The Arcturus-class attack cargo ships were converted from other ship types by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Chester, Pennsylvania, Tampa Shipbuilding Co. in Tampa, Florida, and Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Kearny, New Jersey during World War II. Like all AKA's, they were designed to carry combat loaded military cargo and landing craft, and to use the latter to land weapons, supplies, and troops on enemy shores during amphibious operations. All these ships were built on the same standard hull design, but there were some differences from ship to ship: