An amphibious command ship (LCC) of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
is a large, special-purpose ship, originally designed to command large
amphibious invasions. However, as amphibious invasions have become unlikely, they are now used as general
command ship
Command ships serve as the flagships of the commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and their staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities.
An auxiliary command ship feature ...
s, and serve as floating headquarters for the various
combatant commands. Currently, they are assigned to the
6th and
7th Fleets as
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
s.
Active ships
*
USS ''Blue Ridge'' (LCC-19)
*
USS ''Mount Whitney'' (LCC-20)
Previous ships
was the
lead ship
The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels.
Large ships are very comple ...
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
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
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.
*, former AP-66
*, former WPG-33
*, former AVP-11
*, 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
An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wit ...
, since all AGCs were called ''Amphibious Force Flagships''.
The British used the term
Landing Ship Infantry (Headquarters) for this type of ship.
See also
*
*
References
External links
U.S. Navy Factfile
at ''GlobalSecurity.org''
p177 AGC ships of the U.S. fleetp261 U.S. amphibious ships and craft: Command and Control
Ship types
Naval ships of the United States
{{US-Navy-stub