TheP2 transport was aUnited States Maritime Commission design for apassenger ship which could be readily converted into atroop transport. Three variants of the design were built, the P2-SE2-R1 (Admirals), P2-S2-R2 (Generals), and P2-SE2-R3 (Presidents).
.jpg) USSAdmiral R. E. Coontz (AP-122) | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Admiral-class |
| Builders | Bethlehem Alameda Works |
| Operators |  United States Navy |
| Built | 1942–45 |
| In commission | 1944–91 |
| Planned | 10 |
| Completed | 8 |
| General characteristics[1] | |
| Type | P2-SE2-R1 |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 12,650long tons (12,853 t) |
| Length | 609 ft (186 m)o/a |
| Beam | 75 ft 6 in (23.01 m) |
| Draft | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Depth | 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m) |
| Installed power | 19,000 hp (14,168 kW) |
| Propulsion | Turbo-electric transmission; twinscrew propellers |
| Speed | 19knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Range | 12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) |
| Capacity | 100,000 ft3 (2,800 m3) |
| Troops | 5,200 |
Ten P2-SE2-R1 ships were ordered by the Maritime Commission in World War II. The ships were laid down by theBethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation inAlameda, California. The intended use of these ships after the war was trans-Pacific service. As ordered, the ships were named after U.S. Navy admirals. Only eight ships were completed as troop transports for the navy, with the last two ships canceled on 16 December 1944. Despite being canceled, the last two ships were completed after the war to the P2-SE2-R3 design as civilian ships.
In 1946 the ships were all decommissioned by the navy and transferred back to the Maritime Commission, and from there to theUnited States Army. The army operated them with civilian crews as part of theArmy Transport Service and renamed them after generals of the United States Army. In 1950 the ships were transferred back to the navy, but not recommissioned. Instead they were assigned to theMilitary Sea Transportation Service, manned by a civil service crew, and keeping the names the army had given them.
| United States Navy | Army Transport Service | Military Sea Transportation Service |
|---|---|---|
| USS Admiral W. S. Benson (AP-120) | USATGeneral Daniel I. Sultan | USNSGeneral Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120) |
| USS Admiral W. L. Capps (AP-121) | USATGeneral Hugh J. Gaffey | USNSGeneral Hugh J. Gaffey (T-AP-121) |
| USS Admiral R. E. Coontz (AP-122) | USATGeneral Alexander M. Patch | USNSGeneral Alexander M. Patch (T-AP-122) |
| USS Admiral E. W. Eberle (AP-123) | USATGeneral Simon B. Buckner | USNSGeneral Simon B. Buckner (T-AP-123) |
| USS Admiral C. F. Hughes (AP-124) | USATGeneral Edwin D. Patrick | USNSGeneral Edwin D. Patrick (T-AP-124) |
| USS Admiral H. T. Mayo (AP-125) | USATGeneral Nelson M. Walker | USNSGeneral Nelson M. Walker (T-AP-125) |
| USS Admiral Hugh Rodman (AP-126) | USATGeneral Maurice Rose | USNSGeneral Maurice Rose (T-AP-126) |
| USS Admiral W. S. Sims (AP-127) | USATGeneral William O. Darby | USNSGeneral William O. Darby (T-AP-127) |
| USS Admiral D. W. Taylor (AP-128) | Canceled 16 December 1944 and completed as civilian passenger liners. | |
| USS Admiral F. B. Upham (AP-129) | ||
 USSGeneral H. W. Butner (APA-113) | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | General-class |
| Builders | Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Kearny, New Jersey |
| Operators | United States Navy |
| Built | 1942–45 |
| In commission | 1943–70 |
| Completed | 11 |
| General characteristics[1] | |
| Type | P2-S2-R2 |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 11,450long tons (11,634 t) |
| Length | 623 ft (190 m)o/a |
| Beam | 75 ft 6 in (23.01 m) |
| Draft | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
| Depth | 51 ft 6 in (15.70 m) |
| Propulsion | C3-type geared turbines, 18,000 hp (13,423 kW), 2 shafts |
| Speed | 19knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Range | 15,000 nmi (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) |
| Capacity | 36,000–48,000 ft3 (1,000–1,400 m3) |
| Troops | 4,500 to 4,800 |
Eleven P2-S2-R2 ships were ordered by the Maritime Commission in World War II. The ships were laid down byFederal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company ofKearny, New Jersey. The intended use of these ships after the War was forSouth American service. As ordered, the ships were all named afterUnited States Armygenerals.
Unlike the Admirals, the Generals did not have a relatively uniform life after World War II. Three were transferred to the Army as the Admirals had been, of which one was disposed of by the Army and converted to a passenger liner before the Korean War. Five were retained by the Navy and were transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service in October 1949 to be manned by civilian crews, and two others were transferred toAmerican President Lines with the intent of being converted to a passenger liners, but ended up being chartered troop ships that in the Korean War were rejoined to military control as part of the Military Sea Transportation Service.
| Ship name | Hull no. | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Post USN - service names | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General John Pope | AP-110 | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company,Kearny, New Jersey | 14 July 1942 | 21 March 1943 | 5 August 1943 | 12 June 1946 | USATGeneral John Pope USNSGeneral John Pope (T-AP-110) | Scrapped |
| General A. E. Anderson | AP-111 | 2 May 1943 | 5 October 1943 | 10 November 1958 | USNSGeneral A. E. Anderson (T-AP-111) | Scrapped inTaiwan, July 1987 | ||
| General W. A. Mann | AP-112 | 1942 | Unknown | 13 October 1943 | 11 December 1965 | USNSGeneral W. A. Mann (T-AP-112) | ||
| General H. W. Butner | AP-113 | 19 September 1943 | 11 January 1944 | 28 January 1960 | USNSGeneral H. W. Butner (T-AP-113) | |||
| General William Mitchell | AP-114 | Unknown | 31 October 1943 | 19 January 1944 | 1 December 1966 | USNSGeneral William Mitchell (T-AP-114) | Scrapped at Taiwan, 1988 | |
| General George M. Randall | AP-115 | 20 July 1943 | 30 January 1944 | 15 April 1944 | 2 June 1961 | USNSGeneral George M. Randall (T-AP-115) | Sold for scrap, 8 May 1975 | |
| General M. C. Meigs | AP-116 | 22 September 1943 | 13 March 1944 | 3 June 1944 | 1 October 1958 | SSGeneral M. C. Meigs USNSGeneral M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) | Broken up after being stranded on 9 January 1972 | |
| General W. H. Gordon | AP-117 | 2 November 1943 | 7 May 1944 | 29 Jun 1944 | April 1970 | SSGeneral W. H. Gordon USNSGeneral W. H. Gordon (T-AP-117) | Scrapped 1987, Taiwan | |
| General W. P. Richardson | AP-118 | 2 February 1944 | 6 August 1944 | 15 April 1944 | 14 February 1946 | USATGeneral W. P. Richardson SSLa Guardia SSLeilani SSPresident Roosevelt SSAtlantis SSEmerald Seas SSSapphire Seas SSOcean Explorer I | Scrapped in India, 2005 | |
| General William Weigel | AP-119 | 15 March 1944 | 3 September 1944 | 6 January 1945 | 10 May 1946 | USATGeneral William Weigel USNSGeneral William Weigel (T-AP-119) | Scrapped 1987, Taiwan | |
| General J. C. Breckinridge | AP-176 | 18 March 1945 | 30 June 1945 | 1 December 1966 | USATGeneral J. C. Breckinridge USNSGeneral J. C. Breckinridge (T-AP-176) | Scrapped 1988, Taiwan |
As noted above, the last two Admirals were canceled in 1944 while under construction. They were completed to the P2-SE2-R3 design and operated by American President Lines as theSS President Cleveland (ex-USSAdmiral D. W. Taylor) and theSS President Wilson (ex-USSAdmiral F. B. Upham). ThePresident Wilson was later renamed SSOriental Empress when sold toC.Y. Tung in 1978.