U.S. Army Port Repair ship
Encyclopedia
The U.S. Army acquired ten ships during World War II
as Engineer Port Repair Ships, also sometimes known as Port Rehabilitation ships, for use by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear war damaged harbors. The need was anticipated by 1942 for the post invasion recovery of ports in Europe and the Transportation Corps was assigned the responsibility to acquire and modify the ships that would be military crewed under the Corps of Engineers.
and had no peacetime technical or economic purposehttp://140.194.76.129/publications/misc/un21/c-17.pdf United States Army in World War II - The Corps of Engineers: Troops and Equipment - Chapter XVII - Preparing to Reconstruct Ports. Experience in North Africa and particularly in Italy, where the port of Naples was almost completely destroyed and 350 to 400 vessels had been systematically sunk by the Germans, convinced the Allied command under Eisenhower that such vessels were a requirement.
Eisenhower had followed up an original request on 6 December 1942 after the North African experience with a requirement for five vessels of fourteen foot draft or less and about 275 feet in length. The U.S. Army Services of Supply
assigned the task to the Transportation Corps (TC). After consideration the TC recommended a design that was originally a coastal transport and of which fourteen were being built under Navy contract. The Army wanted the diesel version, the Maritime Commission type N3-M-A1, while Navy wanted to give up the steam (N3-S-A1) version. At a meeting of the Navy's Munitions Assignments Committee the Army, Navy and Royal Navy all ruled the steam versions as unsuitable. Eventually a clear European requirement for five port repair ships manned by Army Engineers. After considerable dispute during which Navy proposed N3-M-A1 vessels being built for the British, the British objected and the matter was taken to the Combined Chiefs of Staff
vessels were obtained and conversions begun.
(WSA).
aboard the Junior N. Van Noy was the 1071st Engineer Port Repair Ship Crew.
Section VI of FM-5-5 provides evidence the ship was organized as an Army Engineering unit with seamanship training differing in organization from a typical naval or commercial ship. A superseded organization chart found on page 23 of the manual shows an organization of Headquarters, Deck, Engine and Operating sections a bit more typical of a ships organization.
As a result all crews were to be brought to the East Coast and complete training under the jurisdiction of the Chief of Engineers with critical positions filled with personnel from civilian life with shipboard experience. The crews were assembled in late November at Fort Belvoir
in Virginia. The candidate specialists were then given specific training in schools on the East Coast with divers training on the salvage of the Normandie
in New York.
For a number of reasons the delivery of the converted ships was delayed and the crews could not combine training with actual shipboard experience. This was to cause difficulties until actual sailing for operations.
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...
as Engineer Port Repair Ships, also sometimes known as Port Rehabilitation ships, for use by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear war damaged harbors. The need was anticipated by 1942 for the post invasion recovery of ports in Europe and the Transportation Corps was assigned the responsibility to acquire and modify the ships that would be military crewed under the Corps of Engineers.
Requirement
The European Command had formed a request for port repair ships in 1942. Such a ship had never been required previously as ports were largely undamaged in World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and had no peacetime technical or economic purposehttp://140.194.76.129/publications/misc/un21/c-17.pdf United States Army in World War II - The Corps of Engineers: Troops and Equipment - Chapter XVII - Preparing to Reconstruct Ports. Experience in North Africa and particularly in Italy, where the port of Naples was almost completely destroyed and 350 to 400 vessels had been systematically sunk by the Germans, convinced the Allied command under Eisenhower that such vessels were a requirement.
Eisenhower had followed up an original request on 6 December 1942 after the North African experience with a requirement for five vessels of fourteen foot draft or less and about 275 feet in length. The U.S. Army Services of Supply
Services of Supply
The Services Of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supply became one of the three autonomous components of the...
assigned the task to the Transportation Corps (TC). After consideration the TC recommended a design that was originally a coastal transport and of which fourteen were being built under Navy contract. The Army wanted the diesel version, the Maritime Commission type N3-M-A1, while Navy wanted to give up the steam (N3-S-A1) version. At a meeting of the Navy's Munitions Assignments Committee the Army, Navy and Royal Navy all ruled the steam versions as unsuitable. Eventually a clear European requirement for five port repair ships manned by Army Engineers. After considerable dispute during which Navy proposed N3-M-A1 vessels being built for the British, the British objected and the matter was taken to the Combined Chiefs of Staff
Combined Chiefs of Staff
The Combined Chiefs of Staff was the supreme military command for the western Allies during World War II. It was a body constituted from the British Chiefs of Staff Committee and the American Joint Chiefs of Staff....
vessels were obtained and conversions begun.
Design
The ships were all modifications of cargo type vessels that were under construction or just launched. The conversions were to specialized vessels with the machine shops, diver support and heavy lift capacity to clear harbors of wreckage. A distinctive feature of the ships after conversion was the forty ton lift bow horn. They were slightly larger and similar in function and ultimate appearance to the Navy's Salvage Lifting Vessel (ARSD).Ships
All of the ships were cargo type conversions. The N3-M-A1 vessels were diesel powered ships of a coastal cargo design more commonly steam powered. They were in general transferred to Army on the day they were delivered to the Navy. None saw significant naval service before conversion. Some were converted from hulls without superstructure. One vessel was a World War I vintage cargo ship allocated to Army by the War Shipping Administration
War Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
(WSA).
