USS Essex (LHD-2)

USS Essex (LHD-2) is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship commissioned into the United States Navy on 17 October 1992. It is the fifth ship named for Essex County, Massachusetts. Dick Cheney, then the Secretary of Defense in the first Bush Administration, spoke at the commissioning ceremony. Essex is currently serving as the command ship for Expeditionary Strike Group Seven led by the Commander, Task Force 76. The USS Essex appears in Battlefield 2, Battlefield Play4Free, and Battlefield 3.

Battlefield 2
The USS Essex in Battlefield 2 acts as a starting base for the United States Marine Corps whenever an amphibious assault is involved, the ship normally hosts 2 MH-60S Knight Hawks, 1 AH-1Z Cobra, 2 F-35Bs and 2 Rigid Inflatable Boats. But the types of vehicles and the number of each type varies between maps, and the Essex can be modified to carry different vehicles through modding. There are 2 spawnpoints on the Essex, one located on the flight deck with the air vehicles, and the other below deck with the RIB's.

The Essex is equipped with 2 Phalanx CIWS - the first located at the rear of the flight deck and the other located on the 'island' of the ship. The USMC team's UAV Station and Radar are located on the ship.

Appearances

 * Dalian Plant
 * Dragon Valley
 * Gulf of Oman
 * Wake Island 2007
 * Zatar Wetlands

Battlefield 2: Special Forces
The USS Essex appears in Battlefield 2: Special Forces on the map Iron Gator and the level involves a MEC raid on the Essex. The interior of the Essex is much bigger, allowing players to access the Hanger Bay, Engine Room and Mess Hall. F-18 Hornets can be found on the Essex, but they cannot be interacted with in anyway. 1 Phalanx CIWS has been removed, as well as all aircraft on the ship, having been replaced by a sole AH-64 Apache. The number of Rigid Inflatable Boats has also been increased to 4.

Battlefield Play4Free
In Battlefield Play4Free the USS Essex acts as the starting base for the USMC in the maps Oman and Dalian. Here spawn six RIBs, one LAV-25, two F-35B's, two AH-64's, a UH-60 and two Stingers for anti-air defense. Recently after a patch instead of the UH-60 it spawns a third F-35B on the US side.

Battlefield 3
The USS Essex makes an appearance in multiplayer as the US deployment on naval maps like Kharg Island.

On deck, players can pilot the F/A-18E Super Hornet, AH-1Z Viper or AH-6J Little Bird. Below deck, RHIB Boats, an AAV-7A1 AMTRAC, and a number of LAV-25s can ferry players ashore. A player can man the Phalanx CIWS station, but Sea Sparrow missiles are not available. In Back to Karkand, there are on the Deck two F-35B's, one AH-1Z Viper and one UH-1Y Venom. Below deck, there are two RHIB Boats. There is also one Phalanx CIWS without Sea Sparrow missiles.

Appearences

 * Kharg Island
 * Noshahr Canals
 * Gulf of Oman
 * Wake Island
 * Bandar Desert

Trivia

 * The level Iron Gator in Battlefield 2: Special Forces is named after the ship's nickname, "The Iron Gator".