Arcturus-class attack cargo ship

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USS Arcturus - a typical Arcturus-class AKA
Class overview
Builders	Sun Shipbuilding, PA (5) Tampa Shipbuilding, FL (3) Federal Shipbuilding, NJ (3)
Operators	United States Navy
In commission	1940-1955 (US Navy)
Completed	11
General characteristics
Type	Type C2 ship
Displacement	14,225 tons
Length	459 ft 1 in (140 m)
Beam	63 ft (19 m)
Draft	26 ft 5 in (8 m)
Speed	16.5 kn (31 km/h)
Complement	267 (varies)
Armament	1 × 5-inch 38 caliber dual-purpose gun mount 4 × twin 40 mm gun mounts

The Arcturus-class

Like all attack cargo ships (AKAs), 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-caliber gun was recognized as the best gun for the dual role of

• Andromeda-class attack cargo ship
• Artemis-class attack cargo ship
• Charleston-class amphibious cargo ship
• Tolland-class attack cargo ship
• List of United States Navy amphibious warfare ships
• Fomalhaut (AKA-5) — a Type C1 AKA that falls within the number range of the Arcturus class
• Alhena (AKA-9) — a Type C2 (C2-S) AKA that falls within the number range
• Type C3
  AKA that falls within the number range

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• United States Maritime Commission C2 Type Ships