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High-speed Transport
High-speed transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used in US Navy amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer. In 1969, the remaining ships were reclassified as "Fast Amphibious Transports", hull symbol LPR. APDs were intended to deliver small units such as Marine Raiders, Underwater Demolition Teams, and United States Army Rangers onto hostile shores. An APD could carry up to 200 troops - a company-size unit - and approximately 40 tons of cargo. It could also provide gunfire support if needed. was officially designated the Navy's first high-speed transport on 2 August 1940 when she became APD-1. Development Before the United States entered World War II, as newer and more modern destroyers joined the fleet, some older destroyers were refitted for other duties: as seaplane tenders, destroyer minelayers, or destroyer minesweepers, and in an innovation, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Barr (APD-39) Underway On 31 October 1944
USS ''Barr'' (DE-576/APD-39), originally a , and later a ''Charles Lawrence''-class fast transport of the United States Navy named for Pvt. Woodrow Wilson Barr of Keyser, West Virginia. ''Barr'' was laid down on 5 November 1943 at Hingham, Massachusetts, by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 28 December 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Cora Dell Barr, Pfc. Barr's mother; and commissioned on 16 February 1944. Namesake Woodrow Wilson Barr was born on 8 June 1918 in Keyser, West Virginia. He graduated from Parsons High School and following graduation worked for four years before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps on 13 January 1942. He completed his recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, Parris Island, South Carolina, followed by training at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Quantico. He was deployed to the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theatre as a part of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion. Barr was one of 45 Marines who were killed in act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4"/50 Caliber Gun
The 4″/50-caliber gun (spoken "four-inch-fifty-caliber") was the standard low-angle, quick-firing gun for the United States, first appearing on the monitor and then used on "Flush Deck" destroyers through World War I and the 1920s. It was also the standard deck gun on S-class submarines, and was used to rearm numerous submarines built with guns early in World War II. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 4 inches (10 centimeters) in diameter, and the barrel was 50 caliber. 4x50 meant that the barrel was 200 inches long, or 16 feet long . Design The original 4-inch/50-caliber Mark 7 gun, M1898, serial nos. 213–254, 257–281, 316–338, was an entirely new high-power design built-up gun with a tube, jacket, hoop, locking ring and screw breech. Gun No. 213 had a liner. The gun was described as a gun but with a 4-inch bore in the 1902 handbook, this indicated its higher power and also the fact the barrel was actually more the size of a 5-in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guadalcanal Campaign
The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific War, Pacific Theater of World War II. It was fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943, and involved major land and naval battles on and surrounding the island of Guadalcanal. It was the first major Allied land offensive against Japan during the war. In summer 1942, the Allies decided to mount major offensives in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands with the objectives of defending sea lines to Australia and eventually attacking the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The Guadalcanal operation was under the command of Robert L. Ghormley, reporting to Chester W. Nimitz, while the Japanese defense consisted of the Combined Fleet under Isoroku Yamamoto and the Seventeenth Army (Japan), Seventeenth Army under Harukichi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LCVP (United States)
The landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively by the Allied forces in amphibious landings in World War II. Typically constructed from plywood, this shallow-draft, barge-like boat could ferry a roughly platoon-sized complement of 36 men to shore at . Men generally entered the boat by climbing down a cargo net hung from the side of their troop transport; they exited by charging down the boat's lowered bow ramp. Designer Andrew Higgins based it on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes. More than 23,358 were built, by Higgins Industries and licensees.Herman, Arthur. ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II''.New York: Random House. . pp. 204-206. Taking the last letter of the LCVP designation, sailors often nicknamed the Higgins Boat the "Papa Boat" or "Peter Boat" to differentiate it from other landing craft such as the LCU and the LCM, with the LCM being called the "Mike Boat". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
5"/38 Caliber Gun
The Mark 12 5"/38-caliber gun was a United States dual purpose gun, dual-purpose Naval artillery, naval gun, but also installed in single-purpose mounts on a handful of ships. The 38-Caliber (artillery), caliber barrel was a mid-length compromise between the previous United States standard 5"/51 caliber gun, 5"/51 low-angle gun and 5-inch/25-caliber gun, 5"/25 anti-aircraft gun. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile in diameter, and the barrel was 38 Caliber (artillery), calibers long. The increased barrel length provided greatly improved performance in both anti-aircraft and anti-surface roles compared to the 5"/25 gun. However, except for the barrel length and the use of Shell (projectile)#Separate loading cased charge, semi-fixed ammunition, the 5"/38 gun was derived from the 5"/25 gun. Both weapons had power ramming, which enabled rapid fire at high angles against aircraft. The 5"/38 entered service on , commissioned in 1934, the first n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USS Charles Lawrence (DE-53)
