Amphibious cargo ship
Amphibious cargo ships were
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/USS_Rankin_%28AKA-103%29_underway_at_sea%2C_circa_in_the_1960s.jpg/220px-USS_Rankin_%28AKA-103%29_underway_at_sea%2C_circa_in_the_1960s.jpg)
Compared to other cargo ship types, these ships could carry
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/USSRankinCargoHold.jpg/300px-USSRankinCargoHold.jpg)
As amphibious operations became more important in
Attack cargo ships played a vital role in the Pacific War, where many were attacked by kamikazes and other aircraft, and several were torpedoed, but none were sunk or otherwise destroyed. Nine AKAs were present at the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.[citation needed]
After the war, many AKAs were put into the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Others were converted for other uses, such as oceanographic surveying, undersea cable laying, and repairing other ships.
Some of the reserve ships were recommissioned for service in the Korean War, and some stayed in service during the Vietnam War.
Six more amphibious cargo ships, somewhat faster, larger and of improved design regarding cargo handling, were built between 1954 and 1969: the
In 1969, the U.S. Navy redesignated all its remaining AKA attack cargo ships as LKA amphibious cargo ships. At the same time, several other "A" designations of amphibious ships were changed to similar "L" designations; for example, all the attack troop transport APAs were redesignated as LPAs.
In the 1960s, both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy developed amphibious transport docks which gradually took on this unique amphibious role and today have assumed it completely. The last amphibious cargo ship in the U. S. Navy, USS El Paso (LKA-117), was decommissioned in April, 1994.
Classes
- Type C1 ship
- Type C2 ship
- Alhena (AKA-9)
- 11 Arcturus class (in the range AKA-1 ... AKA-14)
- 32 Tolland class (in the range AKA-64 ... AKA-108)
- 30 Andromeda class (in the range AKA-15 ... AKA-100)
- Type C3 ship
- Type S4 ship
- 32 Artemis class (AKA-21 ... AKA-52)
- Type C4 ship
- 5 Charleston class (LKA-113 ... LKA-117)
See also
- Attack transport (APA/LPA). Nearly identical ships used to transport troops and landing craft.
- List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships § Attack Cargo Ship (AKA)
- List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships § Amphibious Cargo Ship (LKA) - AKA redesignation
References
- Alexander, Joseph H. Storm Landings: Epic Amphibious Battles in the Central Pacific. 1997. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-032-0.
- Crew, Thomas E. Combat Loaded: Across the Pacific on the USS Tate. 2007. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 1-58544-556-8.
- Friedman, Norman. U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History. 2002. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-250-1.
- Lane, Frederic C. Ships for Victory: A History of Shipbuilding under the U.S. Maritime Commission in World War II. 1951, 2001. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6752-5.
- NavSource Online. Attack Cargo Ship (AKA), Amphibious Cargo Ship (LKA)
- North Carolina Shipbuilding Company. Five Years of North Carolina Shipbuilding. 1946. Wilmington, North Carolina: North Carolina Shipbuilding Company.
- U.S. Naval Historical Center. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships