Newport-class

🇦🇺 Australia • 🇧🇷 Brazil • 🇨🇱 Chile • 🇲🇾 Malaysia • 🇲🇽 Mexico • 🇲🇦 Morocco • 🇪🇸 Spain • 🇹🇼 Taiwan • 🇺🇸 United States

The Newport class was developed under project SCB 247 to provide the United States Navy with tank landing ships (LST) capable of higher speeds than World War II-era designs. Traditional bow doors were replaced with a hull form featuring a 112-foot aluminum ramp slung over the bow and supported by twin derrick arms. Between 1966 and 1972, 20 ships were completed out of 27 originally planned. Construction was conducted by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company.

The design utilized a traditional ship hull rather than the flat-bottomed configuration of earlier LSTs. The bow ramp could sustain loads up to 75 long tons. Internally, a ramp located forward of the superstructure connected the lower tank deck with the main deck. The vessels also featured 30-foot turntables at both ends of the tank deck to facilitate vehicle maneuvering. A stern gate allowed for the discharge of amphibious vehicles into the water or onto utility landing craft and piers. The ships were equipped with bow thrusters for position holding and maneuvering near causeways. A helicopter deck was situated above the stern gate, and the ships carried davits for four vehicle and personnel landing craft.

The United States Navy commissioned the Newport class between 1969 and 1972. In 1981, the Navy began transferring ships to the Naval Reserve Force. The 1987 introduction of the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) and the shift toward over-the-horizon amphibious tactics rendered the class's primary landing method secondary to new doctrines. However, the ships remained in service through the 1990s as the primary means of landing large quantities of motor vehicle fuel for Marine Expeditionary Forces. The class was retired from United States service by 2002 following the implementation of the Offshore Petroleum Discharge System and fuel bladder capabilities for LCACs.

Twelve vessels were sold or leased to foreign navies, including those of Australia, Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, and Taiwan. The Royal Australian Navy modified its units into the Kanimbla class, removing the bow ramps and adding a forward flight deck, a crane for landing craft, and a hangar for four Seahawk helicopters. In Malaysian service, the KD Sri Inderapura was lost after catching fire and sinking in 2009. Other retired vessels were disposed of as targets during fleet training exercises or sold for scrap. Units remain in active service with the Mexican Navy and the Republic of China Navy.