Newport-class tank landing ship
USS
Newport
at Rota, Spain in 1982
|
History
|
United States
|
Name
| Newport
|
Namesake
| Newport, Rhode Island
|
Ordered
| FY 1965
|
Builder
| Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
,
Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
|
Laid down
| 1 November 1966
|
Launched
| 3 February 1968
|
Commissioned
| 7 June 1969
|
Decommissioned
| 1 October 1992
|
Stricken
| 13 July 2001
|
Identification
| LST-1179
|
Fate
| Transferred to Mexico
|
Mexico
|
Name
| Papaloapan
|
Acquired
| 18 January 2001
|
Commissioned
| 23 May 2001
|
Identification
| A 411
|
Status
| In service
|
General characteristics as built
|
Class and type
| Newport
-class
tank landing ship
|
Displacement
|
- 4,793
long tons
(4,870
t
) light
- 8,342 long tons (8,476 t) full load
|
Length
|
- 522 ft 4 in (159.2 m)
oa
- 562 ft (171.3 m) over
derrick
arms
|
Beam
| 69 ft 6 in (21.2 m)
|
Draft
| 17 ft 6 in (5.3 m) max
|
Propulsion
| |
Speed
| 22
knots
(41 km/h; 25 mph) max
|
Range
| 2,500
nmi
(4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
|
Troops
| 431 max
|
Complement
| 213
|
Sensors and
processing systems
|
- 2 × Mk 63 GCFS
- SPS-10
radar
|
Armament
| 2 × twin
3-inch/50-caliber guns
|
Aviation facilities
| Helicopter deck
|
USS
Newport
(LST-1179)
was the third ship of the
United States Navy
(USN) to bear the name of the
Rhode Island
city
. The first of
her class
of
landing ship tanks
(LST), she was capable of a sustained speed of 20
knots
(37 km/h; 23 mph). Her ability to adjust her draft, accompanied by her unique bow-ramp design, helped bring a new degree of responsiveness to the
amphibious
fleet
. The ship was
launched
in 1968 and entered service with the USN in 1969. Assigned to the
United States Atlantic Fleet
for the entirety of her career,
Newport
made deployments to the
Mediterranean
and
Caribbean Seas
. The vessel was taken out of service in 1992 and laid up until 2001.
In 2001, the ship was sold to the
Mexican Navy
and initially renamed
ARM
Sonora
before becoming
ARM
Rio Papaloapan
(or just ARM
Papaloapan
for short). In Mexican service, the LST has participated in humanitarian missions in the aftermath of the hurricanes
Katrina
and
Sandy
and taken part in multi-national
naval exercises
.
Description
[
edit
]
Newport
was the first of
her class
which were designed to meet the goal put forward by the United States
amphibious forces
to have a
tank landing ship
(LST) capable of over 20
knots
(37 km/h; 23 mph). However, the traditional
bow door
form for LSTs would not be capable. Therefore, the designers of the
Newport
class came up with a design of a traditional
ship hull
with a 112-foot (34 m)
aluminum
ramp slung over the bow supported by two
derrick
arms. The 34-
long-ton
(35 t) ramp was capable of sustaining loads up to 75 long tons (76 t). This made the
Newport
class the first to depart from the standard LST design that had been developed in early
World War II
.
Newport
had a
displacement
of 4,793 long tons (4,870 t) when light and 8,342 long tons (8,476 t) at full load. The LST was 522 feet 4 inches (159.2 m)
long overall
and 562 ft (171.3 m) over the
derrick
arms which protruded past the bow.
The vessel had a
beam
of 69 ft 6 in (21.2 m), a
draft
forward of 11 ft 5 in (3.5 m) and 17 ft 5 in (5.3 m) at the stern at full load.
Newport
was fitted with six
General Motors
16-645-ES
diesel engines
turning two
shafts
, three to each shaft. The system was rated at 16,500
brake horsepower
(12,300 kW) and gave the ship a maximum speed of 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) for short periods and could only sustain 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) for an extended length of time. The LST carried 1,750 long tons (1,778 t) of
diesel fuel
for a range of 2,500
nautical miles
(4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at the cruising speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). The ship was also equipped with a
bow thruster
to allow for better maneuvering near causeways and to hold position while offshore during the unloading of amphibious vehicles.
The
Newport
class were larger and faster than previous LSTs and were able to transport tanks, heavy vehicles and engineer groups and supplies that were too large for helicopters or smaller landing craft to carry.
The LSTs have a ramp forward of the
superstructure
that connects the lower tank deck with the main deck and a passage large enough to allow access to the parking area amidships. The vessels are also equipped with a stern gate to allow the unloading of amphibious vehicles directly into the water or to unload onto a
utility landing craft
(LCU) or pier. At either end of the tank deck there is a 30 ft (9.1 m) turntable that permits vehicles to turn around without having to reverse.
