USS Queens

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USS Queens (APA-103) was a Windsor-class attack transport that served the United States Navy in World War II. Named for Queens, a borough of New York City, she was built by Bethlehem Steel at Sparrows Point, Maryland. Laid down March 2, 1944, she was launched September 12, 1944, and commissioned December 16, 1944.

After training, Queens sailed to the Pacific. She carried about 1,250 troops to Iwo Jima in March 1945, began treating battle casualties, and later transported Marines and cargo to locations including Saipan and Hilo, Hawaii, before returning to the United States for repairs. She continued operating in the Pacific, delivering troops to Saipan and taking part in occupation transport duties in Japan and the Philippines before returning home. Queens was placed in inactive status in September 1945, decommissioned June 10, 1946, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register June 19, 1946.

Converted for civilian use, she became Excambion under the Maritime Commission in 1947 and was purchased by American Export Lines in 1948. In 1959 she was returned to MARAD and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet on the Hudson River. In 1965 she was loaned to the Texas Maritime Academy and renamed USTS Texas Clipper, serving as a training ship for about 30 years. On November 17, 2007, she was sunk as an artificial reef off South Padre Island, Texas.