Patent ID: 8051790

Claim:
A system for increasing the capability of a naval ship having a transom stern, a waterline, decks above the waterline, a starboard side and a port side, said ship configured to store, discharge and load cargo, fuel, repair and provide a safe haven landing and launching facility for air cushion vehicles in open waters and at harbor, said system comprising: at least two cantilever wing walls each having a forward end and an aft end, a right side and a left side, with the forward end of each wing wall attached to the transom stern of said ship and extending longitudinally aft from the transom stern; a control station in one of said cantilever wing walls; at least one elevator platform having a forward end, an aft end, a right side, and a left side, said elevator platform mounted between two adjacent ones of the cantilevered wing walls and vertically moveable with respect to said decks of the ship between a raised position and a lowered position for landing or launching the air cushion vehicles on or from the ship, said elevator platform further having a plated deck with through-deck ducts, said elevator platform further having positioning winches to secure the air cushion vehicles, the aft end of said elevator platform having a backstop fold-up gate and a med-moor ramp, said ducts each equipped with remotely-controlled valves to selectively permit or prevent passage of water and/or air therethrough, said valves controlled from a master console in said control station; and an elevator hoisting system on at least one of said cantilever wing walls for raising and lowering the elevator platform between said raised position and said lowered position to provide access to and from the waterline to the ship decks above the waterline.