P2 transport explained

The P2 transport was a United States Maritime Commission design for a passenger ship which could be readily converted into a troop transport. Three variants of the design were built, the P2-SE2-R1 (Admirals), P2-S2-R2 (Generals), and P2-SE2-R3 (Presidents).

Admirals

Ten P2-SE2-R1 ships were ordered by the Maritime Commission in World War II. The ships were laid down by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Alameda, California. The intended use of these ships after the war was trans-Pacific service. As ordered, the ships were named after U.S. Navy admirals. Only eight ships were completed as troop transports for the navy, with the last two ships canceled on 16 December 1944. Despite being canceled, the last two ships were completed after the war to the P2-SE2-R3 design as civilian ships.

In 1946 the ships were all decommissioned by the navy and transferred back to the Maritime Commission, and from there to the United States Army. The army operated them with civilian crews as part of the Army Transport Service and renamed them after generals of the United States Army. In 1950 the ships were transferred back to the navy, but not recommissioned. Instead they were assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service, manned by a civil service crew, and keeping the names the army had given them.

United States Navy	Army Transport Service	Military Sea Transportation Service
	USAT General Daniel I. Sultan	USNS General Daniel I. Sultan (T-AP-120)
	USAT General Hugh J. Gaffey	USNS General Hugh J. Gaffey (T-AP-121)
	USAT General Alexander M. Patch	USNS General Alexander M. Patch (T-AP-122)
	USAT General Simon B. Buckner	USNS General Simon B. Buckner (T-AP-123)
	USAT General Edwin D. Patrick	USNS General Edwin D. Patrick (T-AP-124)
	USAT General Nelson M. Walker	USNS General Nelson M. Walker (T-AP-125)
	USAT General Maurice Rose	USNS General Maurice Rose (T-AP-126)
	USAT General William O. Darby	USNS General William O. Darby (T-AP-127)
	Canceled 16 December 1944 and completed as civilian passenger liners.

Generals

Eleven P2-S2-R2 ships were ordered by the Maritime Commission in World War II. The ships were laid down by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Kearny, New Jersey. The intended use of these ships after the War was for South American service. As ordered, the ships were all named after United States Army generals.

Unlike the Admirals, the Generals did not have a relatively uniform life after World War II. Three were transferred to the Army as the Admirals had been, of which one was disposed of by the Army and converted to a passenger liner before the Korean War. Five were retained by the Navy and were transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service in October 1949 to be manned by civilian crews, and two others were transferred to American President Lines with the intent of being converted to a passenger liners, but ended up being chartered troop ships that in the Korean War were rejoined to military control as part of the Military Sea Transportation Service.

Ships in class

Ship name	Hull no.	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Post USN - service names	Fate
General John Pope	AP-110	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey	14 July 1942	21 March 1943	5 August 1943	12 June 1946	USAT General John Pope USNS General John Pope (T-AP-110)	Scrapped
General A. E. Anderson	AP-111			2 May 1943	5 October 1943	10 November 1958	USNS General A. E. Anderson (T-AP-111)	Scrapped in Taiwan, July 1987
General W. A. Mann	AP-112		1942	Unknown	13 October 1943	11 December 1965	USNS General W. A. Mann (T-AP-112)
General H. W. Butner	AP-113			19 September 1943	11 January 1944	28 January 1960	USNS General H. W. Butner (T-AP-113)
General William Mitchell	AP-114		Unknown	31 October 1943	19 January 1944	1 December 1966	USNS General William Mitchell (T-AP-114)	Scrapped at Taiwan, 1988
General George M. Randall	AP-115		20 July 1943	30 January 1944	15 April 1944	2 June 1961	USNS General George M. Randall (T-AP-115)	Sold for scrap, 8 May 1975
General M. C. Meigs	AP-116		22 September 1943	13 March 1944	3 June 1944	1 October 1958	SS General M. C. Meigs USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116)	Broken up after being stranded on 9 January 1972
General W. H. Gordon	AP-117		2 November 1943	7 May 1944	29 Jun 1944	April 1970	SS General W. H. Gordon USNS General W. H. Gordon (T-AP-117)	Scrapped 1987, Taiwan
General W. P. Richardson	AP-118		2 February 1944	6 August 1944	15 April 1944	14 February 1946	USAT General W. P. Richardson SS La Guardia SS Leilani SS President Roosevelt SS Atlantis SS Emerald Seas SS Sapphire Seas SS Ocean Explorer I	Scrapped in India, 2005
General William Weigel	AP-119		15 March 1944	3 September 1944	6 January 1945	10 May 1946	USAT General William Weigel USNS General William Weigel (T-AP-119)	Scrapped 1987, Taiwan
General J. C. Breckinridge	AP-176			18 March 1945	30 June 1945	1 December 1966	USAT General J. C. Breckinridge USNS General J. C. Breckinridge (T-AP-176)	Scrapped 1988, Taiwan

Presidents

As noted above, the last two Admirals were canceled in 1944 while under construction. They were completed to the P2-SE2-R3 design and operated by American President Lines as the (ex-USS Admiral D. W. Taylor) and the (ex-USS Admiral F. B. Upham). The President Wilson was later renamed SS Oriental Empress when sold to C.Y. Tung in 1978.

References

• United States Maritime Commission P-Type Passenger Ships
• The Ships List: American President Lines