Gilliam class attack transport
Encyclopedia
The Gilliam-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 Gilliams was to transport troops and their equipment to foreign shores in order to execute amphibious
invasions using an array of smaller amphibious assault boats
carried by the attack transport itself. Like all the attack transports, the Gilliam-class was heavily armed with antiaircraft weaponry to protect itself and its cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone.
of Wilmington, California.
The first of the ships, the , rolled off the Wilmington ways on 28 March 1944 and was commissioned on 1 August 1944. The rest rapidly followed, a new Gilliam-class vessel rolling of the shipways at an average of roughly one per week until April 1945.
The Gilliams, with less than half the displacement, were significantly inferior in both troop and cargo carrying capacity to the previous class of attack transport, the Bayfields
, and also slightly slower. It is not clear therefore why they were produced but probably it was simply because attack transports were at this time a much-needed type and the Navy chose to utilize any available shipbuilding capacity to acquire them.
or the battle of Iwo Jima
and later at the invasion of Okinawa, while later vessels saw combat either at Okinawa alone or not at all. Regardless, all of them spent a considerable part of their time on troop transport, cargo and other support missions.
, China
, Korea
and other Far East
ern locations formerly occuped by the Imperial Japanese Army
- and later as participants in Operation Magic Carpet, the giant sealift organized to bring hundreds of thousands of demobilizing
soldiers back to the United States.
, the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll
in the summer of 1946. These tests were designed to assess the effects of nuclear detonations on shipping.
For the purpose, the Navy collected somewhere between 70 and 90 unwanted ships to use as targets, some captured from the enemy and some of the Navy's own. Since the Gilliam-class had an inferior transport and cargo capacity to many of the other attack transport classes, it was an obvious candidate for disposal.
17 of the Gilliam-class were duly selected to act as targets in the tests. In the event, one - - was reprieved, so exactly half of the class' 32 ships were designated as targets. Of these, a few were sunk by the atomic bombs themselves, while a number of others which received heavy doses of radiation were examined for a period before being disposed of in target practice in 1947 or 1948. A few were found to have mostly escaped the radioactive fallout
and were taken back to the United States
.
These survivors, along with the rest of the class, were decommissioned in late 1946-early 1947 and saw no further service with the Navy (although it is unknown whether some may have been later sold for commercial service). The sole exception was the , which although decommissioned along with the remainder of the class, remained in use with the Navy as a training ship until 1 September 1968.
Other than this one vessel, it appears the entire class of ships saw barely more than two years service of any description before being scrapped.
Attack transport
Attack Transport is a United States Navy ship classification.-History:In the early 1940s, as the United States Navy expanded in response to the threat of involvement in World War II, a number of civilian passenger ships and some freighters were acquired, converted to transports and given hull...
built for service with the US Navy in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Like all attack transports, the purpose of the Gilliams was to transport troops and their equipment to foreign shores in order to execute amphibious
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
invasions using an array of smaller amphibious assault boats
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
carried by the attack transport itself. Like all the attack transports, the Gilliam-class was heavily armed with antiaircraft weaponry to protect itself and its cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone.
History
The Gilliam-class utilized the Maritime Commission (MARCOM)'s Type S4-SE2-BD1 hull. All 32 vessels of the class were built under MARCOM contracts by the Consolidated Steel CorporationConsolidated Steel Corporation
Consolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas...
of Wilmington, California.
The first of the ships, the , rolled off the Wilmington ways on 28 March 1944 and was commissioned on 1 August 1944. The rest rapidly followed, a new Gilliam-class vessel rolling of the shipways at an average of roughly one per week until April 1945.
The Gilliams, with less than half the displacement, were significantly inferior in both troop and cargo carrying capacity to the previous class of attack transport, the Bayfields
Bayfield class attack transport
The Bayfield class attack transport was a class of US Navy attack transports that were built during World War II.With the entry of the United States into the war, it was quickly realized that amphibious combat operations on hostile shores would be required, and that specialized ships would be...
, and also slightly slower. It is not clear therefore why they were produced but probably it was simply because attack transports were at this time a much-needed type and the Navy chose to utilize any available shipbuilding capacity to acquire them.
World War II service
As they arrived relatively late in the war, Gilliam-class ships did not get much chance to see combat. Some of the earlier vessels saw action at either the battle of LuzonBattle of Luzon
The Battle of Luzon was a land battle fought as part of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony The Philippines, and Mexico against forces of the Empire of Japan. The battle resulted in a U.S. and Filipino victory...
or the battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
and later at the invasion of Okinawa, while later vessels saw combat either at Okinawa alone or not at all. Regardless, all of them spent a considerable part of their time on troop transport, cargo and other support missions.
Postwar missions
In the immediate postwar period, the Gilliams, like most other classes of attack transport, were initially utilized to transport US troops for occupation duties - in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and other Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
ern locations formerly occuped by the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
- and later as participants in Operation Magic Carpet, the giant sealift organized to bring hundreds of thousands of demobilizing
Demobilization
Demobilization is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and military force will not be necessary...
soldiers back to the United States.
Operation Crossroads
At the end of the war, the US Navy found itself with far more ships than it required in peacetime. Some of these ships were dispensed with in Operation CrossroadsOperation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
, the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
in the summer of 1946. These tests were designed to assess the effects of nuclear detonations on shipping.
For the purpose, the Navy collected somewhere between 70 and 90 unwanted ships to use as targets, some captured from the enemy and some of the Navy's own. Since the Gilliam-class had an inferior transport and cargo capacity to many of the other attack transport classes, it was an obvious candidate for disposal.
17 of the Gilliam-class were duly selected to act as targets in the tests. In the event, one - - was reprieved, so exactly half of the class' 32 ships were designated as targets. Of these, a few were sunk by the atomic bombs themselves, while a number of others which received heavy doses of radiation were examined for a period before being disposed of in target practice in 1947 or 1948. A few were found to have mostly escaped the radioactive fallout
Nuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...
and were taken back to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
These survivors, along with the rest of the class, were decommissioned in late 1946-early 1947 and saw no further service with the Navy (although it is unknown whether some may have been later sold for commercial service). The sole exception was the , which although decommissioned along with the remainder of the class, remained in use with the Navy as a training ship until 1 September 1968.
Other than this one vessel, it appears the entire class of ships saw barely more than two years service of any description before being scrapped.
External links
- ANALYSIS OF RADIATION EXPOSURE FOR NAVAL UNITS OF OPERATION CROSSROADS - Volume I-Basic Report
- ANALYSIS OF RADIATION EXPOSURE FOR NAVAL UNITS OF OPERATION CROSSROADS - Volume II-(Appendix A) Target Ships
- INTERNAL DOSE ASSESSMENT - OPERATION CROSSROADS