Maritime Commission type N3-M-A1
Nine of the ten ships were Maritime Commission type N3-M-A1 cargo vessel hulls being built at Penn Jersey Shipbuilding for the U.S. Navy or Lend Lease. These were diesel powered versions of the Maritime Commission N3-S-A1 steam vessels.- Arthur C. Ely ex Tucana (AK-88) ex MV Symmes Potter
- Glenn Gerald Griswold ex Media (AK-83) ex MV Oliver R. Mumford
- Henry Wright Hurley ex Norma (AK-86) ex MV Sumner Pierce
- Joe C. Specker ex Vela (AK-89) ex MV Charles A. Ranlett
- Madison Jordan Manchester ex USS Hydra (AK-82) ex MV Eben H. Linnell
- Marvin Lyle Thomas ex MV Moses Pike later USNS Sagitta (T-AK-87)
- Richard R. Arnold ex Nashira (AK-85) ex MV Josiah Paul
- Robert M. Emery ex Mira (AK-84) ex MV William Nott
- Thomas F. Farrel Jr. ex Europa (AT-81) ex MV William Lester
WSA allocated
The other ship was the World War I vessel SS Josephine Lawrence (ex Covena) built by Great Lakes Engineering Works and allocated to Army by the WSA.- Junior N. Van NoyJunior N. Van Noy (ship)Junior N. Van Noy was a Great Lakes steamer converted as one of ten U.S. U.S. Army Port Repair ships to be operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in rehabilitating war damaged ports. The other nine ships were Maritime Commission type N3–M–A1 cargo ship hulls built under U.S. Navy supervision...
(ex Lawrence, ex Josephine Lawrence, ex Covena) a 3,000 ton, 277 feet long vessel with a beam of 43 feet and speed of 10 knots and the first of these ships to arrive overseas.http://www.history.army.mil/reference/normandy/TS/COE/COE16.htm | The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany: CHAPTER XVI Developing Beaches and Reconstructing Ports
Crews
The ships were crewed by Combat Engineers organized into formal Army units, the Engineer Port Repair Ship Crew. The first crew to arrive in the European Theater of OperationsEuropean Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...
aboard the Junior N. Van Noy was the 1071st Engineer Port Repair Ship Crew.
Organization
The Engineer Field Manual (FM-5-5) states:
f. The engineer port repair ship is divided into a headquarters section and an operating section. It maintains channel markings and other aids for pilots, and removes bstructions from channels or ship berths.
Section VI of FM-5-5 provides evidence the ship was organized as an Army Engineering unit with seamanship training differing in organization from a typical naval or commercial ship. A superseded organization chart found on page 23 of the manual shows an organization of Headquarters, Deck, Engine and Operating sections a bit more typical of a ships organization.
Early training difficulties
Though the ships were to be managed, operated and crewed by the Corps of Engineers (COE) the Transportation Corps (TC) had primary responsibility for obtaining, managing the shipyard modifications to COE and TC specifications and in initial crew training. The crews assembled on the West Coast in August 1943 under TC jurisdiction where they were put into training in nautical and technical fields. The COE was concerned about the qualifications and training thus establishing two investigative boards in San Francisco and Seattle composed of U.S. Coast Guard, COE and TC personnel to interview each candidate destined for ship deck or engine room operations on knowledge of navigation and seamanship. The results were less than desirable:
The board at San Francisco reported on 4 October that none of the three crews at that port could be trusted with a ship. In fact, there were not enough capable men in all three units to make one qualified crew.
As a result all crews were to be brought to the East Coast and complete training under the jurisdiction of the Chief of Engineers with critical positions filled with personnel from civilian life with shipboard experience. The crews were assembled in late November at Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Originally, it was the site of the Belvoir plantation. Today, Fort Belvoir is home to a number of important United States military organizations...
in Virginia. The candidate specialists were then given specific training in schools on the East Coast with divers training on the salvage of the Normandie
SS Normandie
SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat; she is still the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built.Her novel...
in New York.
For a number of reasons the delivery of the converted ships was delayed and the crews could not combine training with actual shipboard experience. This was to cause difficulties until actual sailing for operations.
Operations
Only five of the ten ships, the Junior N. Van Noy, Madison Jordan Manchester, Glenn Gerald Griswold, Thomas F. Farrel and Robert M. Emery made it to Europe in time for significant work. The remaining ships were not operational until 1945. Some of the modifications turned out not to be as useful as anticipated. The distinctive forty ton capacity bow horn in particular was seldom used. Navy salvage units had been operational earlier for heavy lift and the most valuable function of the ships may have been to centralize support, heavy maintenance and facilities for Army Engineers conducting repairs.External links
- United States Army in World War II - The Corps of Engineers: Troops and Equipment - Chapter XVII - Preparing to Reconstruct Ports
- The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany: CHAPTER XVI Developing Beaches and Reconstructing Ports
- Popular Science, October 1944: How Seagoing Shops Clear Captured Ports (illustrations)