Harris class attack transport
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USS Hunter Liggett (APA-14), a ship of the Harris class
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Harris class |
| Builders: |
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| Operators: |
 United States Navy
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| Succeeded by: | McCawley class |
| Built: | 1919-1922 |
| In service: | Commercial: 1926-1937 |
| In commission: |
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| Completed: | 8 (acquired) |
| Retired: | 8 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Harris-class attack transport |
| Displacement: | 13,529 tons (lt), 21,900 t.(fl) |
| Length: | 535 ft 2 in (163.12 m) |
| Beam: | 72 ft 4 in (22.05 m) |
| Draft: | 31 ft 3 in (9.53 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × turbines, 8 × boilers, 2 × propeller, designed shaft horsepower 10,000 -12,000 |
| Speed: | 17 - 18 knots |
| Capacity: |
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| Complement: | 29-67 officers, 585-673 enlisted |
| Armament: | 4 × 3"/50 caliber dual-purpose guns, 1-2 × twin 40mm guns, 0-2 × quad 1.1" guns, 10-18 × single 20mm guns. |
The Harris-class attack transport was a class of US Navy attack transport built in 1919 immediately after World War I that saw service in World War II.
Like all attack transports, the purpose of the Harris class ships was to transport troops and their equipment to hostile shores in order to execute amphibious invasions using an array of smaller integral landing craft. As with all such ships, the Harris-class was well armed with antiaircraft weaponry to protect itself and its vulnerable cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone.
The Harris class is amongst the few classes of attack transport that were converted from pre-war tonnage rather than built from either Maritime Commission or Victory ship hull types during the war. It also holds the distinction of being the first group of ships commissioned into the US Navy which would eventually serve as attack transports.
The origins of the Harris class go back to America's entry into World War I. At that time, the US Shipping Board was set up to modernize America's merchant cargo fleet, and to provide ships suitable for service as naval auxiliaries. During this period, the Shipping Board contracted with several firms, including New York Shipbuilding and Bethlehem Steel, for the building of a class of large ships to be used as troop transports. The ships were known simply as the "535 class" after their length in feet.
Although they arrived too late to see service in the First World War, sixteen were duly completed between 1919 and 1922, and since the Navy no longer had use for them, they were all eventually sold or contracted out to private companies, most notably Dollar Lines (hence the class' alternative name, the Dollar class). For their new role the vessels were converted to passenger-cargo ships, serving mostly on routes between the United States and South America, and until the 1930s, were amongst America's fastest and best passenger liners.
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