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P2 configured as Navy auxiliary. U.S. Navy photo
| Tonnage | 17,951 gross register tons 11,450 tons light displacement 19,650 tons full displacement |
| Dimensions | 623' by 75'6" by 29' 190m by 23m by 9m |
| Maximum speed | 19 knots |
| Machinery |
2-shaft geared turbine (18,000
shp) 4 boilers |
| Range |
15,000 miles (28,000 km) |
| Passengers | 4500 to 4800 |
| Cargo |
36,000-48,000 cubic feet 1020-1360 cubic meters |
The Maritime
Commission
standard P2 transports were conventional peacetime designs adapted
for more rapid production. Their design was standardized in 1941
and they were intended to be a permanent part of the merchant fleet.
With war looming, first consideration was given to making them
effective transports, but they were intended to be operated by the
Grace or Moore-McCormack lines if war was somehow averted.
The specifications given above are for the
P2-S2-R2 variant built by Federal, nominally for Grace Line. The
P2-SE2-R1 variant built at Alameda, nominally for Moore-McCormack, had
a somewhat deeper draft (25' or 8m) and used turboelectric drive
generating a total power of 20,000 shp. All the P2s had sufficient
subdivision to be suitable military
transports, at some cost in economy for commercial use.
The design and production process was remarkably
swift and the first ships were delivered in July 1943. A total of 21
ships of this type were completed by the end of the war. Two more were
completed postwar for civilian use. The ships cost about $11.3 million apiece.
References
American
Merchant Marine at War (accessed 2008-2-29)
Wildenberg (1996)
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