List of Ships of The United States Army

List Of Ships Of The United States Army

During World War II the U.S. Army operated approximately 127,793 pieces of floating equipment. Those included large troop and cargo transport ships that were Army owned hulls, vessels allocated by the War Shipping Administration, bareboat charters and time charters. In addition to the transports the Army fleet included specialized types. Those, included vessels not related to transport such as mine vessels and waterway or port maintenance ships and other service craft. The numbers below give an idea of the scope of that Army maritime operation:

• Troop and cargo ships over 1,000 gross tons that often carried the U.S. Army Transport (U.S.A.T.) with their name if they were Army owned or long term allocated: 1,557 ships
• Other ships over 1,000 gross tons, including hospital ships (U.S.A.H.S.), cable ships, aircraft repair ships, port repair ships and others without any title other than “U.S. Army” and a number or name: 108 ships
• Vessels under 1,000 gross tons of numerous types that include the 511 FS ("Freight and Supply") small nonstandard coastal freighters of numerous designs, 361 Minecraft with the large Mine Planters carrying U.S. Army Mine Planter (USAMP) with a number above a name, 4,343 tugs of all types and a varied array of 4,697 launches and small service craft just designated U.S. Army with a number or name: 12,379
• Barges and non-propelled watercraft that included 16,787 pontoons: 25,383
• Amphibious assault craft: 88,366

Limiting the number to only the named and numbered vessels, discounting the various simple barges and amphibious assault craft, the remaining number is 14,044 vessels.

This fleet and the Army’s Ports of Embarkation operated throughout the war’s massive logistics in support of the worldwide operations. After the war the Army’s fleet began to resume its peacetime role and even regain the old colors of gray hulls, white deck houses and buff trimming, masts and booms with the red, white and blue stack rings. An example may be seen in the photos of the U.S.A.T. Fred C. Ainsworth.

Then came the reorganization that led to the U.S. Department of Defense rather than a separate United States Department of War and Department of the Navy with the decision on maritime logistics going in favor of it being administered by the Navy. As a result Army lost almost all its big vessels. Many of the Army vessels were transferred to Navy with the transport types becoming components of the new Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS now MSC) under Navy. Some of the Army’s specialized vessels became Navy commissioned ships (USS) or non-commissioned utility vessels. Digital photographs of a few of these vessels in Army service are provided at the Naval History and Heritage Command. Others were sold commercially or simply scrapped.

The Army heritage of civilian crewed transports and cargo ships continued in the operating model for MSTS and its “in service” non-commissioned ships designated as U.S. Naval Ship (USNS). Some Army vessels, still crewed by Army civilians, just transferred were suddenly sailing before fully taking on the new service’s administrative functions and colors.