This is a list of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships. This type of ship has been in use with the US Navy since World War I. Ship status is indicated as either currently active [A] (including ready reserve), inactive [I], or precommissioning [P]. Ships in the inactive category include only ships in the inactive reserve, ships which have been disposed from US service have no listed status. Ships in the precommissioning category include ships under construction or on order. Historical overview There have been four generations of amphibious warfare ships, with each generation having more capability than the previous: The first generation simply landed troops and equipment ashore with standard (i.e., non-specialized) boats and barges. These ships are not listed in this article since they were indistinguishable from the troopships and other surface combatants of their day, and as such were not assigned specialized hull classification symbols. The second generation was designed during World War II to land personnel and vehicles ashore, either directly or via carried specialized landing craft. The third generation was designed beginning in the 1950's to use helicopters for amphibious operations, with the result that such operations were no longer limited to beaches. The fourth generation was designed beginning in the 1980's to use hovercraft (Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) specifically), with the result that the numbers and types of beaches which could be accessed dramatically increased. The first amphibious warfare ships had a top speed of 12 to 17 knots. With the appearance of higher speed submarines at the end of World War II, the US Navy decided that all new amphibious warfare ships would have to have a minimum speed of to increase their chances of survival. All new ships with a full flight deck (LPH, LHA, LHD), the Landing Platform Docks (LPD) and the High Speed Transport destroyer conversions (APD/LPR) would meet this criteria. The other major types would see relatively small numbers of new ships constructed with this 20 knot requirement, with the last appearing in 1969. Classifications Amphibious warfare ships were considered by the US Navy to be auxiliaries and were classed with hull classification symbols beginning with 'A' until 1942. Many ships were reclassed at that time as landing ships and received new hull symbols beginning with 'L'; others would retain 'A' hull symbols until 1969 and then receive 'L' symbols. This article pairs the two lists of what