The Royal Navy's fleet will change dramatically over the next decade. Whole new classes of ships are being designed. One of the first class to enter service will be the Albion class LPD(R).
LPD(R) stands for Landing Platform - Dock (Replacement). When they enter service they will simply be titled LPDs and will replace the
Fearless Class assault ships which have been in service since the mid-1960s. There are two ships in the class HMS ALBION (L08) and HMS BULWARK (L09).
Relevant Statistics
Note these statistics are still, in effect, estimates as the ships have not yet been completed.
| Displacement | c 17,000 tonnes | Length | 176m |
| Beam | 29m |
| Crew | 325 RN crew and up to 650 military personnel. |
| Armament | 30mm Guns, 2 Goalkeeper CIWS | Aircraft | It has the ability to operate all classes of helicopters, including Chinooks. There will be spaces for up to 3 medium-size helicopters. |
The Albion class is well-overdue. The Fearless Class is now too old to be of any real use. HMS Intrepid is still officially on the Fleet lists and has occasionally sailed on exercises, but realistically she is not an operational ship. When HMS ALBION and HMS BULWARK enter service, the Amphibious squadron will be complete as these ships will compliment HMS OCEAN.
One of the big strengths of the new ships is that they are fitted out as Flagships. They are able to handles up to two flag-officers commands each. This would normally be COMAW and the General officer in charge of the Army or Royal Marines. It was found in the Falklands that having COMAW and the Military flag officer on the same ship helped in the planning and execution of the mission. HMS OCEAN is not fitted out as a flagship, initially because it was thought that she would always be used alongside an LPD, but since her launch it has been shown that she is capable of operating as the Senior Ship in a taskgroup and that the decision not to put in flag-quarters was a mistake.
The Albion class is somewhat larger than the Fearless class but like all modern RN vessels, there is leaner manning. The advantages of this is that larger accommodation can be provided for those afloat, and there can be increased storage etc. However one curious feature is that the number of troops that can be carried on this class is less than that of the Fearless class which seems a strange decision to make.
Like the Fearless class, the Albion class can off-load her troops and equipment either by air, water or through a dock. The off-loading of troops and equipment at dock has been made easier by the provision of a side-door, similar to that contained on the stern of HMS OCEAN. The amphibious capability of the Albion class is shown by the provision of 8 landing craft. There are four LCUs and four LCVPs. These are the most modern landing craft that the RN will have received and will be capable of landing the embarked military force quickly and efficiently. At the same time, helicopters can be off-loading other stores. The craft depart from the stern of the ship in the same way as in the Fearless class. The LPD is normally dry but through using Ballast, the stern can be lowered into the water and flooded, thus permitting the landing craft to enter freely.
The other method of transporting is through the air. Whilst the Albion class can operate and carry helicopters, there are no hangar facilities. That said, however, if the class operates alongside HMS OCEAN then there will be a large number of helicopters available.
The Albion class does not possess any real offensive weaponry, and its defensive weaponry could be considered lacking. Realistically it only possesses close-in defence. However when the Albion class goes on operations it would, as a capital ship, be escorted by AAW and AsuW vessels. However, it would, in my humble opinion, have made more sense to fit a battery of SeaWolf missiles so that it could have an effective AAW defence system itself.
The building programme has, of course, slipped: they always do. Originally it had been intended for the ships to enter service in 2001 (HMS ALBION) and 2002 (HMS BULWARK), however a more realistic target is now considered to be 2002 and 2004 respectively.
When the LPDs do enter service the RN will once again have a very strong amphibious warfare capability. The two LPDs when combined with the LPH and the new LCLs will provide the RN with one of the strongest and most capable amphibious warfare fleets in the world. For that alone, the RN will be awaiting eagerly the entrance of the Albion class.