Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto a low slope beach with no docks or piers. The shallow draft and bow doors and ramps enabled amphibious assaults on almost any beach.
USS Frederick (LST-1184) was a Newport-class tank landing ship which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs) of the United States Navy. The ship was named after the city of Frederick, Maryland and Frederick County, Maryland. The vessel entered service in 1970 with the United States Pacific Fleet and saw service during the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War earning three battle stars. The ship was decommissioned in 2002 and put up for sale.
The Galicia class are two landing platform dock (LPD) ships in service with the Spanish Navy. Built by Navantia at Ferrol, their mission is to carry out amphibious warfare by transporting the bulk of the Infantería de Marina. These ships have both a large helicopter flight deck and a 885-square-metre (9,530 sq ft) well deck for large landing craft, as well as a 1,000-square-metre (11,000 sq ft) space for up to 33 main battle tanks.
Newport-class tank landing ships were an improved class of tank landing ship (LST) designed for and employed by the United States Navy from 1969 to 2002. The ships were intended to provide substantial advantages over their World War II-era predecessors. Larger and faster than any previous LST design, they carried a ramp over the bow that allowed them to surpass 20 knots, a goal of the United States amphibious forces. 27 were planned of which twenty were completed, the high number due to the demands of US force projection estimates. However, the arrival of the air-cushioned landing craft which allowed for over-the-horizon attacks made the class obsolete in the eyes of the United States Navy. Placed in reserve, twelve were eventually sold to foreign navies, while the remaining eight have since been decommissioned.
USS Newport (LST-1179) was the third ship of the United States Navy (USN) to bear the name of the Rhode Island city. The first of her class of landing ship tanks (LST), she was capable of a sustained speed of 20 knots. Her ability to adjust her draft, accompanied by her unique bow-ramp design, helped bring a new degree of responsiveness to the amphibious fleet. The ship was launched in 1968 and entered service with the USN in 1969. Assigned to the United States Atlantic Fleet for the entirety of her career, Newport made deployments to the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. The vessel was taken out of service in 1992 and laid up until 2001.
USS Sumter (LST-1181) was the third of twenty Newport-class tank landing ships in service with the United States Navy, which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). Sumter was constructed by Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was launched in 1969. The ship entered service in 1970, was assigned to the Pacific coast of the United States and deployed to the western Pacific twice during the Vietnam War. In 1973, Sumter was reassigned to the Atlantic coast and took part in operations in along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean Sea. The LST was decommissioned in 1993.
USS Cayuga (LST-1186) was a Newport-class tank landing ship of the United States Navy which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). The vessel was constructed by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California and was launched in 1969 and commissioned in 1970. Cayuga took part in the Vietnam War and Gulf War in American service. Decommissioned in 1994, the LST was transferred to the Brazilian Navy the same year on loan and renamed NDCC Mattoso Maia. The ship was purchased by Brazil outright in 2001. Mattoso Maia took part in MINUSTAH before being taken out of service in 2023.
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.
USS La Moure County (LST-1194) was the sixteenth of twenty Newport-class tank landing ship of the United States Navy (USN) which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). The second vessel named after a county in North Dakota, the LST was constructed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California. The vessel was launched and was commissioned into the USN in 1971. La Moure County alternated deployments in the Caribbean Sea with those to the Mediterranean Sea. During the Gulf War, La Moure County transported elements of the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade to the Persian Gulf. In 2000, the LST was taking part in a training exercise off Chile when the vessel ran aground. Considered beyond repair, La Moure County was decommissioned that year and towed out to sea in 2001 and sunk as a target ship.
USS Barbour County (LST-1195) was the seventeenth ship of the twenty Newport-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy (USN) which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). The vessel was named after two counties; one in Alabama, and the other in West Virginia. The LST was constructed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California. Barbour County was launched in 1971 and commissioned into the USN in 1972. Barbour County took part in the Vietnam War, including the evacuation of Saigon and the Gulf War. The LST also performed disaster relief in Bangladesh. The vessel was decommissioned in 1992 and laid up with plans to sell the ship. This did not happen and the vessel was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 2001 and sunk as a target ship in 2004.
