Type C3 ship
Encyclopedia
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...
(MARCOM) in the late 1930s. As it had done with the Type C1 ship
Type C1 ship
Type C1 was a designation for small cargo ships built for the U.S. Maritime Commission before and during World War II. The first C1 types were the smallest of the three original Maritime Commission designs, meant for shorter routes where high speed and capacity were less important. Only a handful...
s and Type C2 ship
Type C2 ship
Type C2 ships were designed by the United States Maritime Commission in 1937-38. They were all-purpose cargo ships with five holds, and U.S. shipyards built 173 of them from 1939-1945. Compared to ships built before 1939, the C2s were remarkable for their speed and fuel economy. Their design speed...
s, MARCOM circulated preliminary plans for comment. The design presented was not specific to any service or trade route, but was a general purpose ship that could be modified for specific uses.
The C3 was larger and faster than the C1 and C2 contemporaries, measuring 492 feet from stem to stern (vs. 459 for the C2), and designed to make 16.5 knots (vs. 15.5 for the C2). Like the C2, it had five cargo holds. A total of 465 of these ships were built between 1939 and 1947.
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...
, many C3 ships were converted to naval uses, particularly as Bogue class escort carrier
Bogue class escort carrier
The Bogue-class were a group of escort carriers built in the United States for service with the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy during World War II....
s and as destroyer tender
Destroyer tender
A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...
s, submarine tender
Submarine tender
A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...
s and seaplane tender
Seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...
s.
See also
- Type C1 shipType C1 shipType C1 was a designation for small cargo ships built for the U.S. Maritime Commission before and during World War II. The first C1 types were the smallest of the three original Maritime Commission designs, meant for shorter routes where high speed and capacity were less important. Only a handful...
- Type C2 shipType C2 shipType C2 ships were designed by the United States Maritime Commission in 1937-38. They were all-purpose cargo ships with five holds, and U.S. shipyards built 173 of them from 1939-1945. Compared to ships built before 1939, the C2s were remarkable for their speed and fuel economy. Their design speed...
- Type C4 shipType C4 shipThe 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...
- T2 tankerT2 tankerThe T2 tanker, or T2, was an oil tanker constructed and produced in large quantities in the United States during World War II. The largest "navy oilers" after the T3s at the time, nearly 500 of them were built between 1940 and the end of 1945....
- Liberty shipLiberty shipLiberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
- Victory shipVictory shipThe Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace shipping losses caused by German submarines...
- Hog IslanderHog IslanderHog Islanders is the slang for ships built to Emergency Fleet Corporation designs number 1022 and 1024. These vessels were cargo and transport ships, respectively, built under government direction and subsidy to address a shortage of ships in the United States Merchant Marine during World War...