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LPD 17 fitted to 21st Century Marines

Story by retired Navy Capt. Kendall King
Story Identification Number: 200321394538

USMC

NAVAL SEA SYSTEMS COMMAND, Washington(Feb. 5, 2003) -- How many Marines will fit in LPD 17? The Design Team of the Navy's first class of truly expeditionary warships asked this and many other questions as they designed the San Antonio class amphibious transport dock. Scheduled to enter service in 2004, the first ship of the class USS San Antonio (LPD 17), provides mission flexibility and warfighting capability not realized in the amphibious ships that it replaces. As a result, the LPD 17 will be an excellent fit for the 21st Century Expeditionary Warrior.

The primary mission of the San Antonio Class is to embark, transport, and land elements of a Landing Force in a variety of expeditionary and Special Operations Capable missions. The Class will be able to launch and recover any helicopter in the Marine Corps inventory as well as the vertical take off and landing aircraft, the MV-22 Osprey. The ship will support its 699 (800 including surge) embarked troops with two Landing Craft Air-Cushioned or one Landing Craft Utility along with the capacity to carry Amphibious Assault Vehicles or Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicles.

LPD 17 is longer, wider, and has nearly 50% more displacement than the LPD 4 Austin Class amphibious transport dock it will replace. In fact, the ship has landing force vehicle storage space comparable to the larger Wasp Class amphibious assault ships (LHD). This combined with significant cargo space provides the landing force commander with the room to carry the vehicles, cargo and ammunition, and troops to accomplish a variety of missions.

Operationally, the ship class will become an integral part of future three-ship Amphibious Ready Groups, comprised of a Tarawa or Wasp Class amphibious assault ship (LHA/LHD), a Whidbey Island or Harpers Ferry Class dock landing ship (LSD 41/49), and an LPD 17. LPD 17 also may also serve as part of a larger amphibious or joint task force. Although not flagship configured, the San Antonio Class will have ample command and control, communications connectivity; medical and dental spaces; and self-sufficiency to operate independently if needed.

Early in the LPD 17 design process, the Navy recognized that landing forces are an integral part of amphibious ship operations. Embarked Marines will operate from and live in LPD 17 for as long as 9 months during workups and deployments. Therefore, while ensuring that the ship class will fulfill mission and operational requirements, the LPD 17 designers focused on optimizing "fit".

The design team, consisting of the LPD 17 Program Office (PMS 317) and Avondale Alliance (now consisting of Northrop Grumman Ship's Systems, Raytheon, and Intergraph Corporations), approached fit in three phases. First they defined the size of the 21st Century Marine. Next they invited participation in the design process from Marine commands and individual Marines. Finally, they incorporated these inputs into the design and then conducted modeling and simulations (M&S) to validate the results.

Right Sizing the 21st Century Marine

Sailors and Marines, males and females, come in a variety of shapes and sizes. While the ship cannot be designed for all of these shapes and sizes, advanced technology has limited value if users cannot access controls or see over the equipment. Therefore the LPD 17 designers using ergonomics and human machine interface criteria, defined their "right sized" Marine and Sailor in the 5%-95% range of the American population.

By transposing these human dimensions into anthropomorphic computer models, "ergo Marine", the Design Team developed size standards for future crewmembers and embarked troops. For instance, the 95th percentile male Marine is about 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 216 pounds, has a 23.1-inch shoulder width and can reach upwards to 90.5 inches. The typical 5th percentile sized female Marine is 5 feet tall, weighs 102 pounds, is only 15 inches wide at the shoulders and can reach up 73 inches. With these parameters in mind, the Design Team focused on a range of sizes instead of just the average sized human. If "ergo Marine" could fit then so will at least 90% of 21st Century Marines.

This computer-modeled Marine factored heavily into various aspects of the ship. In the identical crew and troop berthing spaces, the design team validated the height of coat hangers above the deck, eliminating "head knockers" while still making them reachable by shorter Marines. In some instances, the designers exceeded the size range such as the sit up berth which will allow personnel shorter than 5 feet or taller than 6 feet two inches to still use it comfortably. In Well Deck Control, the design ensured that even the shortest Combat Cargo Officer would be able to see the well deck from their chair. Accessibility, visibility, and usability became key attributes in LPD 17.

