Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship

USS Saipan during Expeditionary Strike Group integration training in 2004
Class overview
Name:	Tarawa class
Builders:	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Iwo Jima class
Succeeded by:	Wasp class
Built:	15 November 1971 – 3 May 1980
In commission:	29 May 1976–31 March 2015
Planned:	9
Completed:	5
Cancelled:	4
Retired:	5
General characteristics
Class and type:	Amphibious assault ship/LHA
Displacement:	39,967 tonnes (39,336 long tons; 44,056 short tons) full load
Length:	834 feet (254 m)
Beam:	131.9 feet (40.2 m)
Draft:	25.9 feet (7.9 m)
Propulsion:	2 × Combustion Engineering boilers 2 × Westinghouse turbines 70,000 horsepower (52,000 kW) 2 × propeller shafts 1 × bow thruster
Speed:	24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Range:	10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried:	4 × LCU 1610 Or two LCU and two LCM-8 Or 17 LCM-6 Or 45 LVT
Troops:	1,703
Complement:	56 officers, 874 sailors (1998)
Armament:	As of 1998: Mark 49 RAM missile system 2 × Vulcan Phalanx 6 × 25 mm automatic cannons 8 × 12.7 mm machine guns Previous weapons: 2 × 8 cell MK- 25 NATO Sea Sparrow BPDMS launchers (replaced by Phalanx units) 3 × 5-inch (127 mm) Mk 45 lightweight guns (deleted 1997–1998)
Aircraft carried:	Up to 19 Sea Stallions, 26 Sea Knights, or mixed airgroup 6 Harrier jump-jets
Aviation facilities:	820-by-118.1-foot (249.9 by 36.0 m) flight deck with 2 aircraft lifts

The Tarawa class was a ship class of amphibious assault ships/LHA 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. As of March 2015^[update], all vessels have been decommissioned. The class was replaced by the America-class amphibious assault ships from 2014 onward.

The vessels have a full load displacement of 39,967 tonnes (39,336 long tons; 44,056 short tons). Each ship is 834 feet (254 m) long, with a beam of 131.9 feet (40.2 m), and a draft of 25.9 feet (7.9 m).

Propulsion is provided by two Combustion Engineering boilers, connected to two Westinghouse turbines. These supply 70,000 horsepower (52,000 kW) to the ship's two propeller shafts. A Tarawa-class vessel can reach a maximum speed of 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph), and has a maximum range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). In addition to the main propulsion system, the ships are fitted with a bow thruster.

As of 1998, the ships' armament consists of a Mark 49 RAM surface-to-air missile system, two Vulcan Phalanx close-in weapons systems, six Mark 242 25 mm automatic cannons, and eight 12.7 mm machine guns. Previously, the amphibious warships were fitted with 2 Mark 25 Sea Sparrow missile systems (which were replaced by the Phalanx units), and three 5-inch (127 mm) Mk 45 lightweight guns in bow sponsons and port aft sponson (the guns were removed across the class during 1997 and 1998). Countermeasures and decoys include four Mark 36 SRBOC launchers, a SLQ-25 Nixie towed torpedo decoy, a Sea Gnat unit, SLQ-49 chaff decoys.