The Arcturus class attack cargo ships were converted from other ship types by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Chester, Pennsylvania, Tampa Shipbuilding Co. in Tampa, Florida, and Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Kearny, New Jersey during World War II.
Like all AKA's, they were designed to carry combat loaded military cargo and landing craft, and to use the latter to land weapons, supplies, and troops on enemy shores during amphibious operations.
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 and naval gunfire support, 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 DANFS figures sometimes seem to confuse ship's company with embarked troops in determining a ship's complement.
Famous quotes containing the words class, attack, cargo and/or ship:
“You must drop all your democracy. You must not believe in “the people.” One class is no better than another. It must be a case of Wisdom, or Truth. Let the working classes be working classes. That is the truth. There must be an aristocracy of people who have wisdom, and there must be a Ruler: a Kaiser: no Presidents and democracies.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched seabeams glitter in the dark near the Tennhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. Time to die.”
—David Webb Peoples, U.S. screenwriter, and Ridley Scott. Roy Batty, Blade Runner, final words before dying—as an android he had a built-in life span that expired (1982)
“Nitrates and phosphates for ammunition. The seeds of war. They’re loading a full cargo of death. And when that ship takes it home, the world will die a little more.”
—Earl Felton, and Richard Fleischer. Captain Nemo (James Mason)
“Now launch the small ship, now as the body dies
and life departs, launch out, the fragile soul
in the fragile ship of courage, the ark of faith
with its store of food and little cooking pans
and change of clothes,”
—D.H. (David Herbert)