View source for Doyen-class attack transport

{|{{Infobox Ship Begin}}
{{Infobox Ship Image
|Ship image=[[Image:USS Feland APA-11.jpg|300px]]
|Ship caption={{USS|Feland|APA-11}}, a ship of the ''Doyen'' class
}}
{{Infobox Ship Class Overview
|Name=''Doyen''-class
|Builders=[[Consolidated Steel]]
|Operators={{navy|United States}}
|Class before=[[Frederick Funston class attack transport|''Frederick Funston'' class]]
|Class after=[[Windsor class attack transport|''Windsor'' class]]
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=1942 – June 1943
|In service range=
|In commission range=May 22, 1943 – March 20, 1946
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=2
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=2
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox Ship Characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=
|Ship type=[[Maritime Commission|MCV]] hull type P1-S2-L2
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement=4,351 tons (lt), 6,720 tons (fl)
|Ship tons burthen=
|Ship length={{convert|414|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|56|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|19|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=Geared [[turbine]] drive, twin screws, 8,000-8,800 [[horsepower]]
|Ship speed={{convert|19|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=''Troops:'' 1,100
|Ship complement=453
|Ship crew=
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship troops=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=4 x [[3"/50 caliber gun|3"/50 caliber]] dual-purpose guns, variable secondary
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''''Doyen''-class attack transport''' was a class of [[attack transport]] that saw service with the [[US Navy]] in [[World War II]]. Ships of the class were named after Generals of the [[United States Marine Corps]].

Like all attack transports, the purpose of the ''Doyen'' class was to transport troops and their equipment to hostile shores in order to execute [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] invasions. To perform this task, attack transports were equipped with a substantial number of integral [[landing craft]], and heavily armed with [[antiaircraft]] weaponry to protect themselves and their vulnerable cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone.

==Background==

There were only two ships of the ''Doyen'' class. They were based on the [[Maritime Commission]]'s P1 hull type, specifically the P1-S2-L2 type.  Both were built by the [[Consolidated Steel Corporation]] of [[Los Angeles, California]].

Laid down as part of the Navy's 1940 fiscal program, they were each designed to carry a battalion of the [[Marine Expeditionary Force]] which was maintained on both coasts of the [[United States]] in peacetime. The [[lead ship]], {{USS|Doyen|APA-1|2}}, was launched in July 1942 while her sister ship {{USS|Feland|APA-11|2}} was not launched until the following November, but ''Feland'' was first to be commissioned, on May 22, 1943, about a month before ''Doyen''. Both ships were reclassified from transports (AP) to attack transports (APA) while still dockside, in February 1943.

==Description==

The ''Doyen''-class ships, at only 414 feet in length and with a displacement of 4,351 tons, were considerably smaller than most other classes of attack transport. However, it appears their troop carrying capacity was adequate, with ''Feland'' listed as able to carry 1,100 troops. No information is available on their cargo capacity.

The ''Doyen''s were also slightly faster than most other classes of attack transport, listed as having a top speed of 19 knots compared to the 16–18 knots of other classes. Like most of the early classes of attack transport, their main armament was four [[3"/50 caliber gun]]s, later classes would be fitted with either one or two [[5"/38 caliber gun|5" guns]] and considerably more [[Bofors 40 mm gun|40mm]] weapons.

The profile of the ships is somewhat unusual, as the aft funnel was shorter than the fore one. The two masts were also unusually close together amidships, mounted on the front and rear superstructure. The main deck was cut away at [[quarterdeck]] level and fitted with a special ramp aft for the launching of landing craft or the offloading of tanks and other heavy equipment.

==In service==
Both vessels served exclusively in the [[Pacific Theater of Operations|Pacific Theatre]], often on the same missions. The two saw action together at Tarawa, Saipan, Guam, Luzon and Iwo Jima. ''Doyen'', however, saw additional action at [[Kiska]] in the [[Aleutians]] and at [[Kwajalein]] and earned six [[battle star]]s to ''Feland'''s five.

Both returned to the [[United States]] shortly before the end of the war for overhaul, after which they each made one more journey to the Pacific, ''Doyen'' on a [[Operation Magic Carpet|''Magic Carpet'']] mission, and ''Feland'' on a cargo mission. Like most other attack transports, they were then decommissioned in March 1946 and laid up in the [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]].

''Feland'' was eventually scrapped in 1964, but in 1959 ''Doyen'' received a new lease of life as TS ''Bay State'', a training ship with the [[Massachusetts Maritime Academy]]. She was returned to the [[Maritime Commission]] in January 1974 and resold.

==References==

*See the individual ship articles from DANFS Online for [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/amphib/apa1.htm ''Doyen'' APA-1] and [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/apa11.htm ''Feland'' APA-11]. See also the relevant ship pages from the Navsource Online [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/03/03idx.htm amphibious transport index].
*[http://drawings.us-maritime-commission.de/drawings_passenger.htm Maritime Commission drawings].

{{Doyen class attack transport}}

[[Category:Doyen-class attack transports| ]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States| ]]
[[Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States| ]]

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Doyen''-class attack transport}}