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USS Queens (APA-103)
Encyclopedia
USS Queens (APA-103) was a Windsor-class
attack transport
that served with the US Navy during World War II
. She was commissioned late in the war and initially assigned to transport duties; consequently she did not take part in any combat operations.
Queens was named after a county
in New York City
. She was laid down March 2, 1944 by Bethlehem Steel
at Sparrows Point, Maryland; launched September 12, 1944; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on loan charter December 16, 1944; and commissioned December 16, 1944, Capt. John J. Mockrish, USNR, in command.
, Queens reported for duty at Queens, New York, to Commander, Task Force 29, January 15, 1945. Sailing via Norfolk, Virginia
and the Panama Canal
, she arrived Pearl Harbor
February 7. After training, she departed Pearl Harbor March 2, carrying 1,250 Army and Navy troops.
Arriving via Eniwetok, she debarked troops at Iwo Jima
March 26. She began medical treatment for Iwo Jima casualties March 30. Departing Iwo Jima April 12 with 1,500 Marines, she proceeded via Guam
, Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor to Hilo, Hawaii, where she debarked troops April 25.
Following amphibious training, she left Pearl Harbor for San Francisco May 23, and proceeded to Everett, Washington
, for repairs. Sailing back to action via Pearl Harbor, she delivered troops and cargo to Saipan
July 11. After steaming non-stop from Saipan to San Francisco, arriving July 25, she delivered troops to Pearl Harbor August 11.
, Japan
, September 22, and then embarked Army infantrymen in the Philippines
, before returning to the United States
.
June 11. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
June 19, 1946.
, November 22, 1948 and renamed Excambion. On March 17, 1959, Excambion was returned to the Maritime Administration under a trade-in program. She was then laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
, Hudson River
Group from April 20, 1959.
The ship was loaned to the Texas Maritime Academy April 26, 1965, for service as a merchant marine officer training ship and renamed USTS Texas Clipper
. She continued serving in this role for the next thirty years, until being sunk as an artificial reef on November 17, 2007, seventeen miles off South Padre Island, Texas
.
Windsor class attack transport
The Windsor-class attack transport was a class of US Navy attack transport. Ships of the class saw service in World War II.Like all attack transports, the purpose of the Windsors was to transport troops and their equipment to foreign shores in order to execute amphibious invasions using an array of...
attack transport
Attack transport
Attack Transport is a United States Navy ship classification.-History:In the early 1940s, as the United States Navy expanded in response to the threat of involvement in World War II, a number of civilian passenger ships and some freighters were acquired, converted to transports and given hull...
that served with the US Navy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was commissioned late in the war and initially assigned to transport duties; consequently she did not take part in any combat operations.
Queens was named after a county
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She was laid down March 2, 1944 by Bethlehem Steel
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
at Sparrows Point, Maryland; launched September 12, 1944; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on loan charter December 16, 1944; and commissioned December 16, 1944, Capt. John J. Mockrish, USNR, in command.
World War II
Following shakedown and amphibious training in Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, Queens reported for duty at Queens, New York, to Commander, Task Force 29, January 15, 1945. Sailing via Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
and the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, she arrived Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
February 7. After training, she departed Pearl Harbor March 2, carrying 1,250 Army and Navy troops.
Arriving via Eniwetok, she debarked troops at Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
March 26. She began medical treatment for Iwo Jima casualties March 30. Departing Iwo Jima April 12 with 1,500 Marines, she proceeded via Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor to Hilo, Hawaii, where she debarked troops April 25.
Following amphibious training, she left Pearl Harbor for San Francisco May 23, and proceeded to Everett, Washington
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat of and the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Named for Everett Colby, son of founder Charles L. Colby, it lies north of Seattle. The city had a total population of 103,019 at the 2010 census, making it the 6th largest in the state and...
, for repairs. Sailing back to action via Pearl Harbor, she delivered troops and cargo to Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
July 11. After steaming non-stop from Saipan to San Francisco, arriving July 25, she delivered troops to Pearl Harbor August 11.
After hostilities
Loaded with 5th Amphibious personnel, she debarked occupation troops at SaseboSasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, September 22, and then embarked Army infantrymen in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, before returning to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Decommission
Assigned to inactive status in September 1945, Queens arrived Norfolk on April 29, 1946, decommissioned June 10, and was redelivered to the War Shipping AdministrationWar Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
June 11. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
June 19, 1946.
Postwar career
Queens was converted to Maritime Commission hull type P1-S1-DR1 in November 1947. She was purchased by American Export LinesAmerican Export-Isbrandtsen Lines
American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, New York, was the leading US-flag shipping company between the US east coast and the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1977, offering both Cargo ship services and Passenger ship services, until declaring bankruptcy and was acquired by Farrell Lines, New York.-American...
, November 22, 1948 and renamed Excambion. On March 17, 1959, Excambion was returned to the Maritime Administration under a trade-in program. She was then laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
National Defense Reserve Fleet
The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...
, Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
Group from April 20, 1959.
The ship was loaned to the Texas Maritime Academy April 26, 1965, for service as a merchant marine officer training ship and renamed USTS Texas Clipper
Texas Clipper
USTS Texas Clipper, 473 foot ship, served as a merchant marine training vessel with the Texas Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University at Galveston for 30 years beginning in 1965...
. She continued serving in this role for the next thirty years, until being sunk as an artificial reef on November 17, 2007, seventeen miles off South Padre Island, Texas
South Padre Island, Texas
South Padre Island is a town in Cameron County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Brownsville–Harlingen Metropolitan Statistical Area. It may be included as part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan areas. The population was 2,816 at the...
.
See also
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department video documenting the sinking of USTS Texas ClipperTexas ClipperUSTS Texas Clipper, 473 foot ship, served as a merchant marine training vessel with the Texas Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University at Galveston for 30 years beginning in 1965...
as an artificial reef.