vessels were diesel powered ships of a coastal cargo design more commonly steam powered. Fourteen of these diesel powered versions of the Maritime Commission N3-S-A1 steam vessels were being built at Penn-Jersey Shipbuilding for the U.S. Navy or Lend Lease under contracts assumed by the Navy from the Maritime Commission effective 1 January 1943. Four hulls had been assigned to the British and five had been allocated to the Navy at the time of the Army's requirement. Ultimately the Army was allocated nine of the ten hulls originally allocated to Navy. The one exception was the ship already in Navy hands, the USS Enceladus (AK-80), that gave its name to a class of following vessels that were Navy only for administrative purposes during construction except for the USS Hydra (AK-82) that was transferred to Army after trials and before actual deployment. These are the remains of the Enceladus class that were in general transferred to Army a matter of weeks or even the day they were delivered to the Navy. Unfavorable experience with the Enceladus was involved in Navy's willingness to give up the rest of the hulls despite a critical need for small, shallow draft naval cargo vessels. None of the nine saw significant naval service before conversion. Some were converted from hulls without superstructure. One vessel was a World War I vintage cargo ship allocated to Army by the War Shipping Administration (WSA). Maritime Commission type N3-M-A1 Nine of the ten ships were Maritime Commission type N3-M-A1 cargo vessel hulls of 2,483 gross tons with a length of 291 feet by beam of 42 feet. Number one and two holds were fifty-six feet long with number three being twenty-eight feet in length. The conversion placed machine, welding and carpenter shops in number two hold along with generators and air compressors supporting engineering work. Number one hold was reserved for construction machinery with number three containing repair stock, portable generators, refrigerated stores and quarters. The ships carried portable salvage equipment, including diver support, five ton capacity crawler crane, other lifting equipment and a pontoon barge. The most notable feature was addition of a forty ton cathead derrick for heavy salvage. Arthur C. Ely ex Tucana (AK-88) ex MV Symmes Potter Glenn Gerald Griswold ex Media (AK-83) ex MV Oliver R. Mumford Henry Wright Hurley ex Norma (AK-86) ex MV Sumner Pierce Joe C. Specker ex Vela (AK-89) ex MV