 Exporter, the first C3 ship to be completed. Shown in 1943, after conversion by the US Navy to USS Hercules.
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | Type C2 |
| Succeeded by | Type C4 |
| Built | 1940–1947 |
| Completed | 238 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 7,800 gross tons |
| Displacement | 12,000 deadweight tons. |
| Length | 492 ft (150 m) |
| Beam | 69.5 ft (21.2 m) |
| Draft | 28.5 ft (8.7 m) |
| Installed power | turbine developing 8,500 hp |
| Speed | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) (designed) |
Type C3-class ships were the third type of cargo ship designed by the United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) in the late 1930s. As it had done with the Type C1 ships and Type C2 ships, MARCOM circulated preliminary plans for comment. The design presented was not specific to any service or trade route, but was a general purpose ship that could be modified for specific uses. A total of 162 C3 ships were built from 1939 to 1946.[1]
The C3 was larger and faster than the C1 and C2 contemporaries, measuring 492 feet (150 m) from stem to stern (vs. 459 feet (140 m) for the C2), and designed to make 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) (vs. 15.5 kn (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) for the C2). Like the C2, it had five cargo holds. A total of 465 of these ships were built between 1940 and 1947. A total of 75 ships were built with C3 hulls and engines, but not built as cargo ships.
During World War II, many C3 ships were converted to naval uses, particularly as Bogue-class escort carriers, and as Windsor-class and Bayfield-class attack transports, Klondike-class destroyer tenders, submarine tenders, and seaplane tenders.