USS Boulder (LST-1190) was the twelfth of twenty Newport-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy (USN) which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). Named after the county in Colorado, the ship was constructed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California. The LST was launched in 1970 and was commissioned in 1971. Boulder was assigned to the United States Atlantic Fleet and deployed in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas. In 1980, the ship was transferred to the Naval Reserve Force. In 1988, Boulder ran aground off Norway during a military exercise. The vessel was decommissioned in 1994 and laid up at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The ship was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 2008 and towed to Brownsville, Texas for scrapping in 2022.
USS San Bernardino (LST-1189) was the eleventh of twenty Newport-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy (USN) which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). The second USN ship to be named after the city in California, the ship was constructed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California. The LST was launched in 1970 and was commissioned in 1971. San Bernardino participated in the Vietnam War, earning one battle star and took part in operations in the Middle East. The ship was decommissioned 1995 and transferred to the Chilean Navy. In Chilean service, the vessel was renamed Valdivia (LST-93) for a battle during the Chilean War of Independence. The LST was recommissioned that year and during its service, took part in humanitarian efforts following earthquakes in Chile in 2010. In 2011 the Chilean Navy took Valdivia out of service due to repairs to the ship no longer being economical.
USS Manitowoc (LST-1180) was the second ship of the Newport-class tank landing ships which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs) in service with the United States Navy. Manitowoc was constructed by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and launched in 1969 and entered service in 1970.
USS Fresno (LST-1182) was the fourth tank landing ship (LST) of the Newport class. Fresno was named for a county in California. The vessel was constructed by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California and launched in 1968. The ship entered service in 1969 and was assigned to the United States Pacific Fleet, taking part in training along the west coast and operational cruises to the western Pacific, taking part in the Vietnam War. Fresno was decommissioned in 1993 and laid up. The LST was nearly sold to Peru but remained in the U.S. inventory until 2014, when Fresno was sunk as a target ship in the Pacific Ocean during a training exercise off Guam.
USS Spartanburg County (LST-1192) was the fourteenth of twenty Newport-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy (USN) which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). Named after a county in South Carolina, the ship was constructed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California. The LST was launched in 1970 and was commissioned in 1971. Assigned to the United States Atlantic Fleet, Spartanburg County deployed regularly to the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas. In 1983 and 1985, the vessel was present in Lebanese waters. In 1990, the LST was deployed to the Persian Gulf in the Gulf War, returning to the United States in 1991. Spartanburg County was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1994.
USS Fairfax County (LST-1193) was the fifteenth of twenty Newport-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy (USN) which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). Named after a county in Virginia, the ship was constructed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California. The LST was launched in 1970 and was commissioned into the USN in 1971. Fairfax County was alternated deployments between the Caribbean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. During the Gulf War, Fairfax County was deployed off the northern African coast as part of a deterrent force. The ship was decommissioned from the USN in 1994.
USS Bristol County (LST-1198) was the last of the twenty Newport-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy (USN) which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). The LST was constructed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California. Bristol County was launched in 1971 and commissioned into the USN in 1972. Bristol County was assigned to the United States Pacific Fleet and remained in service until 1994 when it was decommissioned. Sold to Morocco that year, the vessel was recommissioned into the Royal Moroccan Navy as Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah. The ship remains in service.
German submarine U-741 was a Type VIIC U-boat built by F Schichau GmbH of Danzig and commissioned on 10 April 1943.
The Bayraktar class are a class of landing ship tanks (LSTs) built in Turkey. The two amphibious vessels of the class were built for the Turkish Navy by Anadolu Shipyard. The LSTs will satisfy the current and future operational requirements of the Turkish Naval Forces Command.
The Teluk Bintuni class, Indonesian designation AT-117M is a class of tank landing ships that is being built indigenously for the Indonesian Navy by various Indonesian local shipyards. It was announced that the Indonesian Navy intends to acquire a total of twelve vessels of the same class with some modifications from the lead ship to improve ship's capability.
United Arab Emirates Navy