Attack transport

USSAmerican Legionwas aHarris-classattack transport launched in 1919 that saw extensive service in World War II

Soldiers climb down netting on the sides of the attack transportUSSMcCawleyon 14 June 1943, rehearsing for landings onNew Georgia

A loadedBayfield-classattack transport,USSDuPage,underway

USSNoble,a ship of theHaskellclass

Attack transportis aUnited States Navyship classification for a variant of ocean-goingtroopshipadapted to transporting invasion forces ashore. Unlike standard troopships – often drafted from themerchant fleet– that rely on either aquayortenders,attack transports carry their own fleet oflanding craft,such as thelanding craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boat.

They are not to be confused withlanding ships,which beach themselves to bring their troops directly ashore, or their general British equivalent, thelanding ship, infantry.

A total of 388 APA (troop) and AKA (cargo) attack transports were built for service inWorld War IIin at least fifteen classes. Depending on class they were armed with one or two 5-inch guns and a variety of 40 mm and 20 mm anti-aircraft weapons.

By the late 1960s, 41 of these ships were redesignated with the hull symbol(LPA) landing platform, amphibious,but they all retained their names and hull numbers.

Classification

In the early 1940s, as theUnited States Navyexpanded in response to the threat of involvement inWorld War II,a number of civilianpassenger shipsand somefreighterswere acquired, converted to transports and givenhull numbersin the AP series. Some of these were outfitted with heavy boatdavitsand other arrangements to enable them to handlelanding craftforamphibious assaultoperations.

In 1942, when the AP number series had already extended beyond 100, it was decided that these amphibious warfare ships really constituted a separate category of warship from conventional transports. Therefore, the new classification ofauxiliary personnel, attack (APA)was created and numbers assigned to fifty-eight APs (AP Nos. 2, 8-12, 14-18, 25-27, 30, 34-35, 37-40, 48-52, 55-60, 64-65 and 78-101) then in commission or under construction. APA are in the classification of US Navyauxiliary ships.

The actual reclassification of these ships was not implemented until February 1943, by which time two ships that had APA numbers assigned (USSJoseph HewesandUSSEdward Rutledge) had been lost. Another two transports sunk in 1942,USSGeorge F. ElliottandUSSLeedstown,were also configured as attack transports but did not survive to be reclassified as such.

As World War II went on, dozens of new construction merchant ships of theUnited States Maritime Commission's S4, C2, C3 and VC2 ( "Victory") types were converted to attack transports, taking the list of APA numbers to 247, though fourteen ships (APAs 181-186 and APAs 240-247) were cancelled before completion. In addition, as part of the 1950s modernization of the Navy's amphibious force with faster ships, two more attack transports (APA-248 and APA-249) were converted from newType C4-class ships,theMariner-class freighters.

Classes

Classes of attack transports included:

• McCawleyclass(2 ships)
  • both built by theFurness Shipbuilding Companyc. 1928andacquired by the navyin 1940
  • McCawley(APA-4),originally AP-10
  • Barnett(APA-5),AP-11
• Heywoodclass(5 ships)
  • all built by theAlameda Works Shipyardas merchant ships ca. 1918 and acquired by the navy in 1940
  • Heywood(APA-6),AP-12
  • George F. Elliott(AP-13)
  • Fuller(APA-7),AP-14
  • William P. Biddle(APA-8),AP-15
  • Neville(APA-9),AP-16
• Harry Lee(APA-10),AP-17
• John Penn(APA-23)
• Joseph Hewes(AP-50)
• Edward Rutledge(AP-52)
• Harrisclass(8 ships)
• Type P1 ship
  • Doyenclass(2 ships)
• Type S4 ship
  • Gilliamclass(32 ships)
• Victory Ship
  • Haskellclass(117 ships)
• Type C2 ship
  • Ormsbyclass(3 ships)
  • Sumterclass(4 ships)
• Type C3 ship
  • Arthur Middletonclass(3 ships)
  • Crescent Cityclass(4 ships)
  • Frederick Funstonclass(2 ships)
  • Windsorclass(9 ships)
  • Bayfieldclass(34 ships)
  • President Jacksonclass(7 ships)
• Type C4 ship
  • Paul Revereclass(2 ship)

In use

During World War II, attack transport served in thePacific Theatre,taking part in many of the Navy'sisland hoppingcampaigns. Some attack transports were assigned to the European Theatre, participating in the invasions ofNorth Africa,Sicily,ItalyandNormandy.The last use was for the final WW2Battle of Okinawa.

