LPD: The U.S. Navy's Most Versatile Vessel Isn't A Destroyer Or A Submarine
Loren Thompson
The U.S. Navy is the most accomplished provider of sea power in history. In a world where the vast preponderance of people and commerce are found within a hundred miles of the sea, it has the capacity to control sea lanes, provide secure sea bases, and project power ashore almost anywhere that the need arises.
American sea power is best known for its signature warships—submarines, surface combatants and especially aircraft carriers. Those are the vessels that dominate discussion of sea power in the popular media.
But there is more to the modern Navy than these three classic expressions of maritime power. In fact, the most versatile vessel in the current fleet is a type of ship most people probably haven’t even heard of. It is called an amphibious transport dock or “landing platform, dock,†and is referred to in Navy jargon as an LPD.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2019/05/07/lpd-the-u-s-navys-most-versatile-vessel-isnt-a-destroyer-or-a-submarine/#2693780d525c
