USS Windsor (APA-55) was an 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...

 built for the U.S. 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 served in the Pacific Ocean and provided troop transport service. She returned home at war’s end with five battle stars to her credit.

The steel-hulled

Hull (watercraft)

A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...

, single-screw cargo vessel was laid down as SS Excelsior under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 589) on 23 July 1942 at Sparrow's Point, Maryland, by the Bethlehem Sparrow's Point Shipyard; renamed Windsor and classified a transport, AP-100, on 5 October 1942; launched on 28 December 1942; sponsored by Miss Patricia Moreell, the daughter of Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 Ben Moreell

Ben Moreell

Admiral Ben Moreell was the chief of the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks and of the Civil Engineer Corps. Best known to the American public as the Father of the Navy's Seabees, Admiral Ben Moreell's life spanned eight decades, two world wars, a great depression and the evolution of the...

, Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks

Bureau of Yards and Docks

The Bureau of Yards and Docks was the branch of the United States Navy responsible from 1842 to 1966 for building and maintaining navy yards, drydocks, and other facilities relating to ship construction, maintenance, and repair....

; reclassified an attack transport, APA-55, on 16 June 1943; and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia

Portsmouth, Virginia

Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...

, on 17 June 1943, Commander D. C. Woodward in command.

Shakedown cruise

Windsor began her shakedown

Shakedown cruise

Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Shakedown cruises are also used to familiarize the ship's crew with operation of the craft....

 on 20 June and conducted eight training cruises in Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake 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...

. After post-shakedown availability, the ship departed the east coast of the United States on 9 December, bound for the Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. Upon reaching 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...

, Windsor became a unit of Transport Division (TransDiv) 4, 5th Fleet Amphibious Force

Amphibious Ready Group

An Amphibious Readiness Group of the United States Navy consists of a Navy element—a group of warships known as an amphibious task force —and a landing force of United States Marines , in total about 5,000 people. Together, these elements and supporting units are trained, organized, and equipped...

.

Kwajalein

Windsor embarked the men and equipment of the 3d Battalion, 17th Regimental Combat Team, 7th Army Division, and departed the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

 on 22 January 1944, bound for the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

 as part of Task Force (TF) 52. Windsor participated in the assault landing at Kwajalein

Kwajalein

Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...

 and, after the island had been secured early in February, sailed for the Ellice Islands

Gilbert and Ellice Islands

The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate from 1892 and colony from 1916 until 1 January 1976, when the islands were divided into two different colonies which became independent nations shortly after...

.

Diversion to Humboldt Bay

Reaching Funafuti

Funafuti

Funafuti is an atoll that forms the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 4,492 , making it the most populated atoll in the country. It is a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide, with a surface of...

 soon thereafter, Windsor there joined the 3rd Fleet and was subsequently ordered to Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

, Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

, for amphibious training and maneuvers. After shifting to Torokina

Torokina

Torokina is a coastal village on the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. It is located on the western coast of that island, at ....

, Bougainville

Bougainville Island

Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...

, on 28 March and to Milne Bay

Milne Bay

Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....

, New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

, on 1 April, the attack transport was assigned to the 7th Fleet Amphibious Forces late in April.

Meanwhile, on 22 April, the 7th "Amphibs" had put ashore Army troops at Hollandia

Jayapura

Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....

 and took the Japanese

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

 completely by surprise. However, the following evening, a Japanese air raid

Airstrike

An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...

 blew up a captured ammunition dump

Ammunition dump

An ammunition dump, ammunition compound, ammunition depot, bomb dump, ammunition supply point or ammo dump, is a military storage facility for live ammunition and explosives....

 and ensuing fires destroyed nearly 60 percent of the supplies landed.

As a result, Windsor—initially ordered to Tanahmerah Bay—was diverted to Humboldt Bay, Hollandia, as part of the effort to replenish the lost supplies. Upon arriving there on 24 April, she landed troops of the 2d Battalion of the American Army's 34th Infantry Division. Simultaneous with the landings at Tanahmerah and Humboldt Bays, the 7th Amphibious Force also put troops ashore to secure Aitape

Aitape

Aitape is a small town of about 8,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of the highway between these two capitals...

 and its vital airstrip. Windsor participated in the Aitape landing, putting ashore various units of the 32nd Division on 3 May.

