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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Windsor (APA-55)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Uniform - Yankee
 NKUY
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (6) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (1)
Windsor Class Attack Transport
  • Laid down, 23 July 1942, as SS Excelsior, a Maritime Commission type (C3-S-A1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 589) at Bethlehem Steel Corp., Sparrow Point Shipyard, Sparrow Point, MD.
  • Assigned to the Navy as Naval Transport Windsor (AP-100)
  • Launched, 29 December 1942
  • Redesignated Attack Transport, (APA-55), 1 February 1943
  • Commissioned USS Windsor (APA-55), 17 June 1943, at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth VA., CDR. Douglas C. Woodward, in command
  • During World War II USS Windsor was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Eleven, COMO. D. W. Loomis USN (18)
    TransDiv Thirty-Three, CAPT. S. M. Haight USN (18) and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Marshall Islands operation
    Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 31 January to 4 February 1944     		Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, Peleliu, 6 September to 14 October 1944
    Hollandia operation
    Humboldt Bay landings, 21 to 26 April 1944
    Aitape landings, 1 to 5 May 1944     		Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 18 to 27 October and 14 November 1944
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Guam, 21 to 25 July 1944     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 25 July to 5 August 1945

  • Following World War II USS Windsor was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    6 to 15 September 1945 
    2 to 22 October 1945 
    18 November to 2 December 194518 November to 2 December 1945

  • Decommissioned, 4 March 1946, at Mobile, AL.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 12 April 1946
  • USS Windsor earned six battle stars for her World War II service
  • Transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal, 1 August 1946, at Chickasaw, AL.
  • Merchant Service
    Sold, 30 October 1946, to Todd Ship Building for conversion to merchant service
    Removed from Chickasaw, AL., 30 October 1946, by Moran Towing Co., and delivered to Todd Ship Building, Galveston TX. 30 October 1946
    Resold, 14 April 1947, to Shepard Steam Ship Co. renamed SS Paul Revere
    Resold, 9 September 1949, to American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, renamed SS Expeditor
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 9 May 1972 to Keun Hwa Iron Steel Works & Enterprise Ltd, Kaosiung, Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 7,950 t.(lt), 13,143 t.(fl)
    Length 473' 1"
    Beam 66'
    Draft 25'
    Speed 18.6 kts.
    Complement
    37 Officers
    429 Enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    88 Officers
    1,380 Enlisted
    Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
    Cargo Capacity, 1,600 DWT
    non-refrigerated 150,000 cu. ft.
    Armament
    three single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    two twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    eighteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 12,330 Bbls
    Diesel 675 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Bethlehem-Curtiss type geared turbine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 450psi, 742°
    single Falk Main Reduction Gears
    three 300Kw, 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 8,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Windsor (APA-55)
    Windsor 97k USS Windsor (APA-55) underway near Norfolk Navy Yard, 27 June 1943. This class was converted from hulls designed for the American Export Line, which retained in all of its new ships the old style counter stern visible here. The two anti-aircraft mounts forward of the 5"/38 gun on the stern are 1.1" quads.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo No. 80-G-48436, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Windsor 75k USS Windsor (APA-55) underway near Norfolk Navy Yard, 27 June 1943. This ship and her sister USS Leedstown (APA-56) had two sets of Welin davits near the bow in addition to the usual four amidships, as did all the units of the USS Ormsby (APA-49) and USS Sumter (APA-52) classes.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo No. 19-N-48434, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Windsor 320k USS Windsor (APA-55), underway, 27 June 1943, in the Pacific Ocean.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-71412, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Merchant Service American Export LInes
    Windsor 296k Ex-USS Windsor (APA-55) in service as the American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines SS Expeditor underway on the River Weser enroute to Bremen, Germany, March 1966 Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Windsor 123k SS Expeditor underway, date and location unknown.
    Photo from "Merchant Ships of World War II: A Post War Album 1" by Victor Young.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Windsor (APA-55)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Woodward, Douglas Castleberry, USNR17 June 1943 - 10 March 1945
    02CDR. Adams, Hugh Robert10 March 1945 - 31 October 1945
    03CDR. Bolton, Cliff Leonard31 October 1945 - 4 March 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Transport (AP) Photo Index Back To The Attack Transport (APA) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 11 August 2017