Sea Control Ship (SCS) and VSTOL Support Ship (VSS)

[Julio Garay Terrazas]

¿Is it the JMSDF DDV?

 

[Tzoli]

¿Is it the JMSDF DDV?

No, that was the Vertical Support Ship and I think Spruance Helicopter amd VSTOL Derivatives?

 

[Grey Havoc]

Outline specs for the V/STOL Support Ships (VSS) under study as of 1975 attached, note the addition of Harpoon canisters. VSS No.1 is basically the earlier Sea Control Ship concept scaled up to use a doubled-up version of that design's twin-gas turbine machinery, e.g. VSS No.1 had two shafts and four gas turbines for 90,000SHP. The artists impression posted earlier in the thread by @Triton , from the July 1976 All Hands, probably shows this design. The 1975 Navy five year shipbuilding proposal included 7 ships through to 1980 but the total ask was for 8, same as the original Sea Control Ship, presumably the last ship would have been in FY81.

The flight-deck layout for VSS No.3 as described is probably the one shown in the Naval Engineers Journal in 1977, the number of catapults, arrestor wires and elevator locations all match.

Also attached is the range of concepts that were under study as part of the Sea Based Air Platforms Project. Note the inclusion of VSS-D, this was a "hardened" V/STOL support ship and is the design shown here. There was also a feasibility study of VSS-D with a ski jump, I would assume 12 degrees, it would be great to find a drawing of that. The DDV concepts, certainly the Santa Fe DDV-1b, are probably here.