View source for Bayfield-class attack transport

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Bayfield (APA-33) at Charleston, South Carolina (USA), on 4 January 1950 (NH 99242).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Bayfield'' (APA-33) on 4 January 1950
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Bayfield''
|Builders=*[[Western Pipe and Steel Company|Western Pipe & Steel]]
*[[Ingalls Shipbuilding]]
|Operators={{Navy|United States}}
|Class before={{sclass|Ormsby|attack transport|4}}
|Class after={{sclass|Sumter|attack transport|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=
|In service range= 
|In commission range=1943–1945 – 1946–1970
|Total ships building= 
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=34
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=None
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= 
|Ship type=[[Attack transport]]
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement=8,100 tons, 16,100 fully loaded
|Ship length={{convert|492|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|69|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|26|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=Geared turbine drive,<ref>Built by either [[General Electric]] or [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation (1886)|Westinghouse]].</ref> 2 × D-type boilers,<ref>Built by [[Combustion Engineering]], [[Foster Wheeler]] or [[Babcock & Wilcox]].</ref> single [[propeller]], designed shaft [[horsepower]] 8,500
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed={{convert|18|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship boats=*12 × [[LCVP (United States)|LCVP]]
*4 × [[Landing Craft Mechanized|LCM]]
*3 × LCP(L)
|Ship capacity=*4,500–4,800 tons
*(175,000–200,000 cubic feet).
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=*Crew: 51 officers 524 enlisted
*Flag: 43 officers, 108 enlisted
*Troops: 80 officers, 1,146 enlisted
|Ship crew=
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*2 × single [[5-inch/38-caliber gun|5-inch 38 caliber dual purpose guns]], one fore and one aft
*2–4 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40mm cannon]] or 2 × quad [[1.1-inch/75-caliber gun]] mounts
*2 × single 40 mm cannon
*18 × single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20mm cannon]]
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''''Bayfield''-class attack transport''' was a class of [[US Navy]] [[attack transport]]s that were built during World War II.

With the entry of the United States into the war, it was quickly realized that amphibious combat operations on hostile shores would be required, and that specialized ships would be needed for the purpose. The so-called "attack transport" ship type ([[hull classification]] symbol ''APA'') was developed to meet this need. Attack transports were converted from standard transport vessels by being upgraded with extra firepower, and outfitted with a number of smaller integral landing craft (such as [[LCVP (United States)|LCVPs]] and [[Landing Craft Mechanized|LCM]]s) with which amphibious assaults could be conducted.

The first attack transports began to enter service in 1942 and were built ad hoc from a host of different types. The first class to be built in substantial numbers was the ''Bayfield'' class, which began to enter service in 1943. The early vessels were converted from existing cargo or transport ships, later ones built as attack transports from the keel up.

==Overview==
''Bayfield''-class vessels were based on the large [[Type C3 ship|Type C3]] passenger and cargo ship standard set by the US [[Maritime Commission]]. Originating in 1938, the C3 standard was designed to produce modern, good quality cargo and passenger ships to replace the ageing US [[merchant marine|merchant fleet]], and which could also be readily converted into naval auxiliary vessels in the event of war. After the war broke out however, the need for shipping became so great that the US was forced to come up with designs that could be more quickly manufactured. Thus the C3-based ''Bayfield'' class and its predecessors were eventually outnumbered by the {{sclass|Haskell|attack transport|4}} which was based on the simpler [[Victory ship]] design.

==Description==
[[File:USS DuPage (APA-41) underway at sea on 13 October 1943 (80-G-87138).jpg|thumb|A loaded ''Bayfield''-class attack transport underway, {{USS|DuPage|APA-41|6}}]]
''Bayfield''-class vessels were based upon the C3-S-A2 design standard. The basic design had to undergo a number of changes in order to meet the attack transport specification.

===Troop accommodation===

In order to accommodate the troops, two cargo holds amidships had to be converted into accommodation facilities. This was achieved by dividing each hold into three decks, and then building a number of passageways along each deck. Along both walls of each passageway, bunk-beds tiered five high were installed, and each bunk was only thirty inches wide.

The troops were provided with their own galley and mess hall separate from that of the ship's crew, but they had no dining hall and used their own mess gear to eat. A sick bay and dental clinic were also provided. The troop commander had his own private cabin and office, which was fitted with a loudspeaker system from which he could directly address the men under his command. In order to keep the soldiers entertained during their long, crowded voyages, music and other entertainment could be piped to the troop compartments.

===Ballast===

Because a troop transport carries less weight than a cargo ship, it was also found to be useful to use concrete as ballast in the bottom of the cargo holds in order to improve the comfort level for the ship's passengers, as well as increase safety and seagoing performance.<ref>Information for the "Ballast" and "Troop accommodation" sections comes from Maudsley, pp 75–76 (see references below).</ref>

===Weaponry===

Since attack transports would be conducting operations off hostile shores, they had a greater requirement for armament than ordinary transports, particularly in regards to antiaircraft defence. The ''Bayfield''-class vessels were well outfitted in this regard. Each vessel was fitted with a pair of [[5-inch/38-caliber gun|5"/38 caliber dual purpose]] guns, one fore and one aft. The ships were also fitted with between two and four twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm antiaircraft]] mounts (early examples came with two quad 1.1" gun mounts instead), plus two single 40&nbsp;mm mounts and eighteen [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm]] mounts as standard.

As the war progressed, the 20&nbsp;mm cannon were found to be less effective than the 40&nbsp;mm, and the later ''Gilliam'' and ''Haskell'' classes dispensed with some of these mounts. The later classes also had only one {{convert|5|in|mm|0|adj=on}} gun instead of two.

==Production==

A total of 34 ''Bayfield''-class vessels were produced between 1942 and 1944 – 20 by [[Ingalls Shipbuilding]] of [[Pascagoula, Mississippi]] and the remaining 14 at the [[San Francisco]] shipyard of [[Western Pipe and Steel Company|Western Pipe & Steel]] – making the ''Bayfield'' class the second most numerous attack transport class behind the ''Haskell'' class.

==Service==

''Bayfield''-class vessels served in both the [[Battle of the Atlantic|Atlantic]] and [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific theatre]]s of war. Some went on to see service in the [[Korean War|Korean]] and [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] wars.

Of the 388 attack transports (APA and AKA) of all types built, the last to see service with the US Navy was {{USS|Chilton|APA-38|6}},<ref>Mawdsley, page 141.</ref> a ''Bayfield''-class vessel built by Western Pipe & Steel which was launched on 29 December 1942, first commissioned on 7 December 1943 and decommissioned in August 1970. She was finally struck from the Navy register on 1 July 1972.

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/amphib/apa100.txt ''Bayfield''-class specifications], [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/ DANFS Online] ''(See class specifications. Note: the specification for a single 5"/38 gun is apparently a typo here, the ''Bayfield'' class had two of these guns as standard. Other specifications are correct).''
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/03/03033.htm USS ''Bayfield''] (a typical ''Bayfield''-class ship), Navsource Online.
*Mawdsley, Dean L. (2002): ''Steel Ships and Iron Pipe: Western Pipe and Steel Company of California, the Company, the Yard, the Ships'', [[Glencannon Press]] (for Associates of the National Maritime Museum Library), {{ISBN|1-889901-28-8}}.

{{Bayfield class attack transport}}

[[Category:Bayfield-class attack transports| Bayfield]]