The General G. O. Squier class of transport ships was built for the U.S. Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during 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...

.

The first ship was launched in November 1942, while the last was launched in April 1945. In that span the United States produced 30 General G. O. Squier-class transports. The class was based upon the 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...

’s Type C4 ship

Type C4 ship

The Type C4 class ship were the largest cargo ships built by the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The design was originally developed for the American-Hawaiian Lines in 1941, but in late 1941 the plans were taken over by the MARCOM.Seventy-five ships were built as cargo and...

.

All of the ships were initially designated with hull classification symbol

Hull classification symbol

The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...

 “AP” and numbered from 130 through 159. All but the four ships of the class (130, 131, 132, and 136) were transferred to the U.S. 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...

 Transportation Service in 1946 and served as United States Army Transports (USAT), several of them being refitted to a larger gross tonnage. The 24 still in service (numbers 134, 135, 137–151, and 153–159) in 1950 were transferred back to the Navy as part of the Military Sea Transportation Service

Military Sealift Command

The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

 (MSTS). All but two were transferred on 1 March 1950, and all were reinstated on the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 as United States Naval Ship

United States Naval Ship

United States Naval Ship or USNS is the prefix designation given to non-commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy.-Overview:...

s (USNS), and redesignated with hull classification symbol “T-AP”.

Most of the General G. O. Squier class were deactivated in 1958 for two reasons: the introduction of jet airliners, and a decision to use berthing space on U.S.-flagged passenger ships. Two ships, however, and , assisted in United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 efforts in the Congo Republic

Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)

The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...

 in the early 1960s, and both were pressed into service transporting troops to Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 in the mid 1960s.

Two other ships of the General G. O. Squier class, and were transferred to the U.S. Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 as missile tracking ships as part of the Missile Test Project

Missile Test Project

The Missile Test Project was a U.S. Air Force program operated by RCA Service Company from Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, under the direction of prime contractor Pan American Guided Missiles Research Division during the 1950s and continuing on for several more decades...

, and renamed USAFS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg and USAFS General H. H. Arnold, respectively. They were later transferred back to MSTS under their new names and redesignated with hull classification symbol “T-AGM”.

The last General G. O. Squier-class ship afloat, the ex-General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, was sunk as an artificial reef

Artificial reef

An artificial reef is a human-made underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, control erosion, block ship passage, or improve surfing....

off of the Florida Keys on May 27, 2009.

The U.S. Navy’s s were also based on the Type C4 hull design.

General characteristics

• Displacement:
• Length:
• Beam:
• Draft:
  • (AP 130, 134, 137, 140, 142–149, 151, 154–158)
  • (AP 131–133, 135–136, 138–139, 141, 150, 152–153, 159)
• Complement:
  • 425 (AP 136, 150)
  • 426 (AP 133)
  • 449 (AP 139)
  • 471 (AP 132)
  • 494 (AP 138)
  • 512 (AP 135)
• Troop capacity:
  • 2,173 troops (AP 147)
  • (AP 133, 137, 149–151)
  • 3,444 troops (AP 132)
  • 3,522 troops (AP 131)
  • 3,530 troops (AP 134)
  • 3,595 troops (AP 140)
  • (AP 130, 135–136, 139, 141–144, 148, 152–159)
  • 4,766 troops (AP 138)
  • 6,086 troops (AP 146)
• Armament
  • AP 130–133, 145, 149:
    
  • AP 141, 154–159:
    
• Speed:
• Propulsion:

General G. O. Squier-class ships

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