USS Racine (LST-1191) was the thirteenth of twenty Newport-class tank landing ships of the United States Navy (USN) which replaced the traditional bow door-design tank landing ships (LSTs). The second ship named after the city in Wisconsin, the ship was constructed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company of San Diego, California. The LST was launched in 1970 and was commissioned in 1971. Racine was assigned to the United States west coast and deployed to the western Pacific Ocean during the Vietnam War. The ship was transferred to the Naval Reserve Force in 1981. The LST was decommissioned in 1993 and placed in reserve. Racine was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 2008 and after an attempted sale to Peru failed, was discarded as a target ship during a sinking exercise in July 2018.
USS Racine underway
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