USS Wasp / Wasp Class LHD background, facts, figures, photos

[Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom]

Placed in service in 1989, USS Wasp (LHD-1) is the lead ship of eight Wasp-class amphibious assault ships (full list below).  

USS Wasp official website:  http://www.wasp.navy.mil/ (the crest is explained under "Our Ship").

LHD:  Landing Helicopter Dock

ARG:  Amphibious Ready Group  US Navy Fact File

The following is from seaforces.org.  Article, facts, specs and great photos at  http://www.seaforces.org/usnships/lhd/Wasp-class.htm   Also see USS Wasp (Wikipedia)

USS WASP (LHD-1) is the lead ship of an all-new class of multipurpose amphibious assault ships built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Litton in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The Navy-Marine Corps team's newest amphibious warship has as its primary mission the support of a Marine Landing Force. USS WASP and her sister ships are the first specifically designed to accommodate new Landing Craft, Air Cushion for fast troop movement over the beach and AV-8B Harrier II Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (VSTOL) jets which provide close-in air support for the assault force. LHD-1, which is 844 feet long with a beam of 106 feet, also accommodates the full range of Navy and Marine Corps helicopters, conventional landing craft, and amphibious vehicles. 

To carry out its primary mission, USS WASP has an assault support system that synchronizes the simultaneous horizontal and vertical flow of troops, cargo and vehicles throughout the ship. Two aircraft elevators service the hangar bay and flight deck. Six cargo elevators, each 12 by 25 feet, are used to transport material and supplies from the 100,000 cubic foot cargo holds throughout the ship to staging areas on the flight deck, hangar bay and vehicle storage area. Cargo is transferred to waiting landing craft docked within the ship's 13,000 square foot, 266 foot long, well deck. Helicopters in the hangar bay or on the flight deck are cargo-loaded by forklift.

LHD-1 has medical and dental facilities capable of providing intensive medical assistance to 600 casualties, whether combat incurred or brought aboard ship during humanitarian missions. The corpsmen also provide routine medical/dental care to the crew and embarked personnel. Major medical facilities include four main and two emergency operating rooms, four dental operating rooms, x-ray rooms, a blood bank, laboratories, and patient wards. In addition, three battle dressing stations are located throughout the ship, as well as a casualty collecting area at the flight deck level. Medical elevators rapidly transfer casualties from the flight deck and hangar bay to the medical facilities. 

For the comfort of the 1,075 crewmembers and 1,600 embarked troops, all manned spaces and berthing areas are individually heated and air conditioned. Crew and troop berthing are on the same deck level, with galleys and mess facilities nearby. Berthing areas are subdivided to provide semi-private spaces without adversely affecting efficiency. Deck and wall coverings are decorative but also serviceable and easy to maintain. Messing areas facilitate rapid feeding in a restaurant atmosphere. Onboard recreational facilities include a state-of-the-art Library Multi-Media Resource Center with Internet access, a weight room, arcade machines and satellite television capabilities. 

USS WASP's two steam propulsion plants - the largest currently in operation in the U.S. Navy - generate a total of 400 tons of steam per hour. The propulsion system develops 70,000 shaft horsepower, powering the ship to speeds in excess of 22 knots. USS Wasp was built using more than 21,000 tons of steel, 400 tons of aluminum, 400 miles of electrical/electronic cables, 80 miles of piping and tubing of various types and sizes, and 10 miles of ventilation ducting. WASP weighed more than 27,000 tons when moved onto the Ingalls floating dry-dock on July 30, 1987 for launch on August 4, 1987, becoming the largest man-made object rolled across land.

USS MAKIN ISLAND (LHD 8) will be the last LHD built in the WASP class but will be the only one powered by LM 2500+ Gas Turbine Engines and Electric Drive. Additionally, MAKIN ISLAND is the only LHD to feature an all electric design - no steam is used onboard MAKIN ISLAND. As the final member of the WASP class LHD's, MAKIN ISLAND is transforming the U.S. Navy Amphibious Forces and setting the stage for the under-development successor to the Wasp class, the LHA(R) class of Amphibious Landing Ships.

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Wasp class (8 ships)

• USS Wasp (LHD-1), Norfolk, Virginia
• USS Essex (LHD-2), Sasebo, Japan
• USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), Norfolk, Virginia
• USS Boxer (LHD-4), San Diego, California
• USS Bataan (LHD-5), Norfolk, Virginia
• USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6), San Diego, California
• USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), Norfolk, Virginia
• USS Makin Island (LHD-8), San Diego, California