High-speed transport

High-speed transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used in US Navy amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer. In 1969, the remaining ships were reclassified as "Fast Amphibious Transports", hull symbol LPR.

APDs were intended to deliver small units such as Marine Raiders, Underwater Demolition Teams, and United States Army Rangers onto hostile shores. An APD could carry up to 200 troops - a company-size unit - and approximately 40 tons of cargo.^[1] It could also provide gunfire support if needed. USS Manley was officially designated the Navy's first high-speed transport on 2 August 1940 when she became APD-1.^[2]