A dock landing ship (hull classification LSD) is a form of auxiliary warship designed to support amphibious operations.

[1] The dock landing ship was designed with the capability of moving smaller, pre-loaded amphibious warfare craft over long distances.

[2] The vessels were propelled by two shafts powered by two Skinner Uniflow reciprocating engines fed steam by two double boilers creating 7,400 indicated horsepower (5,500 kW).

[6] The original design called for the ability to transport 16 landing craft mechanized (LCMs), with each LCM able to embark a single tank.

Furthermore, the ships had to transport the vehicle crews, numbering 280 troops and maintain a sustained speed of 15 knots at full load to keep up with the invasion fleets.

[9] On 26 November 1941, eight LSDs were ordered for construction at the Moore Dry Dock Company yard in Oakland, California for the United States Navy.

[1] They entered service at the height of World War II and saw action in the Pacific theater, taking part in several major invasions including the battles of Saipan, Philippines,[11] Okinawa[12] and Iwo Jima.

[11] During the war, the ability to transport smaller vessels such as PT boats or minesweepers sometimes led to criticism that the Ashland-class ships were not available for their primary jobs.

They acquired White Marsh on 17 November 1960 on loan and renamed the ship Tung Hai and gave it the pennant number 191.