Amphibious assault ship

An amphibious assault ship is a type of warship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory during an armed conflict.

However, some are capable of serving in the sea-control role, embarking aircraft like Harrier or the new F-35B variant of the Lightning II fighters for combat air patrol and helicopters for anti-submarine warfare or operating as a safe base for large numbers of STOVL fighters conducting air support for an expeditionary unit ashore.

The largest fleet of these types is operated by the United States Navy, including the Wasp class dating back to 1989 and the very similar America-class ships that entered service in 2014.

In this role, they would provide air cover for the troopships as well as fly the first wave of attacks on the beach fortifications in amphibious landing operations.

On occasion, they would even escort the large carriers, serving as emergency airstrips and providing fighter cover for their larger sisters while these were busy readying or refueling their own planes.

[7] In 1937, British and American observers watched Shinshū Maru at work off Shanghai and immediately recognized a significant development in amphibious warfare.

The ship could also hold additional craft on davits, but her next most impressive function was an ability to discharge vehicles from a deck-level parking garage directly onto a pier.

In this engagement, two British light fleet carriers, Ocean and Theseus, were converted to perform a battalion-size airborne assault with helicopters.

In the early 1950s the United States Navy and Marine Corps tested the concept of airborne amphibious operations from aircraft carriers.

[11] These provided a valuable interim during the construction from 1959 to 1970 of the full complement of seven new Iwo Jima-class ships designed specifically for the landing platform helicopter role.