Littoral Transport Ship

Can the Navy salvage the Littoral Combat Ship to move and sustain Marine SIFs?

The Navy is retiring Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) early. Could the hulls be used to experiment with APDs ("AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer (or destroyer escorts)) as I called for using retired Perry frigates no longer available?

The Navy is cutting down its LCS fleet because it became too costly, lacked mission modules to make them lethal, and are prone to breaking down. There were once high hopes for the dual (a catamaran version and single hull version) ship class:

The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program has been fraught with problems since its conception in the early 2000s. LCS was originally inspired by the concept of a small (500 ton), nimble, heavily armed “Streetfighter” of a ship capable of duking it out with large ships while operating in coastal regions and island chains. This gradually morphed into a much larger ship, lightly armed, and equipped with interchangeable, self-contained “mission modules” that allowed it to become a submarine hunter, minesweeper, ship-killer, or commando transport within hours.

The mission modules inspired my proposal for modularized auxiliary cruisers to provide numbers in the Navy.

Assuming the new Constellation-class frigate works out to add numbers and capabilities more suited for a sea control campaign, the LCS could be phased out early completely.

This opens up an opportunity for the Navy to move and sustain Marine anti-ship Stand-in-Forces (SIFs) around the Western Pacific to contain China’s much-expanded navy.

I may have extreme doubts about the capabilities of our new Force Design Marines and the wisdom of thinking we can sustain them during war, but until the Marines change course with a proper examination of the concept, this is the Marine Corps we’ll have.

Prior to Force Design’s radical changes to the Marines, in Proceedings I proposed using APDs to move Marine/Navy Expeditionary Combat Command detachments for the anti-ship mission:

Carrying out disaggregated Marine operations emphasizing empowered smaller units will require a new type of ship. The Navy should resurrect the APD—the nimble “Green Dragon”—used in World War II. Between late 1938 and early 1939, the U.S. Navy modified its oldest flush-deck destroyer, the USS Manley (DD-940), replacing her forward two boilers and two stacks with a berthing compartment for 120 Marines. Her four triple torpedo tube mounts were replaced by davits to handle the new Higgins boat, and one waist gun was removed while another was moved to the ship’s centerline.

The APDs, based on destroyer and destroyer escort hulls, could carry up to 200 men. In 1969, the Navy still had 11 in the fleet, which by then were called fast amphibious transports (LPRs).

I suggested using old Perry frigates to test the concept, prior to building ships designed for the mission. Those frigates are now gone, donated to allies. And the Navy has gone in the direction of slow, unarmed versions of World War II Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs).

Perhaps the demise of the LCS with many years of hull life left is an opportunity to help Force Design—despite its flaws—work well enough to contribute to victory in a sea control campaign. We may hope to have a different Marine Corps if war breaks out. But we will likely go to war with the Marine Corps we are currently building.

NOTE: I made the image with the Substack capability.