GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Number Built:

7

Displacement:

18,000 tons (2, 3 and 7), 18,300 tons (9 and 10), 17,706 tons (11), 17,515 tons (12) full load

Dimensions:

602.3 x 84 x 26 feet (183.7 x 25.6 x 7.9 meters)
Flight deck width: 104 feet (31.7 meters)

Aircraft:

The flight decks of these ships provided for simultaneous take off or landing of 7 CH-46 Sea Knight or 4 CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters during normal operations. The hangar decks could accommodate 19 CH-46 Sea Knight or 11 CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters, or various combinations of helicopters. Four AV-8A Harriers in place of some troop helicopters.

Machinery:

1 geared turbine (Westinghouse); 22,000 shp; 1 shaft.

Boilers:

2 Babcock & Wilcox in Guam; Combustion Engineering in others.

Complement:

609 (47 officers, 562 enlisted men)
Troops: 1,731 (143 officers, 1,588 enlisted men)

General:

Iwo Jima was the world's first ship designed and constructed specifically to operate helicopters. Each LPH could carry a Marine battalion landing team, its guns, vehicles, and equipment, plus a reinforced squadron of transport helicopters and various support personnel.
Iwo Jima was authorized in the FY 1958 new construction program, Okinawa in the FY 1959, Guadalcanal in the FY 1960, Guam in the FY 1962, Tripoli in the FY 1963, New Orleans in the FY 1965, and Inchon in the FY 1966. Estimated cost of Iwo Jima was $40 million.
Guam was modified late in 1971 and began operations in January 1972 as an interim sea control ship. She operated Harrier AV-8 V/STOL aircraft and SH-3 Sea King A/S helicopters in convoy escort exercises; she reverted to the amphibious role in 1974 but kept 12 AV-8As on board. Several of these ships operated RH-53 minesweeping helicopters to clear North Vietnamese ports in 1973 and the Suez Canal in 1974.
Each ship had two deck-edge lifts, one to port opposite the bridge and one to starboard aft of island. Full hangars were provided; no arresting wires or catapults. Two small elevators carried cargo from holds to flight deck. Storage was provided for 6,500 gallons (US) of vehicle fuel and 405,000 gallons (US) of JP-5 helicopter fuel.