It's classification, and descriptive name alone tell much about its construction and purpose...Characterizing the APc-1 class of vessel as Small Coastal Transport recognizes first its size; at 103 feet bow to stern, and 21 feet wide at the beam, it most assuredly qualifies as "small" in comparison to the 800 foot battleships and 900 foot aircraft carriers of the day...Its 9 1/2 foot draft allowed it to navigate in the shallow littoral waters where no larger ship could even approach, making it well suited for resupplying coastwatchers who were reporting enemy activities among the remote Pacific islands, or delivering needed materials to otherwise inaccessible military outposts among the far-flung islands...As a "transport," it could move a contingent of fully equipped battle troops three times its own crew size of 21...Or it could ferry loads of fuel, ammunition, food and other needed supplies into coastal waters unapproachable by larger cargo ships...
Originally designed to accommodate four 20mm cannon in single mounts, they were later reduced to two cannon, one fore and one aft...This did not prevent enterprising crewmen from appropriating the occasional .50 Caliber Browning machine gun left unguarded by a careless armorer, and mounting it on their ship for use in sweeping a coastal jungle, or firing at any enemy scout planes...However the 20mm guns would be a better choice for anti-aircraft use with a supply of flak shells and the right altitude fuses...Even a reinforced enemy coastal gun emplacement could suffer considerable damage from AP or HE rounds...But the guns would have had more of a defensive purpose, as the unarmored APc's would not be the choice of rides for any inbound assault team...
APc is now listed as an inactive classification symbol by the US Navy, as its purpose has been largely supplanted by other vessels...Although the APc's were listed as transports by the Navy, I have a vague memory of my uncle telling briefly of repairing battle damage on a destroyer to get it back to a forward repair facility...They were truly multi-purpose vessels, although being wooden hulled, they would have been easy pickings for anything heavier than a Japanese Arisaka rifle...Of course not many Japanese could have dodged 20mm fire long enough to get close with a 7.7 mm infantry rifle, but a lucky shot from a hidden coastal position might have scored...
In a recent publication this author included some construction and crew details on APc-48 specifically...I'll reprint them here as they seem pertinent:
"APc-48 (Coastal Transport [small]) attached to APc Flotilla Five, was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater...This was a wooden-hulled boat approximately 100 feet in length, powered by a 400 HP diesel engine...Knowing my uncle's mechanical abilities, I'm sure it produced every pony in that herd...
Information
concerning APc-48 in particular, or the APc-1 class it stemmed from, is sketchy
at best, but I've uncovered several sources with some data...These ships were
too small to be included in any naming convention with other craft such as destroyers,
cruisers and larger vessels received, thus they were designated by class and
number only...
Many
companies, both established and newly minted, were awarded new government contracts
to produce the designs, components, and provide production, assembly and
testing of America's suddenly expanding wartime armament...An online authority,
NavSource tells that APc-48 was originally laid down as a coastal minesweeper,
AMc-190, in San Diego by Lynch Shipbuilders on 6/6/1942...At some point between
then and its commissioning, it was re-designated as a Coastal Transport
(small)...
Following
its launch and sea trials, it was commissioned on 4/30/1943 under the command
of Lt.(jg) Dwight D. Currie, USNR...The scant information available for its
first commander shows he survived the war, only to die in Missouri in 1949 of
unknown causes...
APc-48
joined the Asiatic Fleet as part of APc Flotilla Five, Group 15, Division 29,
under the command of Lt. DV Horsburgh, USNR...Records indicate that Lt.
Horsburgh may have used APc-29 as a
flagship for his flotilla, which saw combat service in the "Consolidation
of the Solomon Islands Campaign" at approximately this same time...For
this reason, I suspect APc-48 may have also been involved, possibly in a
support role, although the record shows no campaign ribbon awarded to APc-48,
as was attached to that of APc-29...
Lt.
(jg) LL McCormick assumed command of APc-48 at an unknown date or location
following its commissioning...I find no death records nor further service
records for Lt. Horsburgh, nor Lt. McCormick...
From
there, records of APc-48's wartime service are lost in NavSource, although two
photos of it are shown underway with dates and locations unknown...It was
decommissioned 4/1/1946 in San Francisco...From that point it served new owners
in a variety of civilian uses as a freighter, whaling vessel and even a private
yacht after it sank while docked, and was subsequently raised, salvaged and
rebuilt...It outlived my uncle by at least 40 years as no further documentation
for it is listed after 2009...
It's
motive power was provided by an engine produced by the newly created (for the
war) Cleveland Diesel Engine Division of General Motors Corporation...This
company produced two-stroke diesel engines for various power generators, ships
and even submarines, many of which engines are still in service well into the
21st century...
The
particular engine installed in APc-48 was an 8 cylinder of almost 2,000 cubic
inches of displacement, rated at 400 shaft horsepower...This same workhorse of
an engine also powered two 30KW onboard generators providing 120 volt
electrical service as needed...Fuel capacity was 14.5 barrels, plus however
much more the crew could steal (sorry, I meant outsource), and stow aboard...
After
the war, the Cleveland Division went on to produce many engines for both
military and civilian applications, eventually being folded into GM's
Electro-Motive Division, manufacturer of engines for mining service and rail
locomotives...APc-48's armament was originally four 20mm cannons in single
mounts installed for defensive purposes...It was common for enterprising
crewmembers (such as my uncle) to heist and mount additional Browning .50
caliber machine guns to supplement
these...Anything larger would have added unwanted weight thereby reducing
performance, and the heavier recoil would have been destructive to the lightly
built hulls of these ships...
APc-48
was served by a contingent of three officers and 22 enlisted men, of whom my
uncle was one...I've often thought that he would have gotten a chuckle from the
military's differentiation between "men" and "officers" (he
and I were both well aware of which group did the work, and which group took the
credit)...In addition, it could carry up to 66 troops and their combat gear to
and from assignments..."
One of my most commonly used sources for basic information, Wikipedia, has nearly nothing to offer about the small coastal transports, listing it mainly as a type of navy vessel...This is to be expected as the smaller, and more utilitarian ships rarely had more than a support role in combat operations...It's also understandable that it's difficult to raise any level of excitement over a ship which the Navy did not deem significant enough to bestow upon a heroic name, one which might raise the excitement of the war-bond buying public upon whom the government depended for funding to continue pressing the enemy toward its ultimate defeat...
APc-48's seaworthiness was proven as it journeyed from San Diego to the South Pacific for wartime duty in April 1943, and made the trip back to San Francisco in December, 1945, where it was decommissioned...The timing seems right as my uncle's service began in 1943, and ended with his honorable discharge in 1946...
APc-48's seaworthiness was proven as it journeyed from San Diego to the South Pacific for wartime duty in April 1943, and made the trip back to San Francisco in December, 1945, where it was decommissioned...The timing seems right as my uncle's service began in 1943, and ended with his honorable discharge in 1946...
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