Casa Grande-class dock landing ship
# Casa Grande-class dock landing ship

The Casa Grande class was a class of dock landing ships used by the Royal Navy and the United States Navy during the Second World War. Nineteen ships were planned, but two, USS Fort Snelling and USS Point Defiance were cancelled before being completed.

## Design

The 'Landing Ship Dock' or LSD developed from a British staff requirement for a type of self-propelled drydock to transport beaching craft over long distances, that would in turn deliver trucks and supplies onto the beach. A flooding deck aft capable of holding either two of the larger British Landing craft tanks (LCTs) or three of the new US LCTs was included in the designs. With the option of fitting extra decks, large numbers of vehicles could be transported, and loaded into landing craft via ramps. Despite an initial specification for a speed of 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h), the LSDs were capable of only 15.6 knots (18.0 mph; 28.9 km/h).

## Service

The British initially ordered seven of the class from US dockyards, numbered LSD-9 to 15. Only four were delivered, numbers 9 to 12, while 13 to 15 were retained by the US Navy, which ordered another twelve to the design, but only built ten. In total thirteen of the ships served with the US Navy, while four ships served with the Royal Navy.

## Ships

### United States Navy

| Ship name | Hull number | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Casa Grande | LSD-13 | Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia | 11 November 1943 | 11 April 1944 | 5 June 1944 | 6 October 1969 | Sold for scrap, 6 April 1992 |
| Rushmore | LSD-14 | Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia | 31 December 1943 | 10 May 1944 | 3 July 1944 | 30 September 1970 | Sunk as a target, 16 April 1993 |
| Shadwell | LSD-15 | Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia | 17 January 1944 | 24 May 1944 | 24 July 1944 | 9 March 1970 | Scrapped, 2017 |
| Cabildo | LSD-16 | Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia | 24 July 1944 | 22 December 1944 | 15 March 1945 | 31 March 1970 | Sunk as a target, September 1985 |
| Catamount | LSD-17 | Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia | 7 August 1944 | 27 January 1945 | 9 April 1945 | 31 March 1970 | Sold for scrap, 4 December 1975 |
| Colonial | LSD-18 | Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia | 1 August 1944 | 28 February 1945 | 15 May 1945 | 1970 | Sold for scrap, 8 September 1993 |
| Comstock | LSD-19 | Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia | 3 January 1945 | 28 April 1945 | 2 July 1945 | 20 April 1970 | Transferred to Taiwan, 17 October 1984; sunk as artificial reef on 30 June 2015 |
| Donner | LSD-20 | Boston Navy Yard | 1 December 1944 | 6 April 1945 | 31 July 1945 | 23 December 1970 | Sold for scrap, March 2005 |
| Fort Mandan | LSD-21 | Boston Navy Yard | 2 January 1945 | 2 June 1945 | 31 October 1945 | 23 January 1971 | Transferred to Greece, 23 January 1971; sold for scrap, November 2001 |
| Fort Marion | LSD-22 | Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, Alabama | 15 September 1944 | 22 May 1945 | 29 January 1946 | 13 February 1970 | Transferred to Taiwan, 15 April 1977; sunk as artificial reef, 9 December 2000 |
| Fort Snelling | LSD-23 | Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, Alabama | 8 November 1944 | | Never | Never | Completed as a ferry and renamed SS Carib Queen; sold for scrap, 25 June 1969 |
| Point Defiance | LSD-24 | Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, Alabama | 28 May 1945 | | Never | Never | Cancelled, 17 August 1945; broken up on slipway |
| San Marcos | LSD-25 | Philadelphia Navy Yard | 1 September 1944 | 10 January 1945 | 15 April 1945 | 1 July 1971 | Transferred to Spain, 1 July 1971; scrapped in 1989 |
| Tortuga | LSD-26 | Boston Navy Yard | 16 October 1944 | 21 January 1945 | 8 June 1945 | 26 January 1970 | Run aground during storm, 15 December 1987; scrapped, 1988 |
| Whetstone | LSD-27 | Boston Navy Yard | 7 April 1945 | 18 July 1945 | 12 February 1946 | 2 April 1970 | Sold for scrap, 17 February 1983 |

### Royal Navy

| Ship name | Hull number | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Eastway | F130 | Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia | 23 November 1942 | 21 May 1943 | 14 November 1943 | 23 April 1946 | Transferred to Greece, 1953; scrapped, 1972 |
| Highway | F141 | Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia | 23 November 1942 | 19 July 1943 | 19 October 1943 | 23 April 1946 | Sold for scrap, 17 December 1948 |
| Northway | F142 | Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia | 24 May 1943 | 18 November 1943 | 15 February 1944 | 1946 | Sold to a commercial interest, 19 March 1948; scrapped, 1975 |
| Oceanway | F143 | Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia | 23 July 1943 | 29 December 1943 | 29 March 1944 | 1947 | Transferred to Greece, March 1947; transferred to France, 1952; sunk as target, 10 February 1970 |

## Gallery

* An LCVP bucks in the well of USS Catamount (LSD-17) during mine clearance operations off Chinnampo, North Korea, in November 1950
* LVTs embarking British commandos leave USS Fort Marion (LSD-22) for the beach at Sorye Dong, Korea, on 7 April 1951
* USS Casa Grande (LSD-13) discharging LCU-1491 from her well deck, circa 1957
* USS San Marcos (LSD-25, front) with USS Donner (LSD-20, rear)
* Decommissioned USS Shadwell (LSD-15) in Mobile Bay as a Fire Research asset, 2014
