Adirondack-class command ship

Summary

The Adirondack-class command ship was a ship class of command ships of the United States Navy during World War II and the Cold War. All 3 ships were converted from the Type C2-S-AJ1 cargo ships.[1]

USS Adirondack in 1951
Class overview
NameAdirondack class
BuildersNorth Carolina Shipbuilding Co.
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byMount McKinley class
Succeeded byBlue Ridge class
Built1944–1945
In service1945–1969
Planned3
Completed3
Retired3
General characteristics
Type
Displacement
  • 7,240 t (7,126 long tons), light load
  • 12,750 t (12,549 long tons), full load
Length459 ft 3 in (139.98 m)
Beam63 ft (19 m)
Draft24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)
Installed power
  • 1 × propeller
  • 6,000 shp (4,474 kW)
  • 450 psi (3,103 kPa)
Propulsion
Speed16.4 knots (30.4 km/h; 18.9 mph)
Capacity
Complement
  • 54 officers
  • 579 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Aviation facilitiesHelicopter deck

Development edit

Three type C2 cargo ships were converted into command ships for the United States Navy throughout the later stages of World War II. After the war, all were modernized with new radars and decommissioned by 1969 to later be scrapped.

The ship's hull remained nearly the same but with new equipment to carry out her purpose now placed on deck alongside several cranes. The ships' armaments had been slightly changed and relocated in order for the ships to carry out their new roles.[1] All ships served in the Pacific Theater until the end of the war with no ships lost in combat.

Ships in the class edit

Adirondack class command ship[2]
Hull no. Name Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Recommissioned Decommissioned Fate
AGC-15 Adirondack North Carolina Shipbuilding Co. 18 November 1944 13 January 1945 2 September 1945 4 April 1951 9 February 1955 Scrapped, 7 November 1972
AGC-16 / LCC-16 Pocono 30 November 1944 25 January 1945 29 December 1945 18 August 1951 ? Scrapped, 9 December 1981
AGC-17 / LCC-17 Taconic 19 December 1943 10 February 1944 16 January 1945 - 17 December 1969 Scrapped, 1 March 1982

References edit

  • Photo gallery of USS Adirondack at NavSource Naval History - lead ship of the class (other AGC ships listed as well)
  • United States Navy. 1959-1991. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
  • Thomas Jane, Frederick. 1974. Jane's Fighting Ships. Sampson Low, Marston and Company.
  • 2002. U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-250-1.
  1. ^ a b U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. 2002. ISBN 1-55750-250-1.
  2. ^ Thomas Jane, Frederick (1974). Jane's Fighting Ships. Sampson Low, Marston and Company.