Amphibious command ship

	USS Mount Whitney
Class overview
Name	Blue Ridge Class
Builders	Philadelphia Naval Shipyard - LCC 19; Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. - LCC 20;
Operators	United States Navy
In commission	1970 - Present
Completed	2
Active	2
General characteristics
Displacement	18,874 long tons (19,176.89 metric tons) full load
Length	634 ft (193 m)
Beam	108 ft (33 m)
Draft	26 ft 9 in (8.15 m) full load
Propulsion	Two boilers, one geared turbine, one shaft; 22,000 hp (16,000 kW)
Speed	23 kn (26 mph; 43 km/h)
Range	13,000 nmi (24,000 km; 15,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h)
Complement	720 enlisted, 23 officers
Aircraft carried	All helicopters except the CH-53 Sea Stallion can be carried

An amphibious command ship (LCC) of the United States Navy is a large, special-purpose ship, originally designed to command large amphibious invasions. However, as amphibious invasions have become unlikely,^[1] they are now used as general command ships, and serve as floating headquarters for the various combatant commands. Currently, they are assigned to the 6th and 7th Fleets as flagships.

Active ships

Previous ships

USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7) was the lead ship of the previous class of amphibious force command ships. She was designed as an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.

World War II

In World War II this type of ship was termed Amphibious Force Flagship (AGC). It was not a specific ship class, but rather one that had appropriate radio capabilities and space for command operations. Typically a merchant ship under construction would be completed as an Amphibious Force Flagship, but some ships were refitted for this purpose.

USS Ancon (AGC-4), former AP-66
USCGC Duane (WAGC-6), former WPG-33
USS Biscayne (AGC-18), former AVP-11
USCGC Taney (WAGC-37), former WPG-37

The original meaning of AGC was based on the General Auxiliary class of miscellaneous unclassified vessels AG and sub-class C, with 3 possible meanings; Command, Control, or Communications, but it became an anacronym, since all AGCs were called Amphibious Force Flagships. The British used the term Landing Ship Infantry (Headquarters) for this type of ship.

References

^ "The questionable future of amphibious assault". Brookings. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
^ "Blue Ridge Again Serves As Flagship For Seventh Fleet". Defense Daily. 223 (62). 28 September 2004. ISSN 0889-0404. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017.

External links

U.S. Navy Factfile
LCC 19 Blue Ridge class at GlobalSecurity.org
p177 AGC ships of the U.S. fleet
p261 U.S. amphibious ships and craft: Command and Control

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[1] "The questionable future of amphibious assault". Brookings. Retrieved 19 August 2023.

[2] "Blue Ridge Again Serves As Flagship For Seventh Fleet". Defense Daily. 223 (62). 28 September 2004. ISSN 0889-0404. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017.

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