LHA-2 Saipan

Country:  United States

Class, [Type]: Tarawa, [LHA].

Builder: Ingalls, Pascagoula, Mississipi, U.S.A.

Launch date: 18 July 1974.

Commission date: 15 October 1977.

Decommission date: 27 April 2007.

Displacement ( tons ): 39.967 full load.

Dimensions ( metres ): 254,2 x 40,2 x 7,9

Main machinery: 2 x Combustion Engineering boilers, 2 x Westinghouse turbines ( 70.000 hp ).

Speed ( knots ): 24.

Range ( miles ): 10.000 at 20 knots.

Complement: 930 ( 56 officers ).

Guns: 2 x GE/GD Vulcan Phalanx Mk15 CIWS 20mm, 2 x Bushmaster Mk38 25mm/75, 8 x Browning M2 12,7mm.

Missiles:  SAM: 2 x GDC RAM.

Military lift: 1.703 troops; 4 x LCU 1610 or 2 x LCU and 2 x LCM 8 or 17 x LCM 6 or 45 x LVT; 1200 tons of aviation fuel. 1 x LCAC can be embarked. 4 x LCPL.

Radar: Air search: ITT SPS 48E, E/F bands; Lockheed SPS 40E, E/F bands, range 320km; Surface: Raytheon SPS 67(V)3, G band; Navigation: Raytheon SPS 64(V)9, I band; Target designator: 1 x Hughes Mk 23 Mod 3 TAS, D band; Fire Control: 2 x Mk 90 ( for CIWS ).

Countermeasures: Decoys: 4 x Loral Hycor SRBOC Mk36, infrared flares and chaff; SLQ25 Nixie, towed torpedo decoy; SLQ49; ESM/ECM: SLQ32(V)3, combined radar intercept, jammer and deception system.

Helicopter: 16 x CH46E, 6 x CH53E, 4 x UH-1N.

Aviation: Can operate AV-8B Harrier aircraft by removing some helicopters accordingly.

Callsign: NHOV ()

Awards (as of 27/04/2007): 

Similar units:

 LHA4 Nassau