The
Newport
class has the capacity for 500 long tons (508 t) of vehicles, 19,000 sq ft (1,800 m
2
) of cargo area and could carry up to 431 troops.
The vessels also have
davits
for four
vehicle and personnel landing craft
(LCVPs) and could carry four pontoon causeway sections along the sides of the hull.
Newport
was initially armed with four Mark 33
3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber guns
in two twin
turrets
. The vessel was equipped with two Mk 63
gun control fire systems
(GCFS) for the 3-inch guns, but these were removed in 1977?1978.
The ship also had SPS-10 surface search
radar
.
Atop the stern gate, the vessels mounted a
helicopter deck
. They had a maximum complement of 213 including 11 officers.
Construction and career
[
edit
]
United States Navy service
[
edit
]
The vessel was ordered as part of Fiscal Year 1965 from the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
of
Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania.
The ship's
keel
was
laid down
on 1 November 1966 and the vessel was
launched
on 3 February 1968,
sponsored
by Nuella Pell, wife of Rhode Island
Senator
Claiborne Pell
.
Newport
, named for
the city
in
Rhode Island
, was
commissioned
into the
United States Navy
on 7 June 1969.
Upon entering service,
Newport
was assigned to the
Atlantic Fleet
as part of the amphibious force. The vessel was deployed in the
Mediterranean
and
Caribbean Seas
along with training operations along the
United States East Coast
. The development of the
landing craft air cushion
, which allowed the United States Navy to launch over-the-horizon amphibious landings, made the
Newport
class obsolete.
USS
Newport
was decommissioned on 1 October 1992.
Mexican Navy service
[
edit
]
After several years laid up
Newport
was sold to the
Mexican Navy
on 18 January 2001 as part of the Security Assistance Program in a cash sale and renamed
Sonora
(A-04).
[11]
On 23 May 2001, the vessel joined the Mexican Navy and was renamed ARM
Rio Papaloapan
or
Papaloapan
(A 411).
The vessel was stricken from the United States
Naval Vessel Register
on 13 July 2001.
[11]
In late 2005, ARM
Papaloapan
brought aid and supplies to
Mississippi
after
Hurricane Katrina
hit the state, with her crew taking part in cleanup efforts near
Biloxi
.
[12]
In January 2010, she was deployed with 5,000 tons of cargo in a humanitarian mission to Haiti.
[13]
In November 2012, she was sent to Cuba with supplies to help the victims of
Hurricane Sandy
after the hurricane caused severe damage to the island.
[14]
In 2015,
Papaloapan
participated in the multi-national
naval exercise
UNITAS.
[15]
In 2017, the ship took part in the multi-national naval exercise Bold Alligator on the US East Coast.
[16]
In 2018, the ship took part in another multi-national naval exercise, Panamax 2018, off the coast of the United States.
[17]
Citations
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- Blackman, Raymond V. B., ed. (1972).
Jane's Fighting Ships 1972?73
. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company.
OCLC
28197951
.
- Couhat, Jean Labayle, ed. (1986).
Combat Fleets of the World 1986/87
. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
0-85368-860-5
.
- "Newport III (LST-1179)"
.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
.
Navy Department
,
Naval History and Heritage Command
. Retrieved
2 February
2020
.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen & Budzbon, Przemysław, eds. (1995).
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947?1995
. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
1-55750-132-7
.
- Moore, John, ed. (1974).
Jane's Fighting Ships 1974?75
(77th ed.). New York: Franklin Watts Incorporated.
ISBN
0-531-02743-0
.
- Moore, John, ed. (1975).
Jane's Fighting Ships 1975?76
(78th ed.). New York: Franklin Watts Incorporated.
ISBN
0-531-03251-5
.
- Moore, John, ed. (1976).
Jane's Fighting Ships 1976?77
(79th ed.). New York: Franklin Watts Incorporated.
ISBN
0-531-03261-2
.
- Moore, John, ed. (1978).
Jane's Fighting Ships 1978?79
(81st ed.). New York: Franklin Watts Incorporated.
ISBN
0-531-03297-3
.
-
This article includes information collected from the
Naval Vessel Register
, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the
public domain
. The entry can be found
here
.
- Sharpe, Richard, ed. (1990).
Jane's Fighting Ships 1990?91
(93 ed.). Surrey, United Kingdom: Jane's Information Group.
ISBN
0-7106-0904-3
.
- Saunders, Stephen, ed. (2004).
Jane's Fighting Ships 2004?2005
(107 ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: Jane's Information Group Inc.
ISBN
0-7106-2623-1
.
External links
[
edit
]