Dock landing ship

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 {{ship|Japanese amphibious assault ship|Shinshū Maru||2}} 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.{{Harvard citation no brackets|Brown|2006|p=145}}

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 {{convert|16|kn|kph|lk=in}}. 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).jpgs inside a US LSD]]

File:Mounts Bay (L3008).jpg

In the U.S. Navy, two related groups of vessels classified as LSDs are in service as of 2023, the {{sclass|Whidbey Island|dock landing ship|5}} and {{sclass|Harpers Ferry|dock landing ship|4}}es, mainly used to carry hovercraft (LCACs), operate helicopters, and carry Marines.{{cite web|url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1000&ct=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050527204130/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1000&ct=4|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 27, 2005|title=The US Navy -- Fact File: Dock Landing Ship - LSD|first=Dan|last=Petty|website=Navy.mil|access-date=27 October 2018}}

The British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) operates three {{sclass2|Bay|landing ship|1}}s 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 {{sclass|Ashland|dock landing ship|4}}, {{sclass|Casa Grande|dock landing ship|4}}, {{sclass|Thomaston|dock landing ship|4}}, and {{sclass|Anchorage|dock landing ship|4}}.

• 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

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book

|last=Brown

|first=D. K.

|title=Nelson to Vanguard

|place=Annapolis, Maryland

|publisher=US Naval Institute Press

|date=November 2006

|isbn=1-59114-602-X

}}

{{Commons category|Dock landing ships}}

• [http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1000&ct=4 US Navy Office of Information Fact File – LSD] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311130444/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1000&ct=4 |date=2011-03-11 }}

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{{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries}}

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Category:Ship types

Category:Amphibious warfare vessels