Windsor left New Guinea's waters on 7 May and headed for the Solomons, arriving at Guadalcanal three days later. At the end of May and the beginning of June, the attack transport embarked units of the 3rd Marine Division, left the Solomons on 4 June, and headed for the Central Pacific Area. She anchored first at Eniwetok and later at Kwajalein to prepare for and to await orders to begin her next operation, the occupation of 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...

, in the Marianas

Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...

.

Saipan

However, the amphibious forces first headed for 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...

 -— regarded by some as the key to Japan's inner defenses. The assault on that island

Battle of Saipan

The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June-9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was...

 on 15 June resulted in the Japanese Fleet's challenging the Americans for the first time since the Battle of Midway

Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...

, two years before. In the ensuing Battle of the Philippine Sea

Battle of the Philippine Sea

The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...

, on 19 and 20 June 1944, the enemy suffered heavily, losing three carriers. In the two-day battle, the Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 lost nearly 92 percent of its carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

-based aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

 (395 planes) as opposed to 130 planes lost by TF 58, the fast carrier task force under Vice Admiral

Vice Admiral

Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

 Marc A. Mitscher.

Guam

Meanwhile, the unexpectedly stiff resistance on Saipan and the sortie of the Japanese Fleet had necessitated a delay in the landings on Guam. Finally, as part of Task Group (TG) 53.3, Windsor took part in the assault landings on Guam, landing troops of the 2d Battalion, 3d Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division, on D-Day

D-Day

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

, 21 July, following close on the heels of intensive naval gunfire and carrier-based aircraft attacks. The attack transport put ashore her battle-garbed marines on the Asan

Asan, Guam

Asan is a village located on the western shore of the U.S. territory of Guam. The municipality of Asan-Maina combines Asan with Maina, a community in the hills to the east. It was a primary landing site for United States Marines during Guam's liberation from the Japanese in World War II. Asan...

 beaches on the northern shores of Guam.

Peleliu

After the capture of the Marianas, the Navy turned its attention to the Western Caroline Islands

Caroline Islands

The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...

. Fast carrier task forces ranged a wide area prior to the landings at Peleliu

Peleliu

Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu forms, along with two small islands to its northeast, one of the sixteen states of Palau. It is located northeast of Angaur and southwest of Koror....

, Palau Islands, and Morotai

Morotai

Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...

, in the Netherlands East Indies, diverting or destroying Japanese forces that might have attempted to interfere with the invasion. Their planes struck Chichi Jima, 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...

, Yap

Yap

Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four...

, Palau, and Mindanao

Mindanao

Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...

, 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...

. Three days before the assault troops were slated to go ashore, ships and planes hurled an intensive air and surface bombardment against the Japanese defenses, while minesweeper

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

s cleared the waters off Peleliu and Angaur

Angaur

Angaur or Ngeaur is an island in the island nation of Palau. The island, which forms its own state, has an area of 8 km² . Its population is 188 . State capital is the village of Ngeremasch on the western side...

 Islands, and underwater demolition teams destroyed beach obstructions. On 15 September, Windsor participated in the assault landings at Peleliu, putting ashore various elements of the 1st Marine Division, as part of TF 32.

Leyte

Following the successful landings on Peleliu, Windsor retired to Humboldt Bay and there was assigned to TF 78. A month later, the attack transport sortied as part of TF 78, bound for the Philippine Islands. While the ships proceeded north, the initial assault on Leyte

Leyte

Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...

 began on 20 October when elements of the Army 10th and 24 Corps went ashore after heavy bombardment had softened up defenses ashore. Two days after D-Day, 22 October, Windsor arrived at Leyte; completed her unloading in record time; and stood out to sea later that day, bound once more for Humboldt Bay.

Under attack

There, Windsor embarked another group of reinforcements and headed back toward Leyte on 9 November, as part of TF 79. One day out of San Pedro Bay

San Pedro Bay (Philippines)

San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east-west and 20 km north-south. The bay is bounded on the north and east by Samar and on the east by Leyte Island. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The...

, their destination, the task force came under an attack by Japanese planes that lasted for three hours. Windsor emerged unscathed and put into San Pedro Bay on the morning of 14 November, commencing her unloading at 0804 and completing it at 1315, having disembarked the troops and equipment of the 32d Division. During that time, Japanese planes attacked the ships at 0900; but antiaircraft fire from the vital auxiliaries and their escorts, coupled with Army fighter planes, drove off the enemy. At the completion of that particular reinforcement operation, Windsors historian recorded: "The unloading time of five hours and nineteen minutes, averaging 95.9 tons per hour, was a new record for this ship and equalled by very few of the other transports in the Task Force."

