HMAS Kanimbla was a Kanimbla-class landing platform amphibious ship operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Originally built for the United States Navy (USN) as the Newport-class tank landing ship USS Saginaw (LST-1188), the ship was decommissioned in 1994 and sold to the RAN.
HMAS Kanimbla in 2010
Kanimbla with a LCM-8
HMAS Kanimbla leaving Port Jackson for the Persian Gulf in 2003
HMAS Kanimbla at Darwin in July 2006
Newport-class tank landing ship
Newport-class tank landing ships were an improved class of tank landing ship (LST) designed for and employed by the United States Navy from 1969 to 2002. The ships were intended to provide substantial advantages over their World War II-era predecessors. Larger and faster than any previous LST design, they carried a ramp over the bow that allowed them to surpass 20 knots, a goal of the United States amphibious forces. 27 were planned of which twenty were completed, the high number due to the demands of US force projection estimates. However, the arrival of the air-cushioned landing craft which allowed for over-the-horizon attacks made the class obsolete in the eyes of the United States Navy. Placed in reserve, twelve were eventually sold to foreign navies, while the remaining eight have since been decommissioned.
USS Newport (LST-1179)
USS Frederick with its bow ramp extended
USS Racine bow view with bow ramp sitting on deck
USS San Bernardino during a landing exercise in 1979