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High-speed transports were converted
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...
s and
destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
s used in
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
amphibious operations Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducte ...
in
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 ...
and afterward. They received the US
Hull classification symbol The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ...
APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer. In 1969, the remaining ships were reclassified as "Fast Amphibious Transports", hull symbol LPR. APDs were intended to deliver small units such as
Marine Raiders The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. " Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and " Carlson's" Rai ...
,
Underwater Demolition Team Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized non-tactical missions. They were predecessors of the navy's current SEAL teams. Their primary WWII f ...
s, and
United States Army Rangers United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...
onto hostile shores. An APD could carry up to 200 troops - a
company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...
-size unit - and approximately 40 tons of cargo. It could also provide gunfire support if needed. was officially designated the Navy's first high-speed transport on 2 August 1940 when she became APD-1.


Development

Before the United States entered World War II, as newer and more modern destroyers joined the fleet, some older destroyers were refitted for other duties: as
seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...
s, destroyer minelayers, or
destroyer minesweeper Destroyer minesweeper was a designation given by the United States Navy to a series of destroyers that were converted into high-speed ocean-going minesweepers for service during World War II. The hull classification symbol for this type of ship wa ...
s, and in an innovation, as fast transports carrying fully equipped troops for assault landings. During the war, newly built or unfinished
destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
s were converted to APDs.


"Flush-deck" conversions

The first group of APDs (APD-1 through APD-36) were converted from one , 17 , and 14 "flush-deck"
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...
s built during and after
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. Some of these had been previously converted to
aircraft tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are re ...
s or other uses. In the conversion, the two forward boilers (out of four) were removed along with their smokestacks (reducing speed to ). Accommodation for 200 troops was installed in the former engine spaces. The original armament of four 4"/50 low-angle guns, one 3"/23 anti-aircraft gun, and twelve 21-inch
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s was replaced with three modern 3"/50 dual-purpose guns, one 40 mm AA gun, and five 20 mm AA guns. Two
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use h ...
racks and up to six
K-gun A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use h ...
depth charge throwers were carried. In place of the torpedo mounts, four davit-mounted
LCPL The Landing Craft Personnel (Large) or LCP (L) was a landing craft used extensively in the Second World War. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by ...
s (Landing Craft Personnel, Large) were shipped. Later, the LCPLs were replaced by a version with a bow ramp, the LCPR (Landing Craft Personnel, Ramped).


Destroyer Escort (DE) conversions


''Buckley''-class conversions

The second group of APDs were converted from 43 s (DE)s built in 1943-1945. Two further planned conversions were canceled at the end of the war. These converted vessels were known as the ''Charles Lawrence'' class. In the conversion, the superstructure was expanded to provide accommodation for 162 troops. The original gun armament of three 3"/50 DP guns and two 40 mm AA guns in a twin mount was replaced with one 5"/38 DP gun and six 40 mm AA guns in three twin mounts. The original six 20mm AA guns were retained. The ''Charles Lawrence'' class also had two depth charge racks and up to eight K-guns. Typically, the converted DEs carried four LCVPs (Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel) in a stacked davit configuration.


''Rudderow''-class conversions

The third group of APDs were converted from 51 s built in 1943-1945. All but one of these were converted while under construction. These converted vessels were known as the . This conversion was the same as the ''Buckley'' class, except that the original ''Rudderow'' low bridge was retained as compared with the higher bridge of the ''Buckley'' Destroyer Escorts.


World War II service

In the
Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...
, neither side enjoyed the overwhelming local naval and air supremacy which ensured victory in every other
amphibious operation Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...
of the war. This necessitated an increase in the number of high-speed transports, hybrid warships which combined the functions of transports and destroyers. The concept of the high-speed transport embodied sufficient armament for the ship to defend herself against smaller warships and to support the troops she carried. APDs performed arduous service. They transported troops to
beachhead A beachhead is a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a landing beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. Th ...
s, served as escorts for transports and supply vessels, conducted
anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
patrols and survey duties, operated with
Underwater Demolition Team Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized non-tactical missions. They were predecessors of the navy's current SEAL teams. Their primary WWII f ...
s and
commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
units, performed messenger and transport duties, conveyed passengers and mail to and from forward units, and were involved in
minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...
operations. They were attacked by
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s, surface ships and aircraft (including
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending ...
s), and many were damaged or sunk.


After World War II

Nine "flush deck" APDs were lost during the war. The remaining 23 were scrapped in 1945-1946. Some of the ''Charles Lawrence''-class and ''Crosley''-class APDs saw service in the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
and
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. One ''Charles Lawrence''-class APD was lost during World War II. 14 were transferred to foreign navies in the 1960s. One was sold for commercial use as a
floating power station A powership (or power ship) is a special purpose ship, on which a power plant is installed to serve as a power generation resource. Converted from existing ships, powerships are self-propelled, ready to go infrastructure for developing countries ...
. 26 were scrapped. On 1 January 1969, the remaining three were reclassified as "Fast Amphibious Transports" (LPR). No ''Crosley''-class APD was lost during World War II. 18 were transferred to foreign navies. One (APD-106) was lost in a collision in 1966. Eight were sold as floating power stations. 18 were scrapped. In 1969, the remaining eight were reclassified as "Fast Amphibious Transports" (LPR).


Japanese WWII fast transports

The Imperial Japanese Navy also built fast destroyer-transports. The Japanese had used unmodified destroyers to act as ad-hoc fast transports in the " Tokyo Express", sailing down " The Slot" to drop supplies during the
Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...
; these destroyers would tow supply barges or just drop supplies overboard in buoyant steel drums before racing back to the their bases. This method saw considerable wastage, and the Imperial Japanese Navy decided to order the design of the Number 1 (or T1) class of purpose-build fast destroyer transports (earlier, two
Minekaze-class destroyer The was a class of fifteen 1st-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Obsolete by the beginning of the Pacific War, the ''Minekaze''-class ships were then relegated to mostly secondary roles, serving throughout the war as patrol ...
s had earlier been converted to fast destroyer transports). These new ships were based on the
Matsu-class destroyer The were a class of destroyer built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the late stages of World War II. The class was also designated the . Although sometimes termed Destroyer escorts, they were larger and more capable than contemporary U ...
, with the stern sloping down to the waterline to allow fast deployment of Daihatsu landing craft or other boats, amphibious tanks, or cargo. However, by the time these were operational, they had limited use for a navy that was no longer involved in far-flung offensive operations.


See also

* List of United States Navy high-speed transports * - ''Wickes'' class transferred to UK and used in the
St. Nazaire Raid The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy (RN) a ...
* - Type 42 destroyer converted in ASMAR (Chile) for the Argentine Navy in the 2000s *
Attack transport 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 ...


References


External links


High Speed Transports in the Korean War

Flush-deck APDs at DestroyerHistory.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:High-speed Transport Ship types Landing craft High-speed craft Amphibious warfare vessel classes Buckley-class destroyer escorts Amphibious transports of the United States Navy Transports of the United States Navy High speed vessels of the United States Navy