The ''Aloe''-class net laying ships were a class of thirty-two steel-hulled

net laying ship A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of naval auxiliary ship. A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. Nets could be laid ...

s built prior to the US entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The lead ship, , was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

in October 1940 and launched the following January; the final member, , was launched in October 1941. They were assigned tree and plant names in alphabetical order, but eight ships (in order ''Cottonwood'', ''Dogwood'', ''Fir'', ''Juniper'', ''Maple'', ''Poplar'', ''Sycamore'', and ''Walnut'') were renamed prior to launching, producing discontinuities in the name order. These ships were originally classed as YN and numbered 1-32, but were reclassified and renumbered in 1944 as AN-6 through AN-37. These ships had a unique appearance with a pair of "horns" jutting out from either side of the bow, each functioning as a fixed crane with a capacity of . They were powered by a pair of

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s which provided electricity for both propulsion and lifting machinery; there were also two auxiliary diesels and an

evaporator An evaporator is a device used to turn the liquid form of a chemical substance, such as water, into a vapor. Uses Air conditioning and refrigeration Some air conditioners and refrigerators use a compressed liquid with a low boiling point, ...

for fresh water. Between the "horns" was an opening through which nets could be hauled, bridged by a catwalk. * two 700hp

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

diesels, Westinghouse reduction gears driving 2 WH generators, one WH motor ** AN-6 ... AN-17 * General Motors 6-278, Farrel-Birmingham gears ** AN-22 ... AN-33 * uncertain ** AN-34 ... AN-37 All members of this class survived the war though was caught in a

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

in September 1945 and decommissioned the following year. Three ships were transferred to the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

in 1944 and another three were so transferred in the 1960s; two others went to the Turkish and

Ecuadorian Ecuadorians ( es, ecuatorianos) are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are colle ...

navies respectively. Three others were retained for various purposes, while the remainder were put into the

reserve fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

shortly after the war.

Class members

References

{{Aloe class net laying ship Auxiliary gateship classes Auxiliary ship classes of the United States Navy