Did US ships have distilling equipment to address the fresh-water shortages during the invasion of Peleliu?
Short answerThey did, but operational demand from personnel, weapons cooling, and ships running in short bursts overwhelmed the available production capacity.
NotesUS ships could make fresh water, yet the invasion consumed it faster than their systems could replace it. Troops drank more, water was needed to cool equipment such as mortars, and ships operating in repeated short bursts imposed additional machinery demand, turning nominal capacity into a serious logistics shortfall.