The Tarawa class is a ship class of Landing Helicopter Assault (LHA) type amphibious assault ships operated by the United States Navy (USN). Five ships were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding between 1971 and 1980; another four ships were planned, but later canceled; instead they were joined by the Wasp -class amphibious assault ships .

USS Tarawa (LHA-1), the lead ship of her class, was an amphibious assault ship that served in the United States Navy from 1976 to 2009. She was the second ship to be named for the Battle of Tarawa, fought during World War II. Tarawa was decommissioned on 31 March 2009, at San Diego Naval Base. [2]

TARAWA can ballast 12,000 tons of seawater for trimming the ship to receive and discharge landing craft from the well deck. TARAWA was constructed with more than 20,000 tons of steel, 3,000 tons of aluminum, 400 miles of cable and 80 miles of pipe.

Tarawa was the first in a new generation of multipurpose amphibious assault ships, a vital member of the Navy/Marine Corps team in the Pacific Fleet and a major factor in U.S. power projection overseas. Tarawa's first deployment to the Western Pacific began in March 1979.

The Tarawa-class LHAs and Wasp-class LHDs provide the Marine Corps with a means of ship-to-shore movement by helicopter in addition to movement by landing craft.

2018年10月8日 · The USS TARAWA (LHA-1), a Tarawa class amphibious assault ship, was commissioned on 29 MAY 1976. USS TARAWA served her country for 32 years, 10 months and 2 days, until decommissioned on 31 MAR 2009.

The Tarawa class is designed to operate independently or as a unit of a force, as a flagship or individual ship unit in both air and/or surface assaults, these ships are key elements of the amphibious assault forces for the Navy.

2020年10月22日 · The Tarawa-class design was later used as the basis for Wasp-class amphibious assault ships, with some slight modifications, including a well deck for three LCACs, a more spacious flight deck, and less vulnerable command and control facilities. The five Tarawa-class ships have since been retired.