Balikpapan Class Heavy Landing Craft - Balikpapan Class Landing Craft Heavy, Hmas Balikpapan, Hmas Balikpapan Class Landing Craft Heavy, Hmas Balikpapan, Hmas Buna, Hmas Salamaua, Hmas Wewak, Hmas Labuan Buna, Hmas Salamaua, Hmas Wewak, Hmas Labuan (Paperback)

Chapters: Balikpapan Class Landing Craft Heavy, Hmas Balikpapan, Hmas Buna, Hmas Salamaua, Hmas Wewak, Hmas Labuan, Hmas Betano, Hmas Tarakan, Hmas Brunei. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 26. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Balikpapan class LCH (Landing Craft, Heavy) were originally a class of eight vessels built for the Australian Army. Today the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) operates six vessels of this class, all the ships in the class having been transferred to the RAN while they were still under construction. The remaining two ships were transferred to the fledgling Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) in 1975, when Papua New Guinea gained its independence. The class is named after the prototype of the class HMAS Balikpapan, which is named after the city of Balikpapan in East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, the site of an amphibious assault carried out by the 7th Australian Division during World War II. All vessels in the class are named after places in the Pacific region where the Australian Army fought with the support of the RAN during World War II. The remaining six Australian vessels are in full commission in the RAN as of 2008. They are based at HMAS Cairns in Cairns, Queensland (four ships) and HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin, Northern Territory (two ships). At one stage in the 1990s, HMAS Wewak was laid up in mothballed status on a slip in Cairns. The Balikpapan class landing craft are capable of making oceanic voyages in moderate sea states and can mate their bow ramp to the stern loading dock of the RAN's three large amphibious warfare ships (HMA Ships Tobruk, Kanimbla, and Manoora) when operating in the ship to shore role. The Balikpapan class landing craft are used for tactical beach lodgement, and can carry up to 180 tonnes of cargo. Indicative maximum loads ...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=196596