Posted on 01/12/2006 8:30:01 PM PST by Liberty Valance
The first of the Navy’s newest class of amphibious ship will be commissioned Jan. 14, at Naval Station Ingleside, Texas, at 11 a.m.
The amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio (LPD 17) is designed and built to support a Marine Air-Ground Task Force capable of conducting conventional or special operations. Its warfighting capabilities include a state-of-the-art command and control suite, substantially increased landing force vehicle lift capacity, a large flight deck and advanced ship survivability features that enhance its ability to operate in the littoral environment.
San Antonio is the first Navy ship designed to support the 21st century amphibious mobility triad of air-cushioned landing craft (LCAC), MV-22 Osprey vertical take off and landing aircraft, and Marine Corps expeditionary fighting vehicles. The ship is also the first designed with the advanced enclosed mast/sensor system.
When deployed, San Antonio will provide naval expeditionary forces with greatly enhanced operational flexibility. The ship is capable of operating independently or as part of an amphibious or joint task force.
Nice!
Named after my hometown!
Mine too. She looks like a big ass workboat!
More info and pics...
http://www.cnsl.spear.navy.mil/sanantonio/
The ship's motto is grand!
I miss riding around in gray painted ships.
Good nick- BTW. Lee Marvin at his best.
Ping for a new arrival! The USS San Antonio
Wow! Thanks for posting that pic.
The ship(s) replaced has probably already been taken out of service.
Per this story, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1556345/posts the San Antonio is supposed to be a class of 12 ships to replace the existing Whidbey Island (8 ships), Anchorage (3 ships) already retired Newport class LSTs (20 ships), and Charleston Class LKAs (5 ships also already gone).
So it appears that 12 ships will replace about 36, most of which are already gone.
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