Shipbucket

In the late 1970's, the CSGN program was cancelled. It was understood then that such ships, while very capable, would never be build in enough numbers that they could fulfill the tasks the US navy had to perform. A series of small and medium sized ships was what the USN needed, not giant nuclear combatants.
This decision, left an issue. There was a single nuclear cruiser, still with gun armament as main weapons, that stood on the nomination to be converted to an proto-CSGN. Preparations for its next refueling had already begun and part of the funding was already prepared for this ship that had plenty of hull life left, but which weapon and radar systems needed replacement. This ship was CAN-160. ( http://www.shipbucket.com/forums/viewto ... 63#p187663 )

With the conversion plans now cancelled and even the need for a large cruiser suddenly gone from the fleet requirements, the USN looked for a new purpose for this ship, and they found none, until they asked the Marines.

The marines were in dire need for a ship that could keep up with carrier battle groups or even operate in smaller formations then usually the case with their Tarawa class and iwo jima class ships. The modern warfare environment had showed the value of quick reaction forces performing small scale operations to support existing operations, de-escalate crisis or prepare for larger forces to be landed.

CAN-160's nuclear power plant was both an advantage and an disadvantage for such a task: nobody wanted to risk a nuclear powered ship operating close inshore. However, a solution was found in the design that was finally build and reached operational status in 1982.



LPHN-160 was basically an high speed Iwo Jima type, having large cargo holds in the former gun magazines, a large hangar supporting helicopters and harriers and a full length flight deck. The modular nature of the former cruiser had made this layout possible, the gun magazines being prepared for potential future missile installation meant that converting the magazines to holds posed no structural issues. 2 elevators came from the hangar deck to the flight deck, 2 elevators came from the holds all the way to the flight deck, and 4 smaller elevators came from each of the 4 cargo hold areas (the former main and secondary battery spaces) to the hangar deck level. Between the original main deck and the hangar deck was space for additional crew and marines, with the main 'barracks space' being in the bow in front of the hangar. All in all, her capacity for troops, aircraft and storage was not dissimilar to the Iwo Jima's.

As the ship could reach a top speed of 32 knots and had a cruising speed in all weather conditions of 27 knots, there was no escort ship that could keep up with her. For that reason, the ship received an Oto Melara GDM-C twin 35mm gun, Mk 13 launcher, 2 phalanxes and an Mk 92 fire control system.

Over it's long 2nd service life, the ship would serve many roles, mostly with the marines but sometimes also as harrier carrier, sea control (test) ship or as ASW carrier. When she was finally decomissioned in 2010, her performance would influence the next generation of amphibious ships, the America class, to be build on a more cruiser/carrier like hull and with an 28 knot top speed, allowing those 4 new ships to fill the gap left when the LPHN left service.

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Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
I ask of you to prove me wrong. Not say I am wrong, but prove it, because then I will have learned something new.
Shipbucket Wiki admin

Six ships were built between 2009 and 2017 to replace legacy Batavian era ships. Besides their 2nd wave offensive landing role, they're also able to serve as mobile hospitals, disaster relief, mobile air/base deployment and vehicle ferries.

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w o r k l i s t :
Hatsuyuki-class Escort Ships . . . <3

The Walter F. Duke class nuclear-powered fast aircraft transports were built in the 1970s for the United States Army. Based on a civilian fast cargo ship hull, these ships support U.S. Army operations across the new worlds by transporting, repairing, and deploying aviation assets.

The USAV Raymond S. Wetmore, the second ship of the class, is depicted here as she would appear during a typical two month long inter-world journey. Besides the typical helicopter assets embarked, the Wetmore also has several US Army AV-8A Harrier jump-jets for discouraging Soviet nuclear patrol aircraft, as well as a detachment of US Coast Guard SH-3F Pelicans for anti-submarine warfare and oceanic search-and-rescue.

disclaimer: i am completely aware that this is dumb a*f

The Iron Bake-kujira, The Emperor's Underwater Monster

Polls Now Open
The submission period for the Amphibious Assault Ship Challenge has concluded. Members of the community can now rate each entry here.
For those interested in selecting the next challenge topic, a separate poll with a single question is now open. The three choices are:
1. Second World War emergency fighter in FD scale.
2. Civilian land vehicle in Soldierbucket scale.
3. Battle rifle in Gunbucket or Weaponbucket scale.

Both polls will remain open until 23:59 UTC-12, 2nd September 2021. That is four days from now.

Challenge Results
The community poll for the Amphibious Assault Ship Challenge is now closed. 27 people responded before the deadline, and I wish to them for this effort. I know that ranking each entry can be a difficult and time consuming task. The 18 people who chose to participate in the challenge also deserve our thanks. Without them, Shipbucket would be less of a community. Now, on to the results.



In first place is another excellent ship from the world of Thiaria. Congratulations to Garlicdesign for their winning entry, the landing platform dock Fuascailteoir. It is no surprise their outstanding work also achieved the highest score in the drawing quality, design realism, and suitability categories. The silver medal goes to Soode who placed second with their own landing platform dock, RS-870 Hwangtaesan. They have submitted some great entries over the past year, and this one is no different. Only a few points behind Soode, in third place, is Superboy and their wonderful Jack Reacher class landing helicopter dock. It was quite interesting to see a sort of proto-LHD. Special mention goes to TigerHunter1945, who received the highest score in the originality category for their I-500 class submarine.



For those interested, the Battle Rifle Challenge is now open. "Battle rifle in Gunbucket or Weaponbucket scale" was the most popular option of the next challenge poll.

Hi all!

Thank you everyone who liked my entry and voted accordingly!

Special thanks goes to BB1987, king of challenges, for not participating

Greetings
GD