Page 64: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 1983)

Navy Awards Lockheed

Contract To Construct

Third Dock Landing Ship

The U.S. Navy has announced the award of a construction con- tract to Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Se- attle, Wash., to build the third ship of the Whidbey Island class dock landing ships. The ship, to be known as LSD-43, will be built at Lockheed's Harbor Island ship- yard in Seattle. Contract award value is $271.4 million which in- cludes $62.8 million already awarded to Lockheed on October 29, 1982, for the purchase of

Long Lead Time Materials (LLTM).

The LSD-43 construction con- tract signed by Lockheed Ship- building president L.A. Smith and

U.S. Navy officials (Naval Sea

Systems Command) in the na- tion's capital, calls for Lockheed to launch LSD-43 in December 1985.

The 609-foot ship, which will not be named until it is launched, is the third of three U.S. Navy dock landing ships under con- tract to Lockheed. This contract, the third in less than two years, brings to almost $1 billion the contract awards for the three ships.

LSD-41 and LSD-42 are now under construction at Lockheed's

Seattle shipyard. The LSD-41 (named Whidbey Island) is 50 percent complete, and will be launched June 10, 1983. The LSD- 42 is approximately 10 percent built and will be launched in

August 1984. LSD-42 will not be named until its launching.

The Navy's award of the con- struction contract for the LSD- 43 will enable Lockheed Ship- building to maintain its current workforce of approximately 3,300 employees. Many craft employees now involved in extensive over- hauls of Navy destroyers since

February 1982, will be reassigned from Lockheed's overhaul facility to duties on LSD-43 construction when the final destroyer is deliv- ered to the Navy in June 1983.

The Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships are amphibious as- sault ships designed to carry combat-ready U.S. Marines and their equipment to designated areas around the world. At those designated points, the Lockheed- built ships launch their 87-foot by 47-foot air cushion landing craft (LCACs) from the ship's 440-foot hollow wet well.

The ship lowers its stern gate, floods ballast tanks, lowers itself into the sea, and allows the

LCACs — loaded with the Ma- rines, tanks, and other equipment — to exit the ship. The troops are then carried onto and over the shoreline to tactical assault points ashore while the LSD-41/ 42/43 sits "over the horizon" to await the return of the LCACs and Marines.

The LCACs (Landing Craft,

Air Cushion in Navy terminol- ogy) are being built for the Navy under a contract awarded to Bell

Aerospace division of Textron

Industries at Bell's New Orleans facility.

The Whidbey Island-class dock landing ships are designed to re- place the aging Thomaston class (LSD-28) dock landing ships as that class of ships reaches the end of its 30-year service life.

The first of those ships is sched- uled to be removed from active fleet status coincidental with the commissioning of Whidbey Island (LSD-41) in late 1985.

Triboro Industries Names

Forrest Vice President

Triboro Industries Inc., the en- gine service and rebuilding spe- cialists headquartered in Bronx,

New York, recently announced that J. Douglas Forrest has been appointed as vice president with primary responsibilities in ma- rine and industrial divisions.

Mr. Forrest was formerly pres- ident of the container division,

BFC Marine Services in Brook- lyn, N.Y. Prior to joining that company, he was executive vice president of Arthur Tickle Engi- neering Works Inc. of New York.

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