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Dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD-46)

Dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD-46) 0Dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD-46) 1Dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD-46) 2Dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD-46) 3Dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD-46) 4Dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD-46) 5

Classification

Ship class:
Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship
Type:
Dock landing ship (LSD)

Basic information

Namesake:
The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located in the Gulf of Mexico at the end of the Florida Keys, United States.
Operator:
United States NavyUnited States Navy
Country of build:
Builder:
Avondale Shipyard
Ordered:
Laid down:
Launched:
Commissioned (service):
Status:
Active

Ship measurements

Displacement:
16,500 t
Length:
190 m
Beam (waterline):
26 m
Draft:
6.4 m

Machine

Propulsion:
  • 4 * Colt Industries, 16-cylinder diesel engines
  • 2 * shafts
  • 33,000 shp (25 MW)
Speed:
20 knots

Personnel

Complement:
413
Embarked units:
504

Combat assets

Boats & landing craft:

In dock:

  • 4 * LCACs (Landing Craft Air Cushion)
  • or 21 * LCM-6 (landing craft mechanized)
  • or up to 36 * AAV (Amphibious Assault Vehicles)
  • or 3 * LCUs (Landing Craft Utility)

On deck:

  • 1 * LCM-6
  • 2 * LCPL (Landing Craft Personnel (Large))
  • 1 * LCVP (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel)
Armament:
  • 2 * 25 mm Mk 38 cannons
  • 2 * 20 mm Phalanx CIWS mounts
  • 2 * Rolling Airframe Missile
  • 6 * .50 caliber M2HB machine guns
Aircraft:
  • Large helicopter platform aft
  • No hangar

USS Tortuga (LSD-46) is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship to be named for the Dry Tortugas, a group of desert coral islets 60 miles (97 km) west of Key West, Florida.

Tortuga was laid down on 23 March 1987, by the Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, Louisiana. The threat of Hurricane Gilbert in the Gulf of Mexico forced an early launching of the ship, as a precautionary measure, on 15 September 1988. On 19 November 1988, Mrs. Rosemary Parker Schoultz, the ship's sponsor, presided over the christening ceremony, breaking the traditional bottle of champagne over the bow of the ship. Tortuga was commissioned on 17 November 1990.

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