View source for Sumter-class attack transport

{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Warren (APA-53) at Hampton Roads, Virginia (USA), on 23 August 1943 (80-G-78655).jpg
|Ship caption={{USS|Warren|APA-53}}, a ship of the ''Sumter'' class, at Hampton Roads, 23 August 1943
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Sumter-''
|Builders=[[Gulf Shipbuilding]]
|Operators=[[US Navy]]
|Class before=[[Bayfield class attack transport|''Bayfield'' class]]
|Class after=[[Gilliam class attack transport|''Gilliam'' class]]
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=
|In service range=
|In commission range=27 Aug 1943 – 15 May 1944 - 16 Mar 1946 - 17 Apr 1946
|Total ships building=
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|Total ships completed=4
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
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|Ship class=
|Ship type=[[Attack transport]]
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement=8,591 tons (lt) 13,910 tons (fl)
|Ship length={{convert|468|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|63|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draft={{convert|23|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} (limiting)
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|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=1 × [[General Electric]] geared-drive turbine, 2 × [[Babcock & Wilcox]] header-type boilers, 1 propeller, designed shaft horsepower 6,000
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed=16.5 [[knot (unit)|knots]]
|Ship range=
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|Ship test depth=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=*''Troops:'' 91-95 Officers, 1,340-1,472 Enlisted;
*''Cargo:'' 170,000 cu ft, 1,300-1,450 tons
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=38-57 Officers, 410-619 Enlisted
|Ship crew=
|Ship time to activate=
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|Ship armament=*2 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|5"/38 caliber]] dual-purpose gun mount
*4 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm gun]] mounts
*10 × single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm]] gun mounts
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The '''''Sumter''-class attack transport''' was a class of [[attack transport]] built for service with the [[US Navy]] in [[World War II]].
Like all attack transports, the purpose of the ''Sumter''{{'}}s was to transport troops and their equipment to foreign shores in order to execute [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] invasions using an array of smaller [[landing craft|assault boats]] integral to the attack transport itself. Like all the attack transports, the ''Sumter''-class was heavily armed with [[antiaircraft]] weaponry to protect itself and its cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone.
==History==
The ''Sumter'' class ships were based upon the US [[Maritime Commission]]'s [[Type C2 ship|Type C2]] merchant ship hull - specifically, the C2-S-E1 type. The class consisted of only four ships - three of them laid down in April 1942, not long after the US entry into the war, and the remaining ship laid down almost a year later, in March 1943. All four ships were built by the [[Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation]], at [[Chickasaw, Alabama]].
The first three ships in the class were originally intended to be plain transports, but on 1 February 1943 they, along with numerous other transports then in service or still on the slipways, were redesignated as attack transports. This entailed fitting extra antiaircraft weaponry, providing the ships with an array of amphibious assault craft and the means to deploy them, and other modifications. The extra work required to upgrade the ships in the class from transports to attack transports was done at either Bethlehem Steel, [[Maryland Drydock]] or the [[Atlantic Basin Iron Works]], and delayed their commission by five or six months so that they did not become available for service until August/September 1943. The fourth ship in the class, the {{USS|Baxter|APA-94}}, was designated an attack transport from the outset but still had to go through the same refitting process after being built, which also delayed its commission by about the same length of time.
While the four ships of the class were based on the same hull design, they are listed as having somewhat variable troop and cargo capacities and crews. They could carry between 1,433 and 1,563 troops and had crews of between about 450 and 650. The first three ships had a cargo capacity limit of 1,300 tons, but the last, ''Baxter'' had a limit of 1,450 tons.
===In service===
The four ships of the class served exclusively in the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theatre]]. The first three arrived in time to participate in much of the [[United States|American]] [[Leapfrogging (strategy)|island hopping]] campaign across the Pacific to its final destination of [[Imperial Japan|Japan]]. Consequently, they had no shortage of action - {{USS|Wayne|APA-54}} in particular earning seven [[battle star]]s. The fourth ship, ''Baxter'', was commissioned about twelve months later but still had time to participate in three campaigns and earn three stars.
All four ships were struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Naval Register]] shortly after the war in March/April 1946, and all four went on to have successful careers as commercial cargo vessels. ''Baxter'', renamed ''La Salle'' was the first to be scrapped, in 1968. The other three were eventually converted into [[container ship]]s which prolonged their service by another decade or so, finally being scrapped in 1977-78. The ships thus enjoyed an overall service life of between about 33 to 44 years.
==References==
See the ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' entries for the individual ships:
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/amphib/apa52.txt USS ''Sumter'' (APA-52)]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/amphib/apa53.txt USS ''Warren'' (APA-53)]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/amphib/apa54.txt USS ''Wayne'' (APA-54)]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/amphib/apa94.txt USS ''Baxter'' (APA-94)]
{{Sumter class attack transport}}
[[Category:Sumter-class attack transports| ]]