USS ''Charles Lawrence'' (DE-53) was a of the United States Navy, commissioned in 1943. She was converted to a high-speed transport in 1944 and redesignated APD-37. After being decommissioned in 1946, she was finally scrapped in 1965. History USS ''Charles Lawrence'' was named in honor of Ordnanceman Charles Lawrence (December 29, 1916–December 7, 1941), who was killed in action during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941. ''Charles Lawrence'' was laid down on 1 August 1942 at the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., in Hingham, Massachusetts, launched on 16 February 1943, sponsored by Mrs S. Lawrence and commissioned on 31 May 1943. Battle of the Atlantic Assigned first to escort central Atlantic convoys of tankers between Norfolk, Virginia, and Casablanca, ''Charles Lawrence'' made one such voyage between 16 August and 24 September 1943. She was then transferred to the high-speed tanker convoys formed at New York City from ships which had sailed indepen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LCPR
The landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively by the Allied forces in amphibious landings in World War II. Typically constructed from plywood, this shallow-draft, barge-like boat could ferry a roughly platoon-sized complement of 36 men to shore at . Men generally entered the boat by climbing down a cargo net hung from the side of their troop transport; they exited by charging down the boat's lowered bow ramp. Designer Andrew Higgins Andrew Jackson Higgins (28 August 1886 – 1 August 1952) was an American businessman and boatbuilder who founded Higgins Industries, the New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans–based manufacturer of "LCVP (United States), Higgins boats" (Landi ... based it on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes. More than 23,358 were built, by Higgins Industries and licensees.Herman, Arthur. ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II''.New York: Random House. . pp. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LCPL
The Landing Craft Personnel (Large) or LCP (L) was a landing craft used extensively in the Second World War. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by the Eureka Tug-Boat Company of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Manufactured initially in boatyards in and around New Orleans, as requirements grew it was produced in a number of yards around the United States. Typically constructed of pine planks and plywood, and fitted with some armor plate, this shallow-draft boat with a crew of 3 could ferry an infantry platoon of 36 to shore at 8 knots (13 km/h). Men generally entered the boat by walking over a gangplank from the boat deck of their troop transport as the LCP(L) hung from its davits. When loaded, the LCP(L) was lowered into the water. Soldiers exited the boat by jumping or climbing down from the craft's bow or sides. Origins During the 1930s, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
K-gun
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarines by detonating in the water near the target and subjecting it to a destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosives with a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth from the surface. Depth charges can be dropped by ships (typically fast, agile surface combatants such as destroyers or frigates), patrol aircraft and helicopters. Depth charges were developed during World War I, and were one of the first viable methods of attacking a submarine underwater. They were widely used in World War I and World War II, and remained part of the anti-submarine arsenals of many navies during the Cold War, during which they were supplemented, and later largely replaced, by anti-submarine homing torpedoes. A depth charge fitted with a nuclear warhead is also known as a " nuclear depth bomb". These were designed to be dropped from a patrol plane or deployed by an an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Depth Charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...s by detonating in the water near the target and subjecting it to a destructive shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosives with a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth from the surface. Depth charges can be dropped by ships (typically fast, agile surface combatants such as destroyers or frigates), patrol aircraft and helicopters. Depth charges were developed during World War I, and were one of the first viable methods of attacking a submarine underwater. They were widely used in World War I and World War II, and remained part of the anti-submarine arsenals of many navies during the Cold War, duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oerlikon 20 Mm Cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models employed by both Allied and Axis forces during World War II. Many versions of the cannon are still used. Blowback-operated models History Origins During World War I, the German industrialist Reinhold Becker developed a 20 mm caliber cannon, known now as the 20 mm Becker using the advanced primer ignition blowback (API blowback) method of operation. This used a 20×70mmRB cartridge and had a cyclic rate of fire of 300 rpm. It was used on a limited scale as an aircraft gun on ''Luftstreitkräfte'' warplanes, and an anti-aircraft gun towards the end of that war. Because the Treaty of Versailles banned further production of such weapons in Germany, the patents and design works were transferred in 1919 to the Swiss firm SEMAG (''Seebach M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bofors 40 Mm Automatic Gun L/60
The Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60 (often referred to simply as the "Bofors 40 mm gun", the "Bofors gun" and the like, see #Name, name) is an Anti-aircraft warfare, anti-aircraft autocannon, designed in the 1930s by the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors. The gun was designed as an intermediate anti-aircraft gun, filling the gap between fast firing close-range small calibre anti-aircraft guns and slower firing long-range high calibre anti-aircraft guns. For its time, the Bofors 40 mm L/60 was perfectly suited for this role and outperformed competing designs in the years leading up to World War II in both effectiveness and reliability. It entered the export market around 1932 and was in service with 18 countries by 1939. Throughout World War II it became one of the most popular and widespread medium-weight anti-aircraft guns. It was used by the majority of the western Allies of World War II, Allies and some Axis powers such as Nazi Germany and Hungary. In the po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
