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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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 ...

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 Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname) ...

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-ca ...

s which provided electricity for both propulsion and lifting machinery; there were also two auxiliary diesels and an evaporator for fresh water. Between the "horns" was an opening through which nets could be hauled, bridged by a catwalk. * two 700hp Enterprise diesels, Westinghouse reduction gears driving 2 WH generators, one WH motor ** AN-6 ... AN-17 * General Motors 6-278,

Farrel-Birmingham The Farrel Corporation is an American manufacturing company based in Ansonia, Connecticut. Today, they manufacture process equipment for the plastics industry, and employ roughly 100 people. History Farrel was founded in 1848 as a foundry by A ...

gears ** AN-22 ... AN-33 * uncertain ** AN-34 ... AN-37 All members of this class survived the war though was caught in a typhoon 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 th ...

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

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and Ecuadorian 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"; ...

shortly after the war.

Class members

References

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