Go Jun Bong-class tank landing ship

ROKS Sung In Bong on 3 February 2010
Class overview
Builders	Hanjin Heavy Industries
Operators	Republic of Korea Navy
Preceded by	Un Bong class
Succeeded by	Cheon Wang Bong class
Built	1991 - 1996
In service	1994 - present
In commission	1994 - present
Completed	4
Active	4
General characteristics
Type	Landing Ship, Tank
Displacement	2,600 tons (empty) / 4,300 tons (full)
Length	112.7 m (370 ft)
Beam	15.4 m (51 ft)
Draught	3.1 m (10 ft)
Installed power	12,800 hp (9,500 kW)
Propulsion	2 × SEMT Pielstick 16 PA6V 280 diesel engines
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) maximum 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) cruising
Range	4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi)
Capacity	258 marines 12 tanks 14 amphibious assault vehicles 8 2.5ton trucks 4 LCVP
Crew	121
Sensors and processing systems	Raytheon SPS-54 radar
Armament	4 × Emerlec 30mm (LST-681) or 4 × 40mm Breda L/70K (LST-682, LST-683, LST-685) 2 × Vulcan 20 mm Gatling
Aircraft carried	1 × UH-60 helicopter
Aviation facilities	Aft helicopter deck

Go Jun Bong-class tank landing ship (Hangul: 고준봉급 전차상륙함, Hanja: 孤準峰級戰車上陸艦) is an amphibious landing ship class of the Republic of Korea Navy.

Development

In the late 1980s the Republic of Korea Navy decided to gradually replace its aging fleet of WW2 era LST-542-class tank landing ships (renamed Un Bong class) bought from the US Navy in 1958. A three phase plan was laid out to develop new landing ships to meet the demands of modern amphibious and transport operations.

ROKS Go Jun Bong (LST-681) during an exercise off coast of Republic of Korea

The first phase was designated as the LST-I project, and development and design started in 1987 by Korea Tacoma, currently Hanjin Heavy Industries. After 4 years of development, the lead ship Go Jun Bong (LST-681) was launched in 1991. Three more ships followed and all four ships were commissioned by 1998.

The second phase, or LST-II, was originally planned to import four Newport-class tank landing ships, but after being postponed due to budget issues, it was changed in favor for domestic built 4500 ton LPDs to be commissioned by 2013-2016.^[1] These ships will ultimately replace the Un Bong class and Go Jun Bong-class tank landing ships.

LST-III was to build two mid-size helicopter amphibious landing ships, and designing started in 1997. In 2001 it was renamed as the LPX project and a total of two 14,300 ton ships were ordered for the Republic of Korea Navy. On July 3, 2007 the lead ship Dokdo was commissioned.

Design

Go Jun Bong-class tank landing ship is based on the design of the LST-542 class, and thus its exterior is very similar to the Un Bong class.

The ship is designed to land multiple personnel, tanks and equipment simultaneously with doors and ramps placed on both the stern and bow of the ship, unlike the Un Bong class which only has doors on the bow. It is also equipped with a turn table, saving time when loading or landing vehicles. There is also a ramp for moving trucks up to the deck, and multiple elevators for rapid cargo loading.

K1 MBT driving off ROKS Seong In Bong (LST-685) during Foal Eagle 2004

Hull no.	Name	Launched	Commissioned
LST-681	Go Jun Bong (고준봉)	1991	1994
LST-682	Bi Ro Bong (비로봉)	1995	1998
LST-683	Hyang Ro Bong (향로봉)	1996	1999
LST-685	Sung In Bong (성인봉)	1996	1999

References

1. Chosun Daily - 4천500t급 차기상륙함 윤곽 드러나 10/9/2007 Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine

External links