Despite an impressive assembly of forces, theAleutian campaignand the Northern Pacific Theater ranked asAdmiral Nimitz's third priority in the overallPacific Theaterfor receiving materiel and support. As a result, only attack transport (APA) ships were assigned for the assault, without support from any companionattack cargo(AKA) ships. This created extreme logistics burdens for the invasion force because it resulted in considerable overloading of the transports with both men and equipment. To compound problems, these forces were not able to assemble or train together before executing theAleutian invasionon 11 May 1943. Lack of equipment and training subsequently resulted in confusion during the landings onAttu.

Notable incidents

• USSThomas Stone(APA-29)was torpedoed off Cape Palos, Spain, 7 November 1942, and abandoned after going aground in Algiers Harbor, 25 November 1942.
• USSEdward Rutledge(AP-52)on 12 November 1942 was torpedoed byU-130offFedala Bay,Morocco commanded byErnst Kalswho slipped past the escort screen to sink three transports.Edward Rutledge's crew attempted to beach her but all power had been lost; she settled rapidly by the stern and sank with the loss of 15 men.
• USSJoseph Hewes(AP-50)on 11 November 1942 took atorpedohit in No. 2 hold fromU-173during theNaval Battle of Casablanca.The transport settled by the bow and began filling rapidly with water and the order was given to abandon ship. Sank with Captain Smith and approximately 100 seamen.
• USSJohn Penn(APA-23)was sunk by enemy action offLunga Point,Guadalcanal on 13 August 1943.
• USSHinsdale(APA-120)had kamikaze attack damage on 1 April 1945 atOkinawa.Over 15 men were killed. The extensive engine room damage was later repaired.
• USSHenrico(APA-45)had kamikaze attack damage on 2 April 1945 at Okinawa. 37 Navy and 14 Army personnel were killed. At 1828 two 250-pound bombs penetrated two deck levels and exploded on the main deck, resulting in fires and flooding that were not brought under control until 2100.
• USSTelfair(APA-210)on 2 April 1945 was hit by kamikaze attack at Okinawa; the plane hit the side of the ship then dropped into the sea. She was later repaired.
• USSLa Grange(APA-124)on 13 August 1945 inBuckner Bay,Okinawa was damaged in last kamikaze attack of WW2, 21 sailors killed and 89 wounded.
• USSColbert(APA-145)had mine damage on 17 September 1945, off Okinawa, this caused the death of three men and damaged the ship extensively.

Demise

By the end of the 1950s, it was clear that boats would soon be superseded byamphibious tractors (LVTs)andair assaulthelicopters for landing combat assault troops. These could not be supported by attack transports in the numbers required, and new categories of amphibious ships began to replace APAs throughout the 1960s. By 1969, when the surviving attack transports were redesignated as "amphibious transports" (LPA) (retaining their previous numbers), only a few remained in commissioned service. The last of these were decommissioned in 1980 and sold abroad, leaving only a few thoroughly obsolete World War II era hulls still laid up in theMaritime Administration's reserve fleet. The APA/LPA designation may, therefore, now be safely considered extinct.

In fiction

The 1956 movieAway All Boatspresents operations on an attack transport. It was based on a popular novel of the same name, written by an officer who served on one during World War 2.

See also

• Amphibious cargo ship(AKA/LKA). Nearly identical ships used to transport vehicles, supplies and landing craft.
• Landing ship, infantry
• High-speed transportAPD

References

• This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
• APA/LPA -- Attack Transportsby the USNaval Historical Center