The Tarawa class was a ship class of Landing Helicopter Assault (LHA) type amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy (USN). Five ships were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding between 1971 and 1980; another four ships were planned, but later canceled; instead they were joined by the s.
, all vessels had been decommissioned. The Tarawa class were replaced by the s from 2014 onward while the Wasp class remains in service.
Design
The vessels have a full load displacement of . Each ship is long, with a beam of , and a draft of . The main changes to the latter eight-ship class include the lower placement of the ship's bridge aboard the Wasps, the relocation of the command and control facilities to inside the hull, modifications to allow the operation of Harrier jump-jets and Landing Craft Air Cushion hovercraft, and removal of the 5-inch guns and their sponsons to increase the overall size of the flight deck. Nine ships were originally contracted for the Tarawa class, but that number was reduced to five in January 1971. Peleliu was decommissioned on 31 March 2015 in San Diego.
The Tarawa class is to be replaced by the . The first America-class vessel was delivered and commissioned in 2014.
Ships in class
{|class="wikitable"
! Name
! Hull number
! Laid down
! Launched
! Commissioned
! Decommissioned
! Fate
|-
|
| LHA-1
| 15 November 1971
| 1 December 1973
| 29 May 1976
| 31 March 2009
|Sunk as target ship on 19 July 2024
|-
|
| LHA-2
| 21 July 1972
| 18 July 1974
| 15 October 1977
| 25 April 2007
| Scrapped 2009
|-
| <br>(ex-Philippine Sea)
| LHA-3
| 5 March 1973
| 11 April 1977
| 23 September 1978
| 28 October 2005
| Sunk as target ship on 13 July 2006
|-
| <br>(ex-Leyte Gulf)
| LHA-4
| 13 August 1973
| 21 January 1978
| 28 July 1979
| 31 March 2011
| Scrapped 30 April 2021
|-
| <br>(ex-Da Nang, ex-Khe Sanh)
| LHA-5
| 12 November 1976
| 25 November 1978
| 3 May 1980
| 31 March 2015
| In reserve
|}
Citations
References
External links
- The USS Tarawa (LHA-1) Amphibious Assault Ship Museum