The ''Andromeda''-class attack cargo ships were a class of
amphibious cargo ship Amphibious cargo ships were U.S. Navy ships designed specifically to carry troops, heavy equipment and supplies in support of amphibious assaults, and to provide naval gunfire support during those assaults. A total of 108 of these ships were built ...
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 40,684,Moore Dry Dock Co., in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
during
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 ...
. Like all attack cargo ships, they were designed to carry combat loaded military cargo and
landing craft
Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...
, and to use the latter to land weapons, supplies, and troops on enemy shores during
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 conducted ...
.
All these ships were built on the same standard hull design, but there were some differences from ship to ship. The armament varied, as did that of the other ships of the day. During 1944–1945, the 5"/38 was recognized as the best gun for the dual role of
antiaircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
and
naval gunfire support
Naval gunfire support (NGFS) (also known as shore bombardment) is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by th ...
, and the 40 mm was seen as the best antiaircraft gun. The older 20 mm and .50 caliber guns had been recognized to be of limited value, and were being phased out, though they appeared on some of these ships. The 20 mm's were later removed from all of them, but it is not clear just when this happened.
The complement varied as well, but the
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
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 ...
figures sometimes seem to confuse ship's company with embarked troops in determining a ship's complement.
Ships
See also
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List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships
This is a list of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships. This type of ship has been in use with the US Navy since World War I.
Ship status is indicated as either currently active (including ready reserve), inactive or precommissionin ...
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List of ship classes of World War II
The List of ship classes of World War II is an alphabetical list of all ship classes that served in World War II. Only actual classes are included as opposed to unique ships (which are still included if they were the only one of a class to be buil ...