2D Class, Japanese Cargo Ships

U.S. Navy. Via ibiblio.org

Specifications:

The 2Ds were standardized cargo vessels built under the 1944 program of the Navy Ministry, whose Technical Bureau developed the designs based on work done by the Ministry of Communications in 1942. They were designed for mass production rather than commercial economy, like the American Liberty Ships. The ships therefore had a reduced number of transverse frames (weakening their hulls), although they retained full double bottoms. The design relied as heavily as possible on prefabrication. As with their American equivalents, special yards were set up for their construction. However, the Japanese yards lacked the cranes to lift prefabricated sections as substantial as 50 tons, as was common practice in American yards

These were powered by coal-fired reciprocating engines and had the deck house located at the rear of the ship to reduce shaft lengths.

These slow, fragile ships proved easy prey for submarine attack.

Production Schedule:

References:

Heal (2003)

Jentschura, Jung, and Mickel (1977)

Parillo (1993)

The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009 by Kent G. Budge. Index

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