General Frank S. Besson-class support vessel

Named in honor of Gen. Frank S. Besson Jr., former Chief of Transportation, U.S. Army, these ships have bow and stern ramps and the ability to beach themselves, giving them the ability to discharge 816 tonnes of vehicles and cargo over the shore in as little as 1.2 m of water, or 1,814 tonnes as an intra-theater line haul roll-on/roll-off cargo ship. The vessel's cargo deck is designed to handle any vehicle in the US Army inventory and can carry up to 15 M1 Abrams-series main battle tanks or 82 ISO standard containers. ==Subclasses==

The Robert T. Kuroda is the lead vessel of a new subclass of the Frank S. Besson class called LSV (MOD). The Kuroda, named after Robert T. Kuroda, and its sister ship, the Smalls, named after Robert Smalls, are generally similar to the rest of the class except that the ships are longer than the other ships of the class. This is due to a more streamlined "visor" bow that hides the front ramp and allows for the vessels to move through rough water more easily. While these ships have the same main deck area as the rest of the class—— however they displace , can make of water a day, have incinerators for burning trash, are taller than the traditional Besson-class LSVs, and have 25% more horsepower. The ship has a range of more than and can deploy fully provisioned worldwide at a speed of carrying a standard port-opening package weighing . ==Related classes==

The Philippine Navy commissioned two s during the early 1990s. These ships were based on a helicopter-capable variant of the General Frank S. Besson Jr.-class logistics support vessel. The Israeli Navy operates two US-built variants of the class, INS Nahshon & INS Komemiyut. ==Ships==

• – 335th Transportation Detachment, 7th Expeditionary Transportation Brigade • – 489th Transportation Detachment, USAR • – 805th Transportation Detachment, 8th Theater Sustainment Command • – 1099th Transportation Detachment, 7th Expeditionary Transportation Brigade • – 411th Transportation Detachment, 1st Theater Sustainment Command • – USAR • – USAR • – 605th Transportation Detachment, 8th Theater Sustainment Command == Operators ==

File:LSV-1 General Frank S. Besson Jr.jpg|USAV General Frank S. Besson Jr (LSV-1) docked across from the in Manhattan during Fleet Week 2010. File:Gen Frank S Besson Jr Tower.jpg|USAV General Frank S. Besson Jr (LSV-1) File:Army's Persian Gulf Watercraft fleet.jpg|From L to R: USAV MG Charles P. Gross (LSV-5), USAV MG Robert Smalls (LSV-8), and the USAV Churubusco (LCU-2013). Photo was taken while aboard the USAV Five Forks (LCU-2018) File:US Naval Ship Pollux (T-AKR-290) anchored in the harbor off the Port of Pusan, Republic of Korea - 19 Oct. 1998.jpg|LSV alongside USNS Pollux (T-AKR-290) in the port of Pusan, South Korea. Pollux is loading vehicles onto the LSV which will then transport them to shore. ==References==