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The ''Balikpapan'' class is a ship class of eight heavy landing craft (officially Landing Craft, Heavy or LCH). All eight were originally laid down by Walkers Limited for the Australian Army in the early 1970s. A reorganisation of watercraft responsibilities in the Australian military meant the landing craft were to be operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), with seven commissioned directly into RAN service during 1973 and 1974, and lead ship transferred from the army to the navy. During the leadup to the independence of Papua New Guinea in 1975, two of the vessels (''Salamaua'' and ''Buna'') were transferred to the new Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF). During their careers, the Australian vessels have operated in support of Operation Navy Help Darwin in 1974–75, Operation Bel Isi from 1997 to 2003, INTERFET operations in 1999 and 2000, and RAMSI operations from 2003. The six remaining RAN vessels were paid off in the 2010s: ''Balikpapan'', , and in 2012; , , and in 2014. They are yet to be replaced in RAN service. As of 2013, the two PNGDF vessels were active, and in 2014, the former ''Labuan'' was transferred to Papua New Guinea as the training ship ''Lakekamu''. ''Brunei'' and ''Tarakan'' were refitted and donated to the Philippine Navy in 2015, commissioning as ''Ivatan'' and ''Batak''. ==Design and capabilities== Eight new heavy landing craft were ordered in 1969 as a locally manufactured replacement for the Australian Army's four LSM-1-class landing ship medium and two ALC 50 landing craft after the Landing Ship Medium Mark II project was cancelled.〔Gillett, ''Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946'', pgs 79, 125〕 They are long, with a beam of , and a draught of .〔Saunders (ed.), ''IHS Jane's Fighting Ships 2012–2013'', p. 32〕 The landing craft have a standard displacement of 320 tons, with a full load displacement of 517 tons.〔 They were originally built with two General Motors Detroit 6–71 diesel motors.〔Wertheim (ed.), ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World'', p. 26〕 These were replaced by Caterpillar 3406E diesel engines between 2005 and 2007 for those still in Australian service.〔 The standard ship's company is 16-strong, including two officers.〔 The sensor suite is limited to a Racel Decca Bridgemaster I-band navigational radar.〔 They are fitted with two machine guns for self-defence.〔 The LCHs have a maximum payload of 180 tons; equivalent to three Leopard 1 or two M1A1 Abrams tanks, 13 M113 armored personnel carriers, 23 quarter-tonne trucks, or four LARC-V amphibious cargo vehicles.〔〔Gillett, ''Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946'', p. 79〕〔Gillett, ''Australia's Navy'', Part 2, p. 30〕 As a troop transport, a ''Balikpapan'' class vessel can transport up to 400 soldiers between a larger amphibious ship and the shore, or embark 60 soldiers in six-berth caravans for longer voyages.〔 The vessel's payload affects the range: at 175 tons of cargo, each vessel has a range of , which increases to with a 150-ton payload, and when unladen.〔 The flat, box-like keel causes the ships to roll considerably in other-than-calm conditions, limiting their ability to make long voyages.〔 The LCHs can mate their bow ramp to the stern loading dock of the RAN's large amphibious warfare ships when operating in the ship-to-shore role.〔 All eight ''Balikpapan''-class vessels were constructed by Walkers Limited at their shipyard in Maryborough, Queensland.〔Wertheim (ed.), ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World'', p. 25〕 All were laid down during 1971 and 1972, with lead ship entering service with the Australian Army Water Transport Squadron at the end of 1971.〔 After this, responsibility for seagoing Army craft was transferred to the RAN, with the other seven craft directly entering naval service during 1973 and 1974, and ''Balikpapan'' transferring over in late 1974.〔〔Gillett, ''Australian and New Zealand Warships since 1946'', p. 80〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Balikpapan-class landing craft heavy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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