Amphibious cargo ships, originally called attack cargo ships, were U.S. Navy ships designed specifically to carry troops, heavy equipment and supplies in support of amphibious assaults. Their original designation was AKA; this was changed to LKA in 1969. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... A troop is a military unit. ... This article is about a military strategy involving land troops dispatched from naval ships. ...

Compared to other cargo ship types, these ships could carry landing craft, were faster, had more armament, and had larger hatches and booms. Their holds were optimized for combat loading, a method of cargo storage where the items first needed ashore were at the top of the hold, and those needed later were lower down. Because these ships went into into forward combat areas, they had Combat Information Centers and significant amounts of equipment for radio communication, neither of which were present in other cargo ships. Landing craft Rapière LCU 1656 departs USS Bataan (LHD-5) well deck during Hurricane Katrina relief operations. ... A Combat Information Center (CIC), or Action Information Center (AIC) is the tactical center of a warship, manned and equipped to collect, present, manage, evaluate and disseminate information for the use of the embarked flag officer, commanding officer, and control agencies. ...

Amphibious Cargo Ship USS Rankin (AKA-103 / LKA-103)

As amphibious operations became more important in World War II, planners saw the need for a special kind of cargo ship—one that could carry both cargo and the LCM and LCVP boats with which to deliver it to the beach, and that carried guns to assist in air defense and shore bombardment. Specifications were drawn up, and beginning in early 1943, the first 16 U.S. Attack Cargo Ships were converted from Navy cargo ships that had previously been designated AK. During the course of the war, 108 such ships were built; many of them were converted from non-military ships, or started out as non-military hulls. They played a vital role in the Pacific War, and nine of them were present at the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945: This article is becoming very long. ... The Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) was a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. ... The Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively in World War II. The craft was designed by Andrew Higgins of Louisiana, based on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes. ... A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries goods and materials from one port to another. ... US landings in the Pacific, 1942–1945 The Pacific War was the part of World War II that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, 1937 to 1945. ... Representatives of Japan stand aboard the USS Missouri prior to signing of the Instrument of Surrender. ...

• USS Libra
• USS Medea
• USS Pamina
• USS Sirona
• USS Skagit
• USS Todd
• USS Tolland
• USS Whiteside
• USS Yancey

After the war, many AKA's were put into the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Others were converted for uses such as oceanographic surveying, undersea cable laying, and repairing other ships. The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) was established under Section 11 of the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 to serve as a reserve of ships for national defense and national emergency purposes. ...

Some of the reserve ships were recommissioned for service in the Korean War, and some stayed in service during the Vietnam War. Combatants Western Allied/UN combatants: Republic of Korea United States Britain Communist combatants: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea People’s Republic of China Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee Chung Il Kwon Douglas MacArthur Mark W. Clark Matthew Ridgway Kim Il-sung Choi Yong-kun Peng Dehuai Strength Note: All... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~520,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead...

Six more amphibious cargo ships, somewhat larger and of improved design, were built between 1954 and 1969.

In 1969, the U.S. Navy redesignated all its AKA attack cargo ships as LKA amphibious cargo ships. At the same time, the other "A" designations of amphibious ships were changed to similar "L" designations. For example, the all the APAs were redesignated as LPAs.

In the mid 1990s, both the United States Navy and the Royal Navy developed amphibious transport docks which took on this unique amphibious role. The last amphibious cargo ship in the U. S. Navy, USS El Paso (LKA-117), was decommissioned in April, 1994. The United States Navy (also known as USN or the U.S. Navy) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... The dock of HMS Albion An amphibious transport dock (also called a landing platform dock or LPD) is a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. ...

See also

• Andromeda-class attack cargo ship
• Arcturus-class attack cargo ship
• Artemis-class attack cargo ship
• Charleston-class amphibious cargo ship
• Tolland-class attack cargo ship
• List of attack cargo ships of the United States Navy (AKA)
• List of amphibious cargo ships of the United States Navy (LKA)

The Charleston-class amphibious cargo ship was a class of amphibious cargo ships in the United States Navy. ... This is a list of amphibious assault ships of the United States Navy. ... This is a list of amphibious assault ships of the United States Navy. ...

External links

• NavSource Online: Attack Cargo Ship (AKA), Amphibious Cargo Ship (LKA)
• 51 Years of AKAs