General repairs

Proceeding from San Pedro Bay later on the 14th, Windsor steamed to Manus

Manus Island

Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...

, in the Admiralty Islands

Admiralty Islands

The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...

, and moved thence to Tulagi

Tulagi

Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...

, Florida Island, Guadalcanal. Departing Tulagi on 27 November, Windsor headed for San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

. The attack transport subsequently underwent general repairs at Moore's Shipyard

Moore Dry Dock Company

Moore Dry Dock Company was a ship repair and shipbuilding company in Oakland, California. It was started in San Francisco in 1905 as the Moore & Scott Iron Works, but was destroyed by fire in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It reopened soon and in 1909 purchased the Boole Shipyard in Oakland....

, Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

, from 13 December 1944 to 16 February 1945.

More troop transportation

She sailed for Hawaiian waters on 22 February. Routed onward to the western Pacific, Windsor departed Pearl Harbor on 20 March, with a contingent of construction battalion ("Seabees")

Seabee

Seabees are members of the United States Navy construction battalions. The word Seabee is a proper noun that comes from the initials of Construction Battalion, of the United States Navy...

 troops embarked, and made calls at Eniwetok, Guam, and Samar

Samar

Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...

, in the Philippines, discharging passengers and cargo in Guiuan roadstead

Roadstead

A roadstead is a place outside a harbor where a ship can lie at anchor. It is an enclosed area with an opening to the sea, narrower than a bay or gulf. It has a surface that cannot be confused with an estuary. It can be created artificially by jetties or dikes...

, Samar, on 9 April. The attack transport lay off Samar for nearly two weeks before she received onward routing to return to San Francisco and, on her ensuing voyage, touched at Peleliu, Guam, Saipan, Tinian

Tinian

Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....

, and Pearl Harbor to pick up passengers. From San Francisco, Windsor headed up the west coast to Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

, where she loaded general cargo and troops. She then returned to Pearl Harbor, reaching that port on 11 June and debarking the troops and discharging the cargo.

Shifting to Honolulu, Windsor there picked up troops slated for transportation to Okinawa and, as part of Task Unit (TU) 96.6.15, proceeded to Hagushi Beach, where she remained from 25 July to 5 August. During that time, the attack transport, together with other warships in the vicinity, came under almost nightly attacks from Japanese planes but emerged unscathed. Windsor then sailed for Ulithi

Ulithi

Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...

 in Convoy OKU-17, reaching her destination on 10 August.

End-of-war activity

While Windsor lay at anchor at Ulithi lagoon, Japan accepted the unconditional surrender terms of the Potsdam Declaration

Potsdam Declaration

The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender is a statement calling for the Surrender of Japan in World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S...

; and hostilities ceased on 14 August.

On 19 August, Windsor, as part of TU 94.18.12, proceeded to the Philippines, reaching Leyte on the 23rd. From there, she proceeded to the island of Cebu

Cebu

Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...

, in the southern Philippines, where she was assigned to Trans Div 53, TF 33.

After embarking troops of the American Division and supplies on 31 August, Windsor sailed for Japan as part of the Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 occupation force. As the initial increments went ashore between 8 September and 10, within a week of the formal Japanese surrender on 2 September, Windsor landed her troops. The attack transport returned to Cebu, loaded equipment, and embarked the troops of the Army's 77th Division, and landed that unit at Hakodate, Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

, in early October.

After the occupation of Japan, Windsor served under the aegis of Commander, Service Force, Pacific, reporting for duty with Operation Magic Carpet on 19 November. She remained in that duty for the remainder of 1945, participating in the massive sealift of returning sailors, soldiers, and marines

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 to the United States.

Post-War decommissioning

After reporting to Commander, Western Sea Frontier, for disposition on 8 January 1946, Windsor received onward routing and transited 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...

 late in January, bound for the 8th Naval District. Decommissioned on 4 March 1946, Windsor was struck from the Navy list on 12 April 1946 and delivered to the War Shipping Administration

War 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....

, at Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

, on 1 August 1946, for disposition.

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