&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Ship_LPD-Castilla-(L52).jpg) Castilla docked at the Rota naval base.
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Spain | |
| Name | Castilla |
| Namesake | Castilla |
| Ordered | 9 May 1997 |
| Builder | Empresa Nacional Bazán |
| Laid down | 11 December 1997 |
| Launched | 14 June 1999 |
| Commissioned | 26 June 2000 |
| Homeport | Naval Station Rota |
| Identification | Pennant number: L52 |
| Status | Ship in active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Galicia-class landing platform dock |
| Displacement | 13,815 t (13,597 long tons) full load |
| Length | |
| Beam | 25 m (82 ft 0 in) |
| Draught | 5.9 m (19 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) maximum |
| Range | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 LCM-1E |
| Capacity | 543 fully-equipped soldiers and 130 APCs or 33 MBTs |
| Complement | 189 |
| Sensors and processing systems | DA08 air / surface search IRSCAN SATCOM, Link 1, JMCIS |
| Armament |
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| Aircraft carried | 4 SH-3D or 6 AB 212 helicopters |
| Aviation facilities | 60 m × 25 m (197 ft × 82 ft) flight deck, hangar |
Castilla (L52) is a Galicia-class landing platform dock (LPD), and is the twelfth ship of this name. She is the sister ship to the amphibious warfare vessel Galicia. The vessel is primarily used to transport Spanish marines but is also used for humanitarian aid missions. Launched in 1999 and commissioned in 2000, Castilla took part in Operation Romeo Sierra as part of the Perejil Island crisis in 2002, has participated in multiple military exercises with NATO and provided humanitarian relief in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.