Appalachian-class command ship

The Appalachian-class command ship was a ship class of command ships of the United States Navy during World War II. All 4 ships were converted from the Type C2-S-B1 cargo ships.[1]

USS Catoctin in 1944
Class overview
NameAppalachian class
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Succeeded byMount McKinley class
Built1942–1943
In service1943–1947
Planned4
Completed4
Retired4
General characteristics
Type
Displacement
  • 7,431 t (7,314 long tons), light load
  • 13,910 t (13,690 long tons), full load
Length459 ft 3 in (139.98 m)
Beam63 ft (19 m)
Draft24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)
Installed power
  • 1 × propeller
  • 6,000 shp (4,474 kW)
  • 465 psi (3,206 kPa)
Propulsion
Speed16.4 knots (30.4 km/h; 18.9 mph)
Capacity
Troops
  • 128 officers
  • 334 enlisted
Complement
  • 36 officers
  • 442 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems
1 × SK-1 air-search radar
Armament

Development

Four type C2 cargo ships were converted into command ships for the United States Navy throughout the middle stages of World War II. After the war, all were slightly modernized and decommissioned in 1947 to later scrapped.

The ship's hull remained nearly the same but with new equipment to carry out her purpose now placed on deck alongside several cranes. The ships' armaments had been slightly changed and relocated in order for the ships to carry out their new roles.[1] All ships served in the Pacific Theater until the end of the war with no ships lost in combat.

Ships in the class

Appalachian class command ship
Hull no. Name Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
AGC-1 Appalachian Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. 4 November 1942 29 January 1943 2 October 1943 21 May 1947 Scrapped, 1960
AGC-2 Blue Ridge 4 December 1942 7 March 1943 27 September 1943 14 March 1947 Scrapped, 18 August 1960
AGC-3 Rocky Mount 4 December 1942 7 March 1943 16 October 1943 22 March 1947 Scrapped, 1 March 1973
AGC-5 Catoctin Moore Dry Dock Co. 1942 23 January 1943 24 January 1944 26 February 1947 Scrapped, 1959–1960

Footnotes

  1. U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. 2002. ISBN 1-55750-250-1.

References

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