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The ''Arthur Middleton''-class attack transport was a class of US Navy attack transport that saw most of its service in World War II. Ships of the class were named after signatories of the American Declaration of Independence. Like all attack transports, the purpose of the ''Arthur Middleton'' class was to transport troops and their equipment to hostile shores in order to execute amphibious invasions. To perform this task, attack transports were equipped with a substantial number of integral landing craft, and heavily armed with antiaircraft weaponry to protect themselves and their vulnerable cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone. ==Background== The ''Arthur Middleton'' class was based on the Maritime Commission's ubitiquous Type C3 hull - specifically the C3-P&C (Passenger & Cargo) type. This hull type had been designed with both merchant cargo service and naval auxiliary service in mind. All three ships were laid down by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company of Pascagoula, Mississippi between July and October 1940. Time between initial laying of the keel to commission for each vessel varied from 20 to 26 months - an unusually long time, which suggests the shipyard may have experienced delays or had other priorities. The first to be commissioned was ''Samuel Chase'' on 13 June 1942, followed by the ''George Clymer'' two days later. ''Arthur Middleton'', the lead ship of the class, was laid down first but not commissioned until 7 September 1942, about three months later. The ships were initially classified as transports (AP) but were redesignated attack transports (APA) on 1 February 1943, the date on which several other classes of transport ship were redesignated. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Arthur Middleton-class attack transport」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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