Blue Ridge-class command ship

{{short description|US Navy class of amphibious command and control ships}}

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{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}

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{{Infobox ship begin}} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = USS Mount Whitney (LCC-JCC 20) in Souda Bay.jpg | Ship caption = USS Mount Whitney }} {{Infobox ship class overview | Name = Blue Ridge Class | Builders = *Philadelphia Naval Shipyard - LCC 19 Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. - LCC 20 | Operators = United States Navy | Class before = | Class after = | Subclasses = | Cost = | Built range = | In commission range = 1970 - Present | Total ships building = | Total ships planned = 3 | Total ships completed = 2 | Total ships cancelled = 1 | Total ships active = 2 | Total ships laid up = | Total ships lost = | Total ships retired = | Total ships scrapped = | Total ships preserved = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = [https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2169843/amphibious-command-ships-lcc/ Amphibious Command Ships - LCC], U.S. Navy. Retrieved 4 December 2024. | Ship type = | Ship displacement = 18,874 long tons (19,176.89 metric tons) full load | Ship length = {{convert|634|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|108|ft|abbr=on}} | Ship draft = {{convert|26|ft|9|in|abbr=on}} full load | Ship propulsion = Two boilers, one geared turbine, one shaft; {{convert|22,000|hp|abbr=on}} | Ship speed = {{convert|23|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} | Ship range = {{convert|13,000|nmi|km mi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|16|kn|km/h}} | Ship complement = 564 enlisted, 34 officers | Ship sensors = | Ship EW = | Ship armament = *2 × Phalanx CIWS 2 × Mark 38 25 mm machine gun system | Ship armour = | Ship armor = | Ship aircraft = All helicopters except the CH-53 Sea Stallion can be carried | Ship aircraft facilities = | Ship notes = }}

The Blue Ridge class is the first and only class of amphibious command and control ships to be specifically designed as such from the keel up.

The Blue Ridge class resulted from almost seven years of planning and construction work. Under the designation SCB-248 (later SCB-400.65), the hull of the {{sclass|Iwo Jima|amphibious assault ship}} was used as the basis of the design due to the flight deck's ability to distance antennas to minimize interference between the ships' multiple communications systems and to the deck's ability to act as a ground plane; the LPH island was replaced with a small centralized superstructure.{{cite book|last=Friedman |first=Norman |title=U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=2002 |series=Illustrated Design Histories |pages=428–429 |isbn=1-55750-250-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWX-x0b4pw4C&pg=PA218 |accessdate=22 March 2010 }}

As designed, the Blue Ridge class was capable of supporting the staff of both the Commander of an Amphibious Task Force and the staff of the Commanding General of the Landing Force. The ships were the most advanced joint amphibious command-and-control centers constructed at the time, due to their advanced computer systems, extensive communications package and modern surveillance and detection systems.Welcome Aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) 1971 file 02 of 10

File:Welcome Aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) 1971 page 09 of 10.jpg

At the time of their commissionings, the ships of the Blue Ridge class had the distinction of carrying the world's most sophisticated electronics suites, thirty percent larger than that of the aircraft carrier {{USS|John F. Kennedy|CV-67|6}}, which had been the most complex. They were fitted with a "main battery" of computers, communications gear, and other electronic facilities to fulfill their mission as command ships. An advanced communications system was also an integral part of the ships' radical new design. Through an automated patch panel and computer controlled switching matrix her crew could use any combination of communication equipment desired.Welcome Aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) 1971 file 05 of 10

US Navy long-range communications were heavily reliant on high frequency radio systems in the 1970s and have evolved to predominantly satellite communications in the 2000s. This was illustrated by the long wire antennas, discone antennas, and directional HF yagi or log-periodic antenna initially installed on the class and later removed and replaced with a number of satellite communications antennas. File:Blue Ridge transiting the Strait of Magellan, file 08 of 10.jpg

Besides small arms, the Blue Ridge class was initially armed with two twin Mark 33 3"/50 caliber guns at commissioning, though they have since been removed. They also carried two Mark 25 launchers and electronics for the Basic Point Defense Missile System (BPDMS) which was added sometime in the 1970s and removed in the 1990s. Two 20 mm Phalanx CIWS systems were added in the 1980s for point defense. In recent years they have also carried Mk 38 25 mm Bushmaster cannons.

The Blue Ridge class consists of two ships. Originally six were requested, three were planned, and only two were built.{{cite book|last=Friedman |first=Norman |title=U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=2002 |series=Illustrated Design Histories |pages=429–430 |isbn=1-55750-250-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWX-x0b4pw4C&pg=PA218 |accessdate=22 March 2010 }}