Wasp-class (LHD-1)

Summary

Description

USS Wasp (LHD-1) serves as the lead ship of her class in the United States Navy. As a multipurpose amphibious assault ship, she is the tenth vessel to bear the name since 1775, succeeding two aircraft carriers with the same designation. Constructed by the Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Litton in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USS Wasp was particularly designed to carry and support the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) and employ Harrier II (AV-8B) jets for close air support during amphibious operations. She can also accommodate various Navy and Marine Corps helicopters, the tiltrotor MV-22 Osprey, the F-35B Lightning II fighter, as well as conventional landing craft and amphibious vehicles.

Equipped with an assault support system that orchestrates the flow of troops, cargo, and vehicles, USS Wasp's design includes two aircraft elevators servicing the hangar bay and flight deck, and six cargo elevators facilitating the transport of materials around the ship. Her well deck houses landing craft in a substantial 12,000-square-foot space, while helicopters utilize forklifts for cargo-loading.

To cater to medical emergencies and routine health requirements, Wasp is outfitted with extensive medical and dental facilities, including operating and dental rooms, x-ray facilities, a blood bank, laboratories, and patient wards. Multiple battle dressing stations and a casualty collecting area augment the ship's ability to respond to casualties.

Over her operational history, USS Wasp has been active in various missions. In the early 1990s, she conducted her maiden Mediterranean deployment and supported Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, interventions in Kuwait, and received the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award.

The 2000s marked her involvement in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, serving as the deployment platform for the V-22 Osprey, and engaging in Southern Partnership Station, a maritime strategy focusing on regional cooperativeness. She also participated in relief efforts following Hurricane Felix in Nicaragua.

Technical specifications