Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 56:48-57:58

Amphibious credibility requires enough hulls for availability

A single capable ship cannot guarantee an available force, while three major amphibious hulls plus logistic ships can sustain readiness through maintenance cycles.

Amphibious WarfareForce StructureNew Zealand NavyRoyal Navy
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Question

Is one capable amphibious ship enough for a navy to maintain a serious force?

Short answer

No. A force needs roughly three major hulls, plus supporting landing ships, to retain useful availability when ships are maintained or damaged.

Notes

The answer praises New Zealand's single LPD as useful but warns that one ship can easily become no capability when it enters maintenance or suffers a casualty. Britain was more credible when it combined an LPH with two LPDs and several Bay-class logistic ships. That fleet normally left at least one large assault ship and multiple supporting hulls available. The exchange shows why readiness and redundancy matter as much as the specification of an individual flagship.