How difficult would it be to convert modern cruise ships into troop transports during a global war?
Short answerBasic conversion is straightforward, but protection and troop concentration are the larger problems; air transport for personnel and sealift for equipment are suggested instead.
NotesModern cruise ships already carry thousands of people, so basic personnel transport would need relatively little conversion. Stripping interiors and increasing berth density could carry many more. Their limited speed removes an advantage enjoyed by fast wartime ocean liners, which could even exhaust the cruisers assigned to escort them. Concentrating something like a division in one hull also creates a valuable target for missiles and torpedoes. Carrier-group protection is suggested, but that would tie the group to the transport. Moving people by air and their equipment by sea is offered as the more practical modern division of work.