USS Cape Johnson (AP-172) Class

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USS Arlington (AP-174) circa mid-1945.
Click on this photograph for links to larger images of this class.

Class:        CAPE JOHNSON (AP-172)
Design:        MC C1-B
Displacement (tons):        5,668 light, 10,120 lim.
Dimensions (feet):        417.75' oa, 395.0' pp x 60.0' e x 22.25' lim.
Original Armament:        1-5"/38 4-3"/50 12-20mm (1944: AP-172)
Later armaments:        1-4"/50 4-3"/50 12-20mm (1944: AP-174);
1-5"/38 4-3"/50 12-20mm (1945: AP-174); 1-5"/38 4-3"/50 4-40mmS 12-20mm (1945: both)
Complement:        265 (1944)
Speed (kts.):        14.7
Propulsion (HP):        4,000
Machinery:        Westinghouse turbine, 1 screw

Construction:

AP	Name	Acq.	Builder	Keel	Launch	Commiss.
172	CAPE JOHNSON	1 Jun 44	Consolidated Steel, Wilm.	28 Nov 42	20 Feb 43	1 Jun 44
174	ARLINGTON	17 Apr 44	Consolidated Steel, Wilm.	11 May 42	10 Aug 42	18 Apr 44

Disposition:

AP	Name	Decomm.	Strike	Disposal	Fate	MA Sale
172	CAPE JOHNSON	25 Jul 46	15 Aug 46	26 Jul 46	MC	10 May 63
174	ARLINGTON	20 Mar 46	28 Mar 46	20 Mar 46	RTO	1 Apr 64

Class Notes:
FY 1944. On 30 Oct 43 the Auxiliary Vessels Board noted that CinCPac had recently requested that 11 Navy-manned Liberty cargo ships (AKs) be given facilities for transporting about 1,000 troops on short hauls in order to relieve regular transports now being retained in the Third Fleet area for that purpose. The Board identified 11 candidates for this conversion (AK 114-123 and 129), but subsequently WSA agreed to make five C-type cargo vessels available in lieu of five of these conversions (AK 120-123 and 129). On 23 Nov 43 the Board recommended that five C2-type vessels or equivalents be acquired after conversion by WSA to carry troops, that they be manned by Navy crews as soon as possible, and that as their operations permitted they be made available for improvements and alterations to bring them up to Navy standards as APs. The APs were designated AP 171-175 and the ships selected included these two vessels of the smaller and slower C1-B type.

The conversion plans for CAPE JOHNSON and FRED MORRIS provided for a passenger capacity of 70 officers and 1,350 troops instead of the 75 officers and 1,500 enlisted in the C2's. They were also given stowage on deck or hatches for 2 LCM(3)'s and 4 LCVP's. AP-172 received no Welin davits while AP-174 received two. AP-174 later carried 4 LCM(3) and 10 LCVP and spent much of her career as a training ship for APA crews.

Ship Notes:

AP	Name	MC#	Notes
172	CAPE JOHNSON	507	Ex merc. CAPE JOHNSON (completed 25 May 43). Converted for WSA by Los Angeles SB & DD, San Pedro, Cal., 30 Dec 43-1 Jun 44. To NDRF 1946 as CAPE JOHNSON. To buyer 10 Jun 63, scrapped by 21 Jan 64.
174	ARLINGTON	490	Ex merc. FRED MORRIS (completed 26 Feb 43). Converted for WSA by Todd SYs, Hoboken, N.J., 23 Dec 43-17 Apr 44. To NDRF 19 Aug 46 as FRED MORRIS (traded in by owner in part payment for another ship). To buyer 20 Apr 64, scrapped by 14 Apr 65.