The P2 transport was a United States Maritime Commission

United States Maritime Commission

The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...

 design for a passenger ship

Passenger ship

A passenger ship is a ship whose primary function is to carry passengers. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freighters once common on the seas in which the transport of passengers is...

 which could be readily converted into a troop transport. Three variants of the design were built, the P2-SE2-R1 (Admirals), P2-S2-R2 (Generals), and P2-SE2-R3 (Presidents).

Admirals

Ten P2-SE2-R1 ships were ordered by the Maritime Commission during World War II. The ships were laid down by Bethlehem Steel

Bethlehem Steel

The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...

 in Alameda, California

Alameda, California

Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...

. The intended use of these ships after the War was for trans-Pacific service. As ordered, the ships were all named after U.S. Navy admirals. Only eight ships were completed as troop transports for the U.S. 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 the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

. The Army operated them with civilian crews as part of the Army Transport Service and renamed them after generals of the United States Army. In 1950, the ships were transferred back the Navy, but not recommissioned. Instead, they were assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service and still manned by a civil service crew, and keeping the name the Army had given them.

United States Navy	Army Transport Service	Military Sea Transportation Service
	USAT General Daniel I. Sultan	USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120)
	USAT General Hugh J. Gaffey	USNS General Hugh J. Gaffey (T-AP-121)
	USAT General Alexander M. Patch	USNS General Alexander M. Patch (T-AP-122)
	USAT General Simon B. Buckner	USNS General Simon B. Buckner (T-AP-123)
	USAT General Edwin D. Patrick	USNS General Edwin D. Patrick (T-AP-124)
	USAT General Nelson M. Walker	USNS General Nelson M. Walker (T-AP-125)
	USAT General Maurice Rose	USNS General Maurice Rose (T-AP-126)
	USAT General William O. Darby	USNS General William O. Darby (T-AP-127)
	Canceled 16 December 1944 and completed as civilian passenger liners.

Generals

Eleven P2-S2-R2 ships were ordered by the Maritime Commission during World War II. The ships were laid down by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Kearny, New Jersey

Kearny, New Jersey

Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....

. The intended use of these ships after the War was for South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

n service. As ordered, the ships were all named after United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 general

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

s.

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 to American President Lines

American President Lines

American President Lines Ltd. is the world's seventh-largest container transportation and shipping company, providing services to more than 140 countries through a network combining intermodal freight transport operations with IT and e-commerce...

 with the intent of being converted to a passenger liners, but ended up being chartered troop ships that during the Korean War were rejoined to military control as part of the Military Sea Transportation Service.

World War II name	Post USN - service names
USS General John Pope (AP-110) USS General John Pope (AP-110) USS General John Pope was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II. After the war she was transferred to the Army and redesignated USAT General John Pope...	USAT General John Pope USNS General John Pope (T-AP-110)
USS General A. E. Anderson (AP-111) USS General A. E. Anderson (AP-111) USS General A. E. Anderson was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II and the Korean War.General A. E...	USNS General A. E. Anderson (T-AP-111)
USS General W. A. Mann (AP-112) USS General W. A. Mann (AP-112) USS General W. A. Mann was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War....	USNS General W. A. Mann (T-AP-112)
USS General H. W. Butner (AP-113) USS General H. W. Butner (AP-113) USS General H. W. Butner was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II and the Korean War. She was redesignated T-AP-113 in October 1949.General H. W...	USNS General H. W. Butner (T-AP-113)
USS General William Mitchell (AP-114) USS General William Mitchell (AP-114) USS General William Mitchell was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II and the Korean War.General William Mitchell was launched 31 October 1943 under a Maritime Commission contract by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Company of Kearny, New Jersey; acquired 15...	USNS General William Mitchell (T-AP-114)
USS General George M. Randall (AP-115) USS General George M. Randall (AP-115) USS General George M. Randall was a General John Pope class troop transport which served with the United States Navy in World War II and the postwar era. She was named after Major General George Morton Randall, an American Civil War hero, and veteran of the Indian wars of the 1880s and the...	USNS General George M. Randall (T-AP-115)
USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) USS General M. C. Meigs was a General John Pope class troop transport of the P2-S2-R2 type. She was a fast troop ship that transported troops for the United States during World War II and the Korean War. The ship was named after General Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, the Quartermaster General of...	SS General M. C. Meigs USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116)
USS General W. H. Gordon (AP-117) USS General W. H. Gordon (AP-117) USS General W. H. Gordon was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II. After the war, she was transferred to the US Army and served as USAT General W. H. Gordon...	SS General W. H. Gordon USNS General W. H. Gordon (T-AP-117)
USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) USS General W. P. Richardson was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II. She was later transferred to the US Army and served briefly during the Korean War as USAT General W. P...	USAT General W. P. Richardson SS La Guardia SS Leilani SS President Roosevelt SS Atlantis SS Emerald Seas SS Sapphire Seas SS Ocean Explorer I
USS General William Weigel (AP-119) USS General William Weigel (AP-119) USS General William Weigel was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II. After the war, she was acquired by the US Army and became USAT General William Weigel...	USAT General William Weigel USNS General William Weigel (T-AP-119)
USS General J. C. Breckinridge (AP-176) USS General J. C. Breckinridge (AP-176) USS General J. C. Breckinridge was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. In October 1949 she was redesignated T-AP-176 but retained her Navy crew.USS General J. C...	USAT General J. C. Breckinridge USNS General J. C. Breckinridge (T-AP-176)

Presidents

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 the (ex-USS Admiral D. W. Taylor) and the SS President Wilson (ex-USS Admiral F. B. Upham). The President Wilson would be later renamed the SS Oriental Empress when sold to C.Y. Tung in 1978.