Designing for Marines, with Marines

One of the significant features of the LPD 17 design is the fact that it was developed in partnership with the eventual "owners" of the ship, the Navy and Marine Corps team. Marine commands participated in the initial requirements' identification and design conceptualizing for LPD 17. This involvement, begun in 1996, has been actively sustained throughout the design process. A Marine officer is assigned to the Program Manager's staff and provides on-site assistance and review in Avondale, LA, construction site of the USS San Antonio. In addition, the design team hosted over 140 workshops to solicit lessons learned and to review and validate the ship's design. Marines actively participated in rearrangement sessions for Troop Operations, Troop Logistics, Well Deck Control, Debark Control, and the Medical and Dental spaces over the past 6 years.

In addition to workshops, designers and shipbuilders continually interacted with Marine operators, maintainers, and trainers. In one example over 50 LPD 17 Team members visited USS Saipan (LHA 2) in Norfolk, touring the spaces and talking to Sailors and Marines alike. One issue that they discovered was that passageway width, air lock size, and other clearances made it difficult for a fully equipped, armed Marine to move from his berthing space to his debark station, quickly and safely. Upon returning to Avondale, they factored this concern into the LPD 17's design. These changes were later reviewed and validated by Marines using drawing and 3-D models of ship spaces.

Extensive involvement by Marine Corps personnel early on in the design process lead to the incorporation of numerous, cost-effective changes. The ship's 5 troop armories are located in the vicinity of troop berthing spaces to facilitate access. Passageways and ladders are designed to maintain a 36-inch wide standard to ease troop movement. The ship's Collective Protection System's (CPS) passageway air locks, that isolate key areas of the ship against chemical and biological attack, can accommodate four, fully armed Marines simultaneously. While this ability to maintain fire team integrity may not seem significant, one less Marine in the air lock would slow shipboard troop movement dramatically for time critical missions.

Validating the fit

The LPD 17 Design Team made extensive use of modeling and simulation to develop initial space design and subsequent changes. Moving computer modeled ship bulkheads is more efficient than changing steel bulkheads and decks and because of Marine support many changes were made early. The designers introduced their anthropomorphic Marines into the spaces and conducted "electronic walkthroughs". Marine commands provided samples of 21st Century backpacks, medical backs, helmets, and weapons to the Design Team to ensure that even future dimensions were factored into the design. This equipment was then modeled and fitted to the anthropomorphic troops to ensure that a combat ready Marine would fit.

These computer Marines, particularly the 95th percentile size, walked between bunks demonstrating that they have room to turn around. They were marched from their berthing spaces, through passageways, up and down ladders, and out to flight deck or the well deck to propose debark stations. One simulation portrayed four large "ergo" Marines moving into an air lock one by one, confirming that all would indeed fit. Smaller Marines could more easily pass through the ship, but the modeling demonstrated their ability to open and dog the watertight doors as they passed through. These simulations were then shown to human Marines to prove clearances and accessibility.

The LPD 17 Team used M&S in other areas as well. An anthropomorphic Marine sitting in the second row in Troop Operations could not see the Large Screen Display from is assigned position. The Design Team elevated this row of workstations. In triage, computer stretcher-bearers demonstrated that they could move a litter and patient from the flight deck through triage to an operating room and then to the ship's Intensive Care Unit carefully.

Forklift simulations in the ship's cargo/ammunition magazines (CAMs) ensured that Marines could access even the "hard to get" most remote ammunition. The Team has even driven a computer model of the Marine Corps' new MTVR, the Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement, through vehicle stowage areas to ensure that it is maneuverable inside the ship. A simulation actually demonstrated that the ship's 361-person crew and up to 800 (surge capability) troops could eat in the ship's dining facilities three times a day. These simulations and "walkthrough" have validated the San Antonio's fit, years before the first Marine will step aboard.

A Warship for the 21st Century Warrior

There will be 12 ships of the San Antonio Class. The shipyard will deliver LPD 17 in late 2004 followed by the first west coast ship, USS New Orleans (LPD 18). Each ship designed with "owners" for "owners" will provide mission flexibility and enhanced warfighting capability to today's and future expeditionary warriors in a design developed in concert with them. Best of all, how many Marines will fit in LPD 17? All of them.