USS Wasp (LHD-1) - Explored!
The Wasp is a US Navy multi-purpose amphibious assault ship. She is the lead ship of her class, the 10th US Navy vessel to bear the name, and was the flagship of the Second Fleet.
She was built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Litton in Pascagoula, Mississippi and was first commissioned in June 1989. Her class was the first specifically designed to accommodate the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) for fast troop movement over the beach, and Harrier II AV-8B V/STOL jets which provide close air support for the assault force. The AV-8B Plus used by the US Marines was last produced in 2003, and is expected to remain operational until 2025.
With a full load displacement of over 41,000 tonnes, Wasp is 257m long, with a beam of 32m and a draught of 8.1m. She can accommodate the full range of Navy and Marine Corps helicopters, the tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey, conventional landing craft, and amphibious vehicles.
From 2004, in a period when all the rest of the US Navy's flattops have been heavily tasked and often kept on lengthy deployments, Wasp was not been sent on an extended deployment, being used once as a surge deployment unit, but more routinely as a trials platform for various equipments, whilst also participating in exercises up and down the eastern seaboard. From 2011 the ship was assigned to Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F-35B Lightning II testing. She is seen here from South Thimble Island, inbound to Norfolk Naval Base, having just transitted the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel during a gap in these trials.
In June 2016, Wasp deployed for a six-month tour to the Middle East, her first full deployment in 11 years. In October it was announced that she will deploy to Sasebo, Japan in late 2017, replacing her sister ship Bonhomme Richard, which will be moved to San Diego, CA.
USS Wasp (LHD-1) - Explored!
The Wasp is a US Navy multi-purpose amphibious assault ship. She is the lead ship of her class, the 10th US Navy vessel to bear the name, and was the flagship of the Second Fleet.
She was built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Litton in Pascagoula, Mississippi and was first commissioned in June 1989. Her class was the first specifically designed to accommodate the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) for fast troop movement over the beach, and Harrier II AV-8B V/STOL jets which provide close air support for the assault force. The AV-8B Plus used by the US Marines was last produced in 2003, and is expected to remain operational until 2025.
With a full load displacement of over 41,000 tonnes, Wasp is 257m long, with a beam of 32m and a draught of 8.1m. She can accommodate the full range of Navy and Marine Corps helicopters, the tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey, conventional landing craft, and amphibious vehicles.
From 2004, in a period when all the rest of the US Navy's flattops have been heavily tasked and often kept on lengthy deployments, Wasp was not been sent on an extended deployment, being used once as a surge deployment unit, but more routinely as a trials platform for various equipments, whilst also participating in exercises up and down the eastern seaboard. From 2011 the ship was assigned to Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F-35B Lightning II testing. She is seen here from South Thimble Island, inbound to Norfolk Naval Base, having just transitted the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel during a gap in these trials.
In June 2016, Wasp deployed for a six-month tour to the Middle East, her first full deployment in 11 years. In October it was announced that she will deploy to Sasebo, Japan in late 2017, replacing her sister ship Bonhomme Richard, which will be moved to San Diego, CA.