As newer and more modern destroyers began joining the fleet some of the old ships were assigned to other duties such as tending seaplanes, laying or sweeping mines, or for a newer innovation in modern warfare, carrying fully equipped troops for assault landings as fast transports.

The exigencies of the campaign for Guadalcanal, where neither side enjoyed the overwhelming local naval and air supremacy which insured victory in every other amphibious operation of the war, necessitated an increase in the number of high-speed transports, hybrid warships which combined the functions of transports and destroyers into one. The concept of the high-speed transport embodied sufficient armament for the ship to defend herself against smaller warships and to support the troops she carried with sufficient speed to enable her to outrun more heavily armed ships. Guadalcanal, a 2,510 square mile (6,500 km²) island in the Pacific Ocean and a province of the Solomon Islands, is largely a jungle. ... The word amphibious or amphibian, when used alone, has several possible meanings in the English language. ... USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range attackers (originally torpedo boats, later submarines and aircraft). ...

During the modifications forward funnels were removed as the forward boiler and fire rooms were converted to accommodate troops, and the torpedo tubes came off to accommodate four sets of davits and four 36-foot landing craft to put her embarked troops ashore. Though the ships retained a four-gun main battery configuration, the obsolete single purpose 4-inch guns were swapped for more up-to-date dual-purpose 3-inch/50 calibre guns and antiaircraft defenses were further augmented by the addition of several single 20-millimeter Oerlikons and .50-caliber machine guns. A modern torpedo, historically called a self-propelled torpedo, is a self-propelled guided projectile that (after being launched above or below the water surface) operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ... Landing craft Rapière A landing craft is a type of boat used to convey infantry and vehicles on to a shore during an assault from sea to land. ...

The ships which served as high speed transports conducted some of the most back-breaking work of the war. They transported troops to beachheads, served as escorts for transports and supply vessels, conducted anti-submarine patrols and survey duties, operated with underwater demolition teams and commando units, performed messenger and transport duties, conveyed passengers and mail to and from forward units, and were involved in minesweeping operations. All the time they were subjected to attacks by aircraft, submarines, surface ships and kamikazes. Many of the ships suffered damage of some sort and a number were sunk during their operations. Anti-submarine warfare is a term referring to warfare directed against submarines. ... The French Navy commando Jaubert storm the Alcyon in a mock assault. ... An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... USS Los Angeles A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ... A kamikaze, a Mitsubishi Zero in this case, about to hit the USS Missouri. ...