The ''San Giorgio'' class are

amphibious transport dock An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform dock (LPD), is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently operat ...

s (LPD) built by

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

for the Italian Navy. These ships can carry a battalion of troops, and up to 36 armored vehicles. The stern floodable dock can accommodate three landing craft. The ships are based at the

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

naval base on the Adriatic coast. ''San Giorgio'' and ''San Marco'' have been extensively modified into

landing helicopter dock A landing helicopter dock (LHD) is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship which is capable of operating helicopters and has a well deck. The United States Navy (USN) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) use the term as a hull classification sy ...

s. They accommodate a full-length

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopte ...

with four landing spots. ''San Giusto'', the third vessel, has not been modified since construction, however featured an improved design, and is normally employed as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

Ships

Replacement class

The two oldest vessels of this class are scheduled for replacement. The Italian Navy has received the go-ahead to procure two 21,000/24,000-ton long amphibious assault ships (

), with the possibility of a third ship, configured with extensive aviation facilities ( landing helicopter assault).

Improved ''San Giorgio'' or Landing and Logistic Support Ship

In July 2011 the Algerian Navy placed an order with

for an improved version of the ''San Giorgio'' class amphibious transport ships classified as ''Bâtiment de Débarquement et de Soutien Logistique'' (BDSL). On 8 January 2014 the BDSL was launched on a

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

at the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri Levante. is fitted with

Aster 15 The Aster 15 and Aster 30 are a Franco-Italian family of all-weather, vertical launch surface-to-air missiles.OTO Melara 76 mm Super Rapid at the bow and with two 25 mm remote weapon stations. The BDSL can accommodate three

landing craft mechanized The landing craft mechanized (LCM) is a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults. Variants There was no ...

, three small

landing craft vehicle personnel A Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel or Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) is any of a variety of amphibious landing craft designed to transport troops or armoured vehicles from ship to shore during amphibious landings. United Kingdom The desi ...

, one large landing craft personnel and two semi-rigid boats. The

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

can accommodate up to 15 armoured vehicles. The crew will consist of 150 sailors while the ship may accommodate a landing force of 440 soldiers.

References

External links

San Giorgio – Naval Technology
{{Portal bar, Italy, Engineering Amphibious warfare vessel classes San Giorgio class Amphibious warfare vessels of the Italian Navy Helicopter carrier classes Ships built by Fincantieri