Posted on 11/21/2014 7:59:30 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
THOUSANDS of mattresses, pillows and doonas, tonnes of food and water and 400 sailors, soldiers and air force personnel have been installed on the navy’s newest and biggest ship — the 27,800-tonne HMAS Canberra.
Known as a Landing Helicopter Dock or LHD — the $1.5 billion warship will be commissioned into service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and handed over to Navy Chief Vice-Admiral Tim Barrett at Garden Island in Sydney on Friday November 28.
The crew of Nuship Canberra (she actually becomes HMAS Canberra at commissioning) have spent the past 18 months training on advanced land based simulators preparing to take control of the most advanced ship to ever serve in the RAN.
AWESOME STATS At first glance the sheer bulk of the LHD is a shock to even seasoned old salts. Tied up next to the supply ship HMAS Success at her home base in Sydney Harbour the behemoth dwarfs what was previously one of the navy’s biggest vessels. She also towers over nearby apartments including the ritzy pads of Sydney’s rich and famous, such as actor Russell Crowe, on the famed Woolloomooloo finger wharf.
At 230-metres long the Canberra is as long as Melbourne’s Rialto Tower is high and it could accommodate four of the navy’s 3600-tonne Anzac Class frigates on her deck.
In addition to the 400 crew the 32-metre-wide vessel can carry and sustain 1100 fully equipped infantry troops and 110 trucks and armoured vehicles up to and including Abrams main battle tanks. She can house 18 helicopters and up to eight medium lift choppers will be able to operate simultaneously from six landing points on the flight deck.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailytelegraph.com.au ...
Having that pull up off your coast would give a lot of turd world countries cause for thought.
A helo carrier with tanks? That is a great idea. Add in the F-35 and away we go.
Pretty big step up for the Australians, after decades of down-sizing.
After the Fiji fiasco, and the New Guinea troubles, they decided they really needed this
SeaKing?
The concept is "Vertical Envelopment", dating back to the US LPD's of the 1950s and 60s. Troops landing from Helicopters and troops coming onto the beaches from boats deployed from the stern well deck.
They forgot to finish the bow.
It is a magnificent ship...
Similar role but substantially smaller than the US Tarawa, Wasp and America classes.
The US currently has ten ships of these (my rough count) classes in service.
ping
Let’s see: Helos, vehicles, tanks, doctors, landing craft, soldiers. Sounds like you’ve got your whole task force literally in one boat. A single anti-ship missile could X your invasion.
Like all other surface ships it’s just a target.
#2 They can use the tanks as fire support while at sea....
: )
I can imagine the helos taking off en masse, but the tanks? Not so much. Very little lift
Gator Navy ping....
She’s gotta have a well deck for tanks, LCACs and other landing craft.
Why is the flight deck tilted upward at the bow? It has no airplanes.
How many other countries would have the huevos to want, or use such a ship?
The French, the Brits are too muzzified???
But it could.
They are in the customer list for the f-35.
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