Editing Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship (section)

==Design==
The vessels have a full load displacement of {{convert|39967|t}}.<ref name=Sharpe822>Sharpe (ed.), ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1998–99'', p. 822</ref> Each ship is {{convert|834|ft}} long, with a beam of {{convert|131.9|ft}}, and a draft of {{convert|25.9|ft}}.<ref name=Sharpe822/>

Propulsion is provided by two [[Combustion Engineering]] boilers, connected to two [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]] turbines.<ref name=Sharpe822/> These supply {{convert|70000|hp|lk=in}} to the ship's two propeller shafts.<ref name=Sharpe822/> A ''Tarawa''-class vessel can reach a maximum speed of {{convert|24|kn|lk=in}}, and has a maximum range of {{convert|10000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|20|kn}}.<ref name=Sharpe822/> In addition to the main propulsion system, the ships are fitted with a [[bow thruster]].<ref name=Sharpe822/>

As of 1998, the ships' armament consisted of a Mark 49 RAM surface-to-air missile system, two [[Vulcan Phalanx]] close-in weapons systems, six Mark 242 25&nbsp;mm automatic cannons, and eight 12.7&nbsp;mm machine guns.<ref name=Sharpe822/> Previously, the amphibious warships were fitted with 2 Mark 25 [[RIM-7 Sea Sparrow|Sea Sparrow]] missile systems (which were replaced by the Phalanx units), and three [[5"/54 caliber Mark 45 gun|5-inch (127 mm) Mk 45 lightweight guns]] in bow and starboard aft [[sponson]]s (the guns were removed across the class during 1997 and 1998).<ref name=Sharpe822/> Countermeasures and decoys include four [[Mark 36 SRBOC]] launchers, a [[SLQ-25 Nixie]] towed torpedo decoy, a [[Sea Gnat]] unit, [[AN/SLQ-49 Chaff Buoy Decoy System|SLQ-49 chaff decoys]].<ref name=Sharpe822/>

The number of helicopters carried by each vessel was up to 19 [[Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion]]s, 26 [[Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight]], or a mix of the two.<ref name=Sharpe822/> The {{convert|820|by|118.1|ft|adj=on}} flight deck is fitted with two aircraft lifts, and up to nine Sea Stallions or 12 Sea Knights can be operated simultaneously.<ref name=Sharpe822/> With a small amount of modification, the ships could carry and operate up to six [[McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II]] jump-jets.<ref name=Sharpe822/>

[[File:Amphibious assault ship USS Belleau Wood (July 7 2004).jpg|thumb|left|A [[Landing Craft Utility|LCU]] returning to {{USS|Belleau Wood|LHA-3|6}}'s well deck]]

The ''Tarawa''-class ships are designed to embark a reinforced battalion of the [[United States Marine Corps]] and their equipment.<ref name=Sharpe822/> Onboard accommodation is provided for up to 1,703 marines, while {{convert|33730|cuft}} is provided for the battalion's vehicles, and {{convert|116900|cuft}} is allocated for stores and other equipment.<ref name=Sharpe822/> As well as deploying by helicopters, personnel and equipment can be embarked or offloaded via a {{convert|268|by|78|ft|adj=on}} [[Well dock|well deck]] in each ship's stern.<ref name=Sharpe822/> Up to four [[Landing Craft Utility#LCU 1466, 1610 and 1627 classes|LCU 1610]] landing craft can be transported in and operated from the well deck, along with other designs and combinations of landing craft (two LCU and two [[LCM-8]], or 17 [[LCM-6]], or 45 [[Assault Amphibious Vehicle|AAVP]]).<ref name=Sharpe822/>

The ''Tarawa'' design was later repeated for the {{sclass|Wasp|amphibious assault ship|2}}s, with some changes.<ref name=BisChan230>Bishop & Chant, ''Aircraft Carriers'', p. 230</ref> The main changes to the latter eight-ship class include the lower placement of the ship's [[bridge (ship)|bridge]] aboard the ''Wasp''s, the relocation of the command and control facilities to inside the hull, modifications to allow the operation of Harrier jump-jets and [[Landing Craft Air Cushion]] hovercraft, and removal of the 5-inch guns and their sponsons to increase the overall size of the flight deck.<ref name=BisChan230/><ref name=Wertheim921/>