This is a List of World War II vessel types of the United States using during World War II. This list includes submarines, battleships, minelayers, oilers, barges, pontoon rafts and other types of water craft, boats and ships. this list is not complete.
Army
Under the Army organization of 1940, the Army Quartermaster was charged with the responsibility of providing the Army with all water transport services except those specifically authorized; for the Corps of Engineers in river and harbor work, for the Coast Artillery Corps in mine planting, and for the Signal Corps in cable laying (the Army had no communication ships at this time). In March 1942, most of the transportation functions of the Army Quartermaster were consolidated into the Transportation Division of the newly created Services of Supply and later that same year, on July 31, the Transportation Corps was established.
Coast Artillery Corps Mine Planter Service
The Army Mine Planter Service was responsible for the minefields of the Coast Artillery Corps' coast defenses. The largest vessels of the service were the U.S. Army Mine Planter (USAMP), which was equipped to install mines and associated control cables. Smaller vessels known as "junior mine planters" or "pup planters", were occasionally employed as mine planters, but they mostly served as freight and passenger boats for river and harbor duty with the Harbor Boat Service. In addition to the mine planters, there were distribution box boats, used for servicing the mine-cable distribution boxes and rugged utility boats called motor mine yawls.
Mine ships
One example is:
Wallace F. Randolph (MP-7) (ex FS-70)
Signal Corps
Cable ships
One example is:
USASPB Col. William. A. Glassford (BSP-2098)
Communication ships
Army communications ships in the South West Pacific theater of World War II provided radio relay services and acted as command posts for forward elements ashore.
Surviving examples include:
PCER-848
(S-195, CSQ-1)
Schooners
Argosy Lemal (S-6) Harold (S-58, CS-3) Geoanna (IX-61, TP-249, S-382, CS-1) Volador (IX-59, TP-248, S-385, CSM-1)
Transportation Corps - Water Division
South West Pacific Area (SWPA) - Services of Supply (USASOS)
Operated in the Southwest Pacific Area.
Small Ships Section
As there was a need for a fleet of shallow-draft vessels that could navigate among coral reefs, use primitive landing places far up the coast of New Guinea, and land along the outlying islands. An "S" fleet under Army control was created using local Australian vessels crewed largely by civilian Australians and New Zealanders. It was a miscellaneous collection of luggers, rusty trawlers, old schooners, launches, ketches, yawls, and yachts.
Water Branch - Army Transport Service (ATS) The Army Transport Service (ATS), originating with the Quartermaster Corps in 1898 and continuing into Transportation Corps as a division, operated the Army's large ships, most of which were transports, but ATS also manned the Army's large cable ships.
Troop ships
Troop ships included the following.
Surviving examples include:
USAT Agwileon
USAT George Washington
USAT Orizaba
Sunk
USAT Cynthia Olsen (sunk December 7, 1941) USAT Meigs USAT Liberty USAT General John McE. Hyde
Cargo ships over 1,000 tons
Cargo ships moved freight around the world.
Harbor Branch - Harbor Boat Service (HBS)
FM 55-130 Small Boats and Harbor Craft
Harbor Vessels
The Harbor Craft Company is organized for the purpose of ferrying to shore cargo from freighters and transports arriving in theaters of operation. The vessels may either be riding offshore at anchor in the open sea or more likely, anchored in a harbor. Cargo from the ships is loaded by Transportation Corps port company personnel onto barges. Then tugs, tow boats, or marine tractors propel the barges to the shore for unloading. Any cargo too heavy for the vessel's gear to lift is handled by a 60-ton floating crane.