The ''Frederick Funston''-class attack transport was a class of two

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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 navy, merchant fleet &ndash ...

s. They saw service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and later in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Attack transports were a special type of transport ship designed to transport troops and their equipment over long distances to hostile shores, and then execute an amphibious invasion at the destination, using an array of smaller integral assault boats. Like all attack transports, the ''Frederick Funston'' class was generously armed with

antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

weaponry to protect itself and its vulnerable cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone.

History

The class derives its name from

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

General

Frederick Funston Frederick Funston (November 9, 1865 – February 19, 1917), also known as Fighting Fred Funston, was a General officer, general in the United States Army, best known for his roles in the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American ...

, a veteran of the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient. The two ships of the ''Frederick Funston'' class were based on the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

's ubiquitous Type C3 hull (specifically Type C3-S-A1). They began their service lives as transport ships for the US Army, but after several months of service in this role they were acquired by the US Navy and reclassified attack transports. It is not known whether they underwent any modifications for their new role. There is no mention of cargo space in the

DANFS The ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' (''DANFS'') is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy. When the writing project was developed the parameters for this series were designed to ...

entries, so it is not known how much cargo the vessels carried. The class carried a larger number of troops than most attack transports—2,200 as opposed to the 1,200 to 1,500 of most other APA's.

In service

The ''Frederick Funston''s participated in the Mediterranean Theatre, taking part in the invasions of

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and later in the Pacific Theatre. After the war, they were decommissioned and returned to the US Army, when they were redesignated USAT (US Army Transport). In the 1950s the ships were reacquired by the Navy and reclassified T-AP. Both of them then went on to serve in the

- mostly on transport missions. ''James O'Hara'' was struck from the

Naval Register A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

in 1961. Both vessels were scrapped in 1968-69.

References

*See the DANFS entries for the individual ships
USS ''Frederick Funston'' (APA-89)
an

{{Frederick Funston class attack transport Auxiliary transport ship classes