USS Warren (APA-53), a ship of the Sumter class, at Hampton Roads, 23 August 1943 | |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Sumter- |
Builders | Gulf Shipbuilding |
Operators | US Navy |
Preceded by | Bayfield class |
Succeeded by | Gilliam class |
In commission | 27 Aug 1943 – 15 May 1944 - 16 Mar 1946 - 17 Apr 1946 |
Completed | 4 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Attack transport |
Displacement | 8,591 tons (lt) 13,910 tons (fl) |
Length | 468 ft 8 in (142.85 m) |
Beam | 63 ft (19 m) |
Draft | 23 ft 3 in (7.09 m) (limiting) |
Propulsion | 1 × General Electric geared-drive turbine, 2 × Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers, 1 propeller, designed shaft horsepower 6,000 |
Speed | 16.5 knots |
Capacity |
|
Complement | 38-57 Officers, 410-619 Enlisted |
Armament |
|
The Sumter-class attack transport was a class of attack transport built for service with the US Navy in World War II.
Like all attack transports, the purpose of the Sumter's was to transport troops and their equipment to foreign shores in order to execute amphibious invasions using an array of smaller assault boats integral to the attack transport itself. Like all the attack transports, the Sumter-class was heavily armed with antiaircraft weaponry to protect itself and its cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone.
The Sumter class ships were based upon the US Maritime Commission's Type C2 merchant ship hull - specifically, the C2-S-E1 type. The class consisted of only four ships - three of them laid down in April 1942, not long after the US entry into the war, and the remaining ship laid down almost a year later, in March 1943. All four ships were built by the Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation, at Chickasaw, Alabama.
The first three ships in the class were originally intended to be plain transports, but on 1 February 1943 they, along with numerous other transports then in service or still on the slipways, were redesignated as attack transports. This entailed fitting extra antiaircraft weaponry, providing the ships with an array of amphibious assault craft and the means to deploy them, and other modifications. The extra work required to upgrade the ships in the class from transports to attack transports was done at either Bethlehem Steel, Maryland Drydock or the Atlantic Basin Iron Works, and delayed their commission by five or six months so that they did not become available for service until August/September 1943. The fourth ship in the class, the USS Baxter (APA-94), was designated an attack transport from the outset but still had to go through the same refitting process after being built, which also delayed its commission by about the same length of time.
While the four ships of the class were based on the same hull design, they are listed as having somewhat variable troop and cargo capacities and crews. They could carry between 1,433 and 1,563 troops and had crews of between about 450 and 650. The first three ships had a cargo capacity limit of 1,300 tons, but the last, Baxter had a limit of 1,450 tons.
The four ships of the class served exclusively in the Pacific Theatre. The first three arrived in time to participate in much of the American island hopping campaign across the Pacific to its final destination of Japan. Consequently, they had no shortage of action - USS Wayne (APA-54) in particular earning seven battle stars. The fourth ship, Baxter, was commissioned about twelve months later but still had time to participate in three campaigns and earn three stars.
All four ships were struck from the Naval Register shortly after the war in March/April 1946, and all four went on to have successful careers as commercial cargo vessels. Baxter, renamed La Salle was the first to be scrapped, in 1968. The other three were eventually converted into container ships which prolonged their service by another decade or so, finally being scrapped in 1977-78. The ships thus enjoyed an overall service life of between about 33 to 44 years.
Amphibious cargo ships were U.S. Navy ships designed specifically to carry troops, heavy equipment and supplies in support of amphibious assaults, and to provide naval gunfire support during those assaults. A total of 108 of these ships were built between 1943 and 1945—which worked out to an average of one ship every eight days. Six additional AKAs, featuring new and improved designs, were built in later years. They were originally called Attack Cargo Ships and designated AKA. In 1969, they were renamed as Amphibious Cargo Ships and redesignated LKA.
Attack transport is a United States Navy ship classification for a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore. Unlike standard troopships – often drafted from the merchant fleet – that rely on either a quay or tenders, attack transports carry their own fleet of landing craft, such as the landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boat.
Haskell-class attack transports (APA) were amphibious assault ships of the United States Navy created in 1944. They were designed to transport 1,500 troops and their combat equipment, and land them on hostile shores with the ships' integral landing craft.
The Tolland-class attack cargo ships were built by North Carolina Shipbuilding Co. in Wilmington, North Carolina during the latter stages of World War II.
USS Sumter (APA-52) was a Sumter-class attack transport that served with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. She was subsequently sold into commercial service and was scrapped in 1978.
The Gilliam-class attack transport was a class of attack transport built for service with the US Navy in World War II.
USS Buckingham (APA-141) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1974.
The Bayfield-class attack transport was a class of US Navy attack transports that were built during World War II.
USS Alpine (APA-92) was a Bayfield-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946.She was sold into commercial service in 1947 and was scrapped in 1971.
USS Baxter (APA-94) was a Sumter-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was subsequently sold into merchant service and was finally scrapped in 1968.
The Frederick Funston-class attack transport was a class of two US Navy attack transports. They saw service in World War II and later in the Korean War.
The Windsor-class attack transport was a class of nine US Navy attack transports. Ships of the class saw service in World War II.
The Ormsby-class attack transport was a class of US Navy attack transport that saw service in World War II.
The Crescent City-class attack transport was a class of U.S. Navy attack transports that saw service in World War II and the Korean War. There were four ships in the class: USS Crescent City, USS Charles Carroll, USS Monrovia, and USS Calvert.
The Harris-class attack transport was a class of US Navy attack transport which saw service in World War II. The purpose of any attack transport was to deliver troops and their equipment to hostile shores in order to execute amphibious invasions using an array of smaller integral landing craft. Being intended to serve in forward combat areas, these ships were well armed with antiaircraft guns to protect itself and its vulnerable cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone.
The McCawley-class attack transport was a class of US Navy attack transport built in 1928 that saw service in World War II.
The President Jackson-class attack transport was a class of seven US Navy attack transport that saw service in World War II.
The Arthur Middleton-class attack transport was a class of three US Navy attack transport that saw most of its service in World War II. Ships of the class were named after signatories of the American Declaration of Independence.
The Doyen-class attack transport was a class of two attack transports that saw service with the US Navy in World War II. Ships of the class were named after generals of the United States Marine Corps.
SS Antinous may refer to one of two Type C2-S-E1 ships built by Gulf Shipbuilding for the United States Maritime Commission:
See the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships entries for the individual ships: