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The 40th Engineer Combat Regiment was attached to, and ordered to provide amphibious support for, the 45th Infantry Division for the invasions of Sicily and Southern France. Starting with the amphibious training of the entire division in the Chesapeake Bay aboard the Monrovia, PA32, soldiers of the 40th had experience with many seagoing vessels. These vessels usually had identification numbers painted in large white letters and numbers on the hull. The Monrovia’s PA 32 number signified that it was preceded by 31 vessels in the PA series. The designation P was said to designate "Personnel." A was said to designate "Attack" or "Amphibious." Another frequently observed letter was K as on the Oberon, KA14. K was said to designate "Cargo."
40th News Editor, Don Jackson and 40th Historian, Al French have tried to identify as many ships as possible with which the 40th was associated. Occasionally a veteran of the 40th will mention some other ship that they remember being aboard. Some landing craft were identified by number only and the exact identity of some were not recorded and preserved. Listed below are names and numbers of most of the larger vessels with which soldiers of the 40th were involved.
AKA ?? Alcyone
AKA 2 Procyon
AP ?? Florence Nightingale
AP 77 Thurston
APA ?? Calvert
APA 5 Barnett (S.France)
APA 8 William P. Biddle
APA 9 Neville
APA 10 Harry Lee, LCI(L)196 (Sicily)
APA 12 Leonard Wood
APA 26 Samuel Chase (S.France)
APA 30 Thomas Jefferson
APA 33 Bayfield (S. France)
APA 89 Frederick Funston
KA 14 Oberon
PA ?? Charles Carroll
PA ?? Dickman
PA 32 Monrovia
PA 45 Henrico
In using the Naval Source link provided below, it is helpful to have the ship’s designation, number, and name to find a photo of the ship. By clicking the "Search" button on the linked site and reading the instructions, viewers may succeed in obtaining a picture of a ship they remember, or in the case of landing craft, a picture of the same type.