Overview
The Trieste, optical distinctive L 9890, is a multi-role amphibious unit of the Italian Navy, officially classified as an LHD (amphibious assault helicopter carrier), and it will be the largest unit in the Italian fleet. Ordered as part of the 2014-2015 naval program, it has been built at the Castellammare di Stabia shipyards of Fincantieri.
Project and construction
As part of the units planned under the 2014-2015 naval law, the new multi-role/multi-function amphibious ship has a full load displacement of approximately 38,000 tons and an overall length of about 245 meters (approximately 804 feet), making it the largest unit in the fleet. The innovative design is inspired by the style adopted by the British Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. In fact, it features two distinct islands, the first (at the bow) for navigation and the second (at the stern) for the management and control of flight operations. This configuration serves a triple purpose, providing a greater visual range, more space on the flight deck, and a smoother and more efficient management of various activities.
The flight deck has a length of 230 meters (the full length of the ship is 245 meters) and a width of 36 meters, with a total of 9 spots for aircraft. It is equipped with 2 aircraft elevators (15 m x 15 m) with a maximum capacity of 42 tons.
According to the provided data, the ship is equipped with a floodable well deck below the hangar, which allows the use of amphibious vehicles such as LCM (Landing Craft Mechanized), rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIB), LCAC hovercraft, L-CAC, and the most innovative rapid amphibious landing vehicles (L-CAT) used by NATO and European navies. Unlike the aircraft carrier Cavour, which has a single reconfigurable hangar not floodable for vehicle transport, this unit has, below the flight deck, two additional decks, one of which is a hangar with an area of 2300 m² (and 530 linear meters for vehicle parking) with removable bulkheads (to reach 2600 m²), connected to a lower deck of 2200 m², divided into a garage of 700 m² with 253 linear meters for vehicle parking and a floodable well deck (55 m x 15 m), sized for the entry of 4 LCM-1E or 1 LCAC.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).