Amphibious command ship

Last updated

USS Mount Whitney (LCC-JCC 20) in Souda Bay.jpg
USS Mount Whitney
Class overview
NameBlue Ridge Class
Builders
  • Philadelphia Naval Shipyard - LCC 19
  • Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. - LCC 20
Operators United States Navy
In commission1970 - Present
Completed2
Active2
General characteristics
Displacement18,874 long tons (19,176.89 metric tons) full load
Length634 ft (193 m)
Beam108 ft (33 m)
Draft26 ft 9 in (8.15 m) full load
PropulsionTwo boilers, one geared turbine, one shaft; 22,000 hp (16,000 kW)
Speed23 kn (26 mph; 43 km/h)
Range13,000 nmi (24,000 km; 15,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
Complement720 enlisted, 23 officers
Aircraft carriedAll helicopters except the CH-53 Sea Stallion can be carried

An amphibious command ship (LCC) of the United States Navy is a large, special-purpose ship, originally designed to command large amphibious invasions. However, as amphibious invasions have become unlikely, they are now used as general command ships, and serve as floating headquarters for the various combatant commands. Currently, they are assigned to the 6th and 7th Fleets as flagships.

Contents

Active ships

Previous ships

USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7) was the lead ship of the previous class of amphibious force command ships. She was designed as an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.

World War II

In World War II this type of ship was termed Amphibious Force Flagship (AGC). It was not a specific ship class, but rather one that had appropriate radio capabilities and space for command operations. Typically a merchant ship under construction would be completed as an Amphibious Force Flagship, but some ships were refitted for this purpose.

The original meaning of AGC was based on the General Auxiliary class of miscellaneous unclassified vessels AG and sub-class C, with 3 possible meanings; Command, Control, or Communications, but it became an anacronym, since all AGCs were called Amphibious Force Flagships. The British used the term Landing Ship Infantry (Headquarters) for this type of ship.

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Adirondack</i> (AGC-15)

The third USS Adirondack (AGC-15) was laid down on 18 November 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company in Wilmington, North Carolina; launched on 13 January 1945, sponsored by Mrs. E. L. White; transferred to the Navy on 4 February 1945; towed to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for conversion; and commissioned on 2 September 1945, the day Japan surrendered on board the battleship Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay.

USS Blue Ridge may refer to the following ships of the United States Navy:

USS <i>Blue Ridge</i> (LCC-19) Ship

USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) is the lead ship of the two Blue Ridge-class amphibious command ships of the United States Navy, and is the flagship of the Seventh Fleet. Her primary role is to provide command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) support to the commander and staff of the United States Seventh Fleet. She is currently forward-deployed to U.S. Navy Fleet Activities, Yokosuka in Japan, and is the third Navy ship named after the Blue Ridge Mountains, a range of mountains in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. Blue Ridge is the oldest deployed warship of the U.S. Navy, following the decommissioning of USS Denver. Blue Ridge, as the U.S. Navy's active commissioned ship having the longest total period as active, flies the First Navy Jack instead of the jack of the United States. Blue Ridge is expected to remain in service until 2039.

USS <i>Blue Ridge</i> (AGC-2)

USS Blue Ridge (AGC-2) was an Appalachian-class amphibious force flagship in the United States Navy. She was named for the southeasternmost ridge of the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and North Carolina.

USS <i>Mount Whitney</i> (LCC-20) Blue Ridge-class amphibious command ship

USS Mount Whitney is one of two Blue Ridge-class amphibious command ships of the United States Navy and is the flagship and command ship of the United States Sixth Fleet. USS Mount Whitney also serves as the Afloat Command Platform (ACP) of Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO). The ship had previously served for years as the COMSTRIKFLTLANT(NATO Designation) / US Second Fleet's command ship. She is one of only a few commissioned ships to be assigned to Military Sealift Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Command ship</span>

Command ships serve as the flagships of the commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and their staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities.

USS <i>Auburn</i> (AGC-10)

USS Auburn (AGC-10) was a Mount McKinley-class amphibious force command ship, named for the hill Mount Auburn just northwest of Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was designed as an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.

USS <i>Eldorado</i> (AGC-11)

USS Eldorado (AGC-11) was a Mount McKinley-class amphibious force command ship, named after a mountain range in Nevada. The ship was designed as an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.

USS <i>Estes</i> United States Navy amphibious force command ship

USS Estes (AGC-12) was a Mount McKinley-class amphibious force command ship, officially named after "A mountain peak and national park in Colorado."

USS <i>Mount McKinley</i> US Navy amphibious force command ship

USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7/LCC-7) was the lead ship of the Mount McKinley class of amphibious force command ships. She was named after the highest mountain in North America. She was designed as an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.

USS <i>Mount Olympus</i>

USS Mount Olympus (AGC-8) was a Mount McKinley-class amphibious force command ship, named for the highest peak in the Olympic Mountains of the State of Washington. She was designed to be an amphibious forces flagship—a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.

USS <i>Panamint</i> (AGC-13) United States Navy amphibious force command ship

USS Panamint (AGC-13) was a Mount McKinley-class amphibious force command ship named after the Panamint Range of mountains in California. She was designed as an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.

USS <i>Pocono</i>

USS Pocono (AGC-16) was an Adirondack-class amphibious force command ship named after a range of mountains in Eastern Pennsylvania. She was designed as an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.

USS <i>Taconic</i>

USS Taconic (AGC-17/LCC-17) was an Adirondack class amphibious force command ship of the U.S. Navy named after the Taconic Mountains in New York. She was laid down in December 1944 and decommissioned in January 1969.

USS <i>Wasatch</i> (AGC-9)

USS Wasatch (AGC-9) was a Mount McKinley-class amphibious force command ship, named after a mountain chain in northern Utah. She was designed as a cargo ship and converted into an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expeditionary strike group</span>

In the United States Navy, the expeditionary strike group (ESG) is a coordinated group of surface ships, aircraft, submarines, and other naval assets. In contrast to carrier strike groups (CSGs), which emphasize air power and are led by a supercarrier, ESGs are strongly suited for amphibious warfare and are led by an amphibious assault ship. The ESG concept was introduced in the early 1990s, based on the Naval Expeditionary Task Force. The U.S. Navy fields nine expeditionary strike groups and ten carrier strike groups, in addition to surface action groups.

USS <i>Biscayne</i> Tender of the United States Navy

USS Biscayne (AVP-11), later AGC-18, was a United States Navy Barnegat-class seaplane tender in commission as a seaplane tender from 1941 to 1943 and as an amphibious force flagship from 1943 to 1946. She saw service during World War II. Transferred to the United States Coast Guard after the war, she was in commission as the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Dexter (WAGC-385), later WAVP-385 and WHEC-385, from 1946 to 1952 and from 1958 to 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Task Force 76</span> United States Navy task force

Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN/Task Force 76 is a United States Navy task force. It is part of the United States Seventh Fleet and the USN's only permanently forward-deployed expeditionary strike group. It is based at the White Beach Naval Facility at the end of the Katsuren Peninsula in Uruma City, Okinawa, Japan.

<i>Blue Ridge</i>-class command ship Call of US ships

The Blue Ridge class is the first and only class of amphibious command and control ships to be specifically designed as such from the keel up.

References

  1. "Blue Ridge Again Serves As Flagship For Seventh Fleet". Defense Daily. 223 (62). 28 September 2004. ISSN   0889-0404. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017.