The civilian ferries carried roughly 1,800 passengers on short crossings, while their landing-ship configuration carried 372 troops plus 60 landing-craft personnel on longer deployments. The Royal Navy rated them at 22 knots rather than the civilian 24.2 knots, while worldwide service demanded greater endurance, stores, and protected accommodation. Their stated battery was two 12-pounder guns, two 2-pounder pom-poms, four 20 mm Hotchkiss guns, and two .303 machine guns, all of which added crews and maintenance demands. Eight heavy davits likewise required operators and maintainers separate from the personnel who drove the landing craft. Gun crews, davit teams, and three continuous watches helped expand the naval complement from 58 to 167, making the conversion an operationally different warship rather than a ferry with boats added.
Chapter · 12:11-16:27
From 1,800 passengers to 372 assault troops
Long-range military service traded ferry passenger capacity for troops, landing-craft crews, weapons, stores, and a much larger ship's company.