	Ex-USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) sold to Argentina; Ex-USS White Marsh (LSD-8) sold to Taiwan; rest scrapped from 1968 to 1970.	File:USS Lindenwald (LSD-6) underway in Hampton Roads 1965.jpg
	Template:Sclass	13	1944–1970	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	7,930	Last ship ex-USS Shadwell (LSD-15) scrapped in 2017.	File:USS Comstock (LSD-19) underway off Korea 1951.jpg
	Template:Sclass	8	1954–1990	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	11,989	Ex-USS Alamo (LSD-33) loaned to Brazilian Navy; ex-USS Hermitage (LSD-34) loaned and later sold to Brazilian Navy; all other scrapped or sunk as target	File:USS Thomaston;10122801.jpg
	Template:Sclass	5	1969–2003	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	14,225	Ex-USS Pensacola (LSD-38) sold to Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy and only active ship with all others scrapped or sunk as target.	File:US Navy 030117-N-2069B-002 USS Anchorage (LSD 36) departs San Diego Bay.jpg
	Template:Sclass	2	1985–present	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	Template:Convert	16,100	Whidbey Island and Fort McHenry in inactive reserve	File:US Navy 050117-F-4884R-015 he amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) makes a wide turn prior to conducting helicopter operations off the coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.jpg

See also

• List of amphibious warfare ships
• List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships § Landing Ship Dock (LSD)
• Roll-on/roll-off
• USNS Point Barrow (T-AKD-1), a cargo ship of similar design

External links

• US Navy Office of Information Fact File – LSD Template:Webarchive