USS Saginaw (LST-1188)

USS Saginaw in 1987
History
United States
Name	Saginaw
Namesake	Saginaw River
Ordered	15 July 1966
Builder	National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, California
Laid down	24 May 1969
Launched	7 February 1970
Sponsored by	Wife of R. James Harvey
Commissioned	23 January 1971
Decommissioned	28 June 1994
Stricken	28 June 1994
Identification	LST-1188
Fate	Sold to Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Kanimbla
Australia
Name	Kanimbla
Namesake	Kanimbla Valley
Acquired	1994
Commissioned	29 August 1994
Decommissioned	25 November 2011
Identification	L 51
Fate	Sold for scrap, 20 May 2013
General characteristics as built
Class and type	Newport-class tank landing ship
Displacement	4,793 long tons (4,870 t) light 8,342 long tons (8,476 t) full load
Length	522 ft 4 in (159.2 m) oa 562 ft (171.3 m) over derrick arms
Beam	69 ft 6 in (21.2 m)
Draft	17 ft 6 in (5.3 m) max
Propulsion	2 shafts 6 Alco diesel engines (3 per shaft) 16,500 shp (12,300 kW) Bow thruster
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) max
Range	2,500 nmi (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Troops	431 max
Complement	213
Sensors and processing systems	2 × Mk 63 GCFS SPS-10 radar
Armament	2 × twin 3"/50 caliber guns
Aviation facilities	Helicopter deck

USS Saginaw (LST-1188) was the tenth of the Newport-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). The second ship of that name, Saginaw was named after the river in Michigan. The LST was constructed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California, launched in 1970 and commissioned in 1971. During service with the United States Navy, the ship took part in US efforts in the Lebanese civil war and the Gulf War. Saginaw was decommissioned on 28 June 1994 and was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy on 28 August that year.

Recommissioned as HMAS Kanimbla (L 51), the LST underwent a major refit removing its bow ramps and using a crane to load and unload the vessel. The ship was retired from Australian service in 2011 after being replaced by HMAS Choules. The ship was towed back to the United States and broken up for scrap at New Orleans, Louisiana in 2013.