USS Queens (APA-103) at anchor, c. 1945 |
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| Career (USA) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Queens (APA-103) |
| Namesake: | A borough in New York City |
| Builder: | Bethlehem Steel |
| Laid down: | March 2, 1944 |
| Launched: | September 12, 1944 |
| Sponsored by: | Miss Jeanne L Fogle |
| Acquired: | December 16, 1944 |
| Commissioned: | December 16, 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | June 10, 1946 |
| Struck: | June 19, 1946 |
| Fate: | Sunk as an artificial reef off Texas, November 17, 2007 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Windsor-class attack transport |
| Displacement: | 7,970 tons (lt), 13,143 t. (fl) |
| Length: | 473 ft 1 in (144.20 m) |
| Beam: | 66 ft (20 m) |
| Draft: | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Propulsion: | Bethlehem geared turbine drive, 2 x Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, single propeller, designed shaft horsepower 8,000 |
| Speed: | 17 knots |
| Capacity: |
Troops: Officer 94 Enlisted 1,463 Cargo: 150,000 cu ft, 1,600 tons |
| Complement: | Officer 42 Enlisted 434 |
| Armament: | 1 x 5"/38 caliber dual-purpose gun mounts, 2 x Bofors 40mm gun mounts, 2 x twin 20mm gun mounts, 18 x single 20mm gun mounts |
| Notes: | MCV Hull No. 1677, hull type C3-S-A3 |
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.
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Following shakedown and amphibious training in Chesapeake Bay, 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.
Loaded with 5th Amphibious personnel, she debarked occupation troops at Sasebo, Japan, September 22, and then embarked Army infantrymen in the Philippines, before returning to the United States.
Assigned to inactive status in September 1945, Queens arrived Norfolk on April 29, 1946, decommissioned June 10, and was redelivered to the War Shipping Administration June 11. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register June 19, 1946.
Queens was converted to Maritime Commission hull type P1-S1-DR1 in November 1947. She was purchased by American Export Lines, 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.
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