Doyen - class attack transport The " Doyen " - class attack transport was a class of attack transport that saw service with the US Navy in World War II . Ships of the class were named after Generals of the United States Marine Corps . Like all attack transports , the purpose of the " Doyen " class was to transport troops and their equipment to hostile shores in order to execute amphibious invasions . To perform this task , attack transports were equipped with a substantial number of integral landing craft , and heavily armed with antiaircraft weaponry to protect themselves and their vulnerable cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone . Background . There were only two ships of the " Doyen " class . They were based on the Maritime Commission ' s P1 hull type , specifically the P1 - S2 - L2 type . Both were built by the Consolidated Steel Corporation of Los Angeles , California . Laid down as part of the Navy ' s 1940 fiscal program , they were each designed to carry a battalion of the Marine Expeditionary Force which was maintained on both coasts of the United States in peacetime . The lead ship , , was launched in July 1942 while her sister ship was not launched until the following November , but " Feland " was first to be commissioned , on May 22 , 1943 , about a month before " Doyen " . Both ships were reclassified from transports ( AP ) to attack transports ( APA ) while still dockside , in February 1943 . Description . The " Doyen " - class ships , at only 414 feet in length and with a displacement of 4 , 351 tons , were considerably smaller than most other classes of attack transport . However , it appears their troop carrying capacity was adequate , with " Feland " listed as able to carry 1 , 100 troops . No information is available on their cargo capacity . The " Doyen " s were also slightly faster than most other classes of attack transport , listed as having a top speed of 19 knots compared to the 16 – 18 knots of other classes . Like most of the early classes of attack transport , their main armament was four 3 " / 50 caliber gun s , later classes would be fitted with either one or two 5 " guns and considerably more 40mm weapons . The profile of the ships is somewhat unusual , as the aft funnel was shorter than the fore one . The two masts were also unusually close together amidships , mounted on the front and rear superstructure . The main deck was cut away at quarterdeck level and fitted with a special ramp aft for the launching of landing craft or the offloading of tanks and other heavy equipment . In service . Both vessels served exclusively in the Pacific Theatre , often on the same missions . The two saw action together at Tarawa , Saipan , Guam , Luzon and Iwo Jima . " Doyen " , however , saw additional action at Kiska in the Aleutians and at Kwajalein and earned six battle star s to " Feland " ' s five . Both returned to the United States shortly before the end of the war for overhaul , after which they each made one more journey to the Pacific , " Doyen " on a " Magic Carpet " mission , and " Feland " on a cargo mission . Like most other attack transports , they were then decommissioned in March 1946 and laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet . " Feland " was eventually scrapped in 1964 , but in 1959 " Doyen " received a new lease of life as TS " Bay State " , a training ship with the Massachusetts Maritime Academy . She was returned to the Maritime Commission in January 1974 and resold .