World War II Boats

During World War II many different types of ships were used to transport thousands of soldiers to and from Europe, Great Britain, Africa, Asia, Australia and the United States. The four main types of ships used throughout the war include: battleships, cruisers, cargo ships, destroyers and aircraft carriers. The allied forces were always in urgent need to replacement transport vessels, because ships were constantly being sunk by German submarines. German submarines successfully sunk 1,500 ships in the Pacific throughout the war.

The most massed produced cargo and transport vessel used during the Second World War was the Liberty ship. The British were responsible for the original design of this vessel, but the United States was responsible for mass producing it. Between 1941 and 1945 America mass produced 2,751 of these vessels, because they were relatively cheap and easy to manufacture. When the United States first began building these ships the shipyards required about 244 building days before a single boat could be completed, but eventually they ended up taking only forty-two days to be completed. These 14,245 ton cargo ships were used extensively throughout the war to transport troops and supplies around the world. These ships were capable of transporting hundreds of troops and tons of supplies across the oceans of the world. The Liberty ship was capable of traveling 23,000 miles, and this range made is a particularly useful wartime commodity.

World War II required troops to be transported not only across oceans, but also to battle. The ship that played the most important role of getting fighters to enemy shores was the Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) craft, also referred to as the Higgins boat. This was the boat transport responsible for moving troops to the Normandy invasion. This boat was designed by Louisiana resident Andrew Higgins, who based the design of the boat off of boats used to cross swamps and marshes. The Higgins boat was built using plywood and looked like a barge. It was capable of transporting a platoon of thirty-six men from carrier vessels to shore. The boat could travel at speeds of nine knots. Once the boat reached shore a ramp at the front of the vessel would be lowered and the platoon would charge over the ramp and into battle. The boat’s flat bottom and ramp made these boats somewhat difficult to control in the open ocean, but made them perfect for cruising right up on enemy beaches.

One of the most important ships used in World War was, undoubtedly, were the Battle Carriers. These ships played huge roles in fighting the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Coral Sea. The first large group of carriers was first created by the Imperial Japanese Navy, referred to as the Kido Butai. It was this group of carriers that was responsible for transporting the airplanes used against the United States during the attack on Pearl Harbor, which consequently launched America into World War II. The Kido Butai served the Japanese Navy until four of its carriers were sunk and destroyed during the battle of Midway, crippling the Japanese Navy.

Another notable vessel that played a significant role during World War II is what is commonly referred to as the PT boat. PT stands for “Patrol Torpedo.” These ships were relatively small vessels that were capable of traveling at fast speeds, twenty-nine to thirty-one miles per hour, in order to attack larger enemy ships. These boats typically weighed between thirty and seventy-five tons and were developed from designs of racing boats. Their fast speeds and smaller sizes made it possible for these boats to race to an enemy boat without being spotted or hit by gunfire and attack using torpedoes. These motor torpedo boats were smaller, faster and much cheaper to build than previous torpedo boats.

Because of the high amount of fighting that took place in the ocean, Crash Rescue Boats also played a vital role in the war. These were high speed rescue vessels that could race to the position of a crashed airplane pilot who had been shot down, or a boat that had been sunk—looking for survivors. The United States has 140 of these 85 foot boats, and saved many lives using them.