Description:
The LCC 19 Blue Ridge and LCC 20 Mount Whitney are amphibious command ships conceived to provide command and control to the US Navy's fleet commanders. These ships were the first being developed to perform as amphibious command ships due to their ability to keep up with an amphibious force at 20-kt. Currently, these two ships perform as the US Navy's command ships. USS Blue Ridge became the Seventh Fleet command ship in 1979 and USS Mount Whitney became the Sixth Fleet command ship in February 2005.
Blue Ridge-class ships can accommodate up to 52 officers and 790 enlisted which are responsible for command and control for the fleet and ship maintenance. Almost all helicopters owned by the US Navy until 2005 can be carried on these ships excepting the CH-53 Sea Stallion. A sophisticated command and control system backed up with an outstanding communications system ensures Blue Ridge-class performs successfully as the US Navy's command ships. This communications system allows Blue Ridge to access information form military and civil sources worldwide and gives at the same time an unprecedented global command and control capability.
The replacement of Blue Ridge class ships was seen to be so difficult that the US Navy launched the JCC program in the 1990s to solve this problem due to the inherent ships' complexity. The Joint Command Ship (JCC), also known as the JCC(X), program was meant to be a replacement for the Blue Ridge and La Salle ships but this program was cancelled in February 2003.
Specifications Accommodation: Crew 842
Dimensions: Height 32 m, Length 190 m
Weights: Max Weight 19,177 t
Performance: Top Speed 12 mps (23 kt)
Power: Power 22,000 shp
Operators
United States of America / 2
Ships
LCC 19 USS Blue Ridge
Commissioning: 1970
LCC 20 USS Mount Whitney
Commissioning: 1970
Image Gallery
Notes (*) lead contractor
IOC: Initial Operating Capability
FOC: Full Operating Capability
CEP: Circular Error Probable
Comm: Commissioning Date
Meters (m) Kilometers (km) Nautic Miles (nm) Inch (in) Yard (yd) Foot (ft) Millimeter (mm)
Pound (lb) Kilogram (kg) kN (KiloNewton) Ton (t)
Meters per Second (mps) Kilometers per Hour (kph) Knot (kt) Miles per Hour (mph)
Liter (l) Galon (gl)
Year (yr) Minutes (min) Second (sec)
Shaft-Horse-Power (shp)
United States of America / 2 
