USS Tarawa (LHA-1), the lead ship of her class, was an amphibious assault ship that served in the United States Navy from 1976 to 2009. She was the second ship to be named for the Battle of Tarawa, fought during World War II. Tarawa was decommissioned on 31 March 2009, at San Diego Naval Base.
USS Duluth (LPD-6), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, is the second ship of the United States Navy named for the city in Minnesota.
USS Dubuque (LPD-8) was an Austin-class amphibious transport dock of the United States Navy.
USS Nashville (LPD-13), was an Austin-class amphibious transport dock and the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the capital city of Tennessee. Her keel was laid down on 14 March 1966 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 7 October 1967 sponsored by Mrs. Roy L. Johnson, and commissioned at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, on 14 February 1970.
USS Ponce, was an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, formerly in service with the United States Navy. She has been the only ship of the Navy named for Ponce in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which in turn was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, the first governor of Puerto Rico and the European discoverer of Florida. Her keel was laid down on 31 October 1966 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 20 May 1970 sponsored by Florence W. Hyland, the wife of Admiral John J. Hyland, and commissioned on 10 July 1971. She spent most of her career based on the East Coast and operating in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, serving in Operation Desert Shield and supporting US operations in the 2011 Libyan Civil War.
USS Okinawa (LPH–3) was the second Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship assigned the name "Okinawa", in honor of the World War II Battle of Okinawa.
USS St. Louis (AKA-116/LKA-116), a Charleston class amphibious cargo ship, was the sixth US ship to bear the name. She served as a commissioned ship for 22 years and 11 months.
USS Charleston (AKA-113/LKA-113) was an amphibious cargo ship, and was the lead ship of her class in the United States Navy. She was the fifth ship to be named Charleston for Charleston, South Carolina. She served as a commissioned ship for 23 years and 4 months.
Amphibious cargo ships were U.S. Navy ships designed specifically to carry troops, heavy equipment and supplies in support of amphibious assaults, and to provide naval gunfire support during those assaults. A total of 108 of these ships were built between 1943 and 1945—which worked out to an average of one ship every eight days. Six additional AKAs, featuring new and improved designs, were built in later years. They were originally called Attack Cargo Ships and designated AKA. In 1969, they were renamed as Amphibious Cargo Ships and redesignated LKA.
USS Algol (AKA-54) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship. She was the first ship of the United States Navy by this name, after Algol, a fixed star in the constellation Perseus. Algol served as a commissioned ship for 22 years and 1 month.
USS Rankin (AKA-103/LKA-103) was a Tolland-class attack cargo ship in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1947 and again from 1952 to 1971. She was finally sunk as an artificial reef in 1988.
USS Skagit (AKA-105/LKA-105) was a Tolland-class attack cargo ship in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1949 and from 1950 to 1969. She was scrapped in 1974.
USS Tulare (AKA-112/LKA-112) was a Tulare-class attack cargo ship in service with the United States Navy from 1956 to 1986. She was sold for scrap in 2011.
USS Durham (LKA-114) was a Charleston-class amphibious cargo ship in service with the United States Navy from 1969 to 1994. She was sunk as a target in August 2020.
USS El Paso (AKA-117/LKA-117) is a Charleston-class amphibious cargo ship named after the city of El Paso, Texas. She served as a commissioned ship for 24 years and three months.
USS Merrick (AKA-97/LKA-97) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship named after Merrick County, Nebraska.
USS Chara (AKA-58) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship named after a star in the constellation Canes Venatici. She was later converted to an ammunition ship and redesignated (AE-31).
USS Peoria (LST-1183) was a Newport-class tank landing ship which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). The vessel took part in the Vietnam War and Gulf War. The ship was constructed by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California and was launched in 1968 and commissioned in 1970. Named for a city in Illinois, Peoria was assigned to the United States Pacific Fleet and home ported at San Diego. The tank landing ship alternated between military exercises along the United States west coast and deployments to the western Pacific. Peoria took part in the evacuations of Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Saigon, South Vietnam, both of which signaled the end of American involvement in the respective countries. The vessel was decommissioned 1994 and sunk as a target ship during a RIMPAC naval exercise in 2004.
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.
United States
