|
USS ''America'' (LHA-6), the fourth American warship to be named for the United States of America, is the first of the s for the U.S. Navy. She was delivered in spring of 2014, replacing of the ''Tarawa'' class. Her mission is to act as the flagship of an expeditionary strike group or amphibious ready group, carrying part of a Marine expeditionary unit into battle and putting them ashore with helicopters and V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, supported by F-35B Lightning II aircraft and helicopter gunships. The ship's design is based on , but to allow more room for aviation facilities she does not have a well deck, and has smaller medical spaces. With a displacement of 45,000 tons, she is as large as the aircraft carriers of many other nations, and can fulfill similar missions when configured with 20 F-35B strike fighters. ==Design== (詳細はUSS ''Makin Island'' (LHD-8), itself an improved version of the ''Wasp''-class amphibious assault ship. Approximately 45% of the Flight 0 design is based on LHD-8, with the well deck removed to allow more room for aircraft and aviation fuel. The removal of the well deck for landing craft allows for an extended hangar deck with two significantly wider high bay areas, each fitted with an overhead crane for aircraft maintenance. These changes were required in order to operate the F-35B and MV-22, which are considerably larger than the aircraft they replace.〔Jean, Grace V. (Marines Question the Utility of Their New Amphibious Warship ) National Defense Industrial Association, September 2008〕 The typical aircraft complement is expected to be 12 MV-22B transports, six STOVL F-35B attack aircraft, four CH-53K heavy transport helicopters, seven AH-1Z/UH-1Y attack helicopters and two Navy MH-60S for air-sea rescue. The exact makeup of the ship's aircraft complement will vary according to the mission. ''America'' can carry 20 F-35B and 2 MH-60S〔 to serve as a small aircraft carrier as demonstrated by LHD operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom.〔 Other enhancements include a reconfigurable command and control complex, an on-board hospital, additional aviation fuel capacity (1.3 million gallons of JP-5), and numerous aviation support spaces.〔〔("Seapower, Nov 2014" )〕 ''America'' will be modified in a similar way to the modifications made on USS ''Wasp'' (LHD-1) to make her better able to withstand the great amounts of heat generated by the F-35B's engine exhaust when taking off or landing vertically. Intercostal structural members will be added underneath flight deck landing spots seven and nine to more closely perform timed cyclic flight operations without overstressing it. Other changes may involve re-adjusting some ship antennas to allow for a clear flight path.〔(USS America Tours South America, Prepares for JSF ) - Defensetech.org, 26 August 2014〕 The ship will undergo a 40-week modification period where recently installed piping, lighting, and other features will be removed to weld reinforcements underneath the flight deck; the modification period would have been greater if its construction when in the shipyard had been interrupted to perform it. Such accommodations will be included in all future ''America''-class ships from the start.〔(How Marines Plan To Survive Littoral Warfare ) - Breakingdefense.com, 8 April 2015〕 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「USS America (LHA-6)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|