Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship

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USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2), the lead ship of the class, off the coast of South Vietnam in 1965.
Class overview
Builders	Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Ingalls Shipbuilding
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Essex class (some ships converted)
Succeeded by	Tarawa class
In commission	1961–2002
Completed	7
Active	0
Laid up	0
Retired	7
General characteristics
Type	Amphibious assault ship (LPH)
Displacement	18,474 tons (full) 11,000 tons (light)
Length	592 ft (180 m)
Beam	84 ft (26 m)
Draft	27 ft (8.2 m)
Propulsion	2 × 600 psi (4.1 MPa) boilers, one geared steam turbine, one shaft, 22,000 shaft horsepower (16 MW)
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h)
Troops	2,157
Complement	667
Armament	Initially: 2 × 2 3-inch (76 mm) / 50 caliber DP guns, 8 cell Sea Sparrow BPDMS launchers, Later: 2 × Phalanx CIWS
Aviation facilities	25 helicopters or AV-8 Harriers Flight deck width: 105 ft (32 m)

The Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ships of the United States Navy were the first amphibious assault ships designed and built as dedicated helicopter carriers, capable of operating up to 20 helicopters to carry up to 1,800 marines ashore.^[1] They were named for battles featuring the United States Marine Corps, starting with the Battle of Iwo Jima. The first ship of the class was commissioned in 1961, and the last was decommissioned in 2002. The hull classification of "LPH" stands for "Landing Platform Helicopter".