Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship

The Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship is a dock landing ship of the United States Navy. Introduced to fleet service in 1985, this class of ship features a large well deck for transporting United States Marine Corps (USMC) vehicles and a large flight deck for landing helicopters or V-22 Ospreys. The well deck was designed to hold four LCAC hovercraft, five if the vehicle ramp is raised, for landing Marines. Recent deployments have used a combination of LCU(s), AAVs, tanks, LARCs and other USMC vehicles. The Whidbey Island class of ship also uniquely benefits from multiple cranes and a shallow draft that further make it ideal for participating in amphibious operations.

USS Germantown (LSD-42) passing the Coronado Bridge in San Diego Bay in August 2003.
Class overview
Name	Whidbey Island class
Builders	Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Anchorage class
Succeeded by	Harpers Ferry class
Cost	$250m
In commission	1985–present
Planned	8
Completed	8
Active	6
Retired	2
General characteristics
Type	Dock landing ship
Displacement	16,100 tons
Length	609 ft (186 m)
Beam	84 ft (26 m)
Draft	19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
Propulsion	4 Colt Industries, 16-cylinder diesel engines, 2 shafts, 33,000 shp (25,000 kW)
Speed	over 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	4+1 LCACs or 21 LCM-6s or up to 36 Amphibious Assault Vehicles AAV or 3 LCUs.
Capacity	on deck: one LCM-6, two LCPL and one LCVP
Complement	30 officers, 300+ enlisted Embarked Marine complement: up to 504
Armament	2 × 25 mm Mk 38 cannons 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS mounts 1 / 2 × Rolling Airframe Missile launchers 6 × .50 caliber M2HB machine guns
Aviation facilities	Large helicopter platform aft, no hangar

As of 2009, all ships of the class are scheduled to undergo a midlife upgrade over the next five years to ensure that they remain in service through 2038. The ships will be upgraded annually through 2013, and the last ship will be modernized in 2014. Ships homeported on the East Coast will undergo upgrades at Metro Machine Corp., while those on the West Coast will receive upgrades at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego.^[1]

Stern view of USS Tortuga with open well deck

Major elements of the upgrade package include diesel engine improvements, fuel and maintenance savings systems, engineering control systems, increased air conditioning and chill water capacity, and replacement of air compressors. The ships also replaced steam systems with all-electric functionality that will decrease maintenance effort and expense.^[1]

Ships

Ship Name	Hull No.	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Homeport	Notes
Whidbey Island	LSD-41	Lockheed, Seattle	4 August 1981	10 June 1983	9 February 1985	22 July 2022[2]	Philadelphia, PA (formerly Little Creek)	LSD41
Germantown	LSD-42		5 August 1982	29 June 1984	8 February 1986	Proposed 2023[3]	San Diego, California	LSD42
Fort McHenry	LSD-43		10 June 1983	1 February 1986	8 August 1987	27 March 2021[4]	Philadelphia, PA (formerly Mayport)	LSD43
Gunston Hall	LSD-44	Avondale Shipyard	26 May 1986	27 June 1987	22 April 1989	Proposed 2023[3]	Little Creek, Virginia	LSD44
Comstock	LSD-45		27 October 1986	15 January 1988	3 February 1990	Proposed 2026[3]	San Diego, California	LSD45
Tortuga	LSD-46		23 March 1987	15 September 1988	17 November 1990	Proposed 2023[3]	Little Creek, Virginia	LSD46
Rushmore	LSD-47		9 November 1987	6 May 1989	1 June 1991	Proposed 2024[3]	Sasebo, Japan	LSD47
Ashland	LSD-48		4 April 1988	11 November 1989	9 May 1992	Proposed 2023[3]	San Diego, California[5]	LSD48

Whidbey Island and Tortuga were scheduled to be decommissioned during the FYDP 2013-2018, and the remaining ships of the class were scheduled to be retired before the end of their service lives.^[6] However, the Navy reversed its plan to decommission Whidbey Island,^[7] and in 2015 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley informed Congress of the Navy's plans to modernize Whidbey Island, Tortuga, and Germantown to extend them each to a 44-year total service life.^[8]