View source for Windsor-class attack transport

{{Short description|Type of WWII US naval vessel}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin |infobox caption=''Windsor''-class}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Windsor (APA-55) underway in harbour, circa in 1943 (NH 97870).jpg
|Ship caption={{USS|Windsor|APA-55}}, [[lead ship]] of the ''Windsor'' class, 1943
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Builders=*[[Bethlehem Steel]] (x7)
*[[Ingalls Shipbuilding]] (x2)
|Operators={{navy|United States}}
|Class before=[[Doyen-class attack transport|''Doyen'' class]]
|Class after=[[Ormsby-class attack transport|''Ormsby'' class]]
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=
|In service range=
|In commission range=June 1943 - June 1946
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=9
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=None
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[attack transport]]
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement=7,970 tons (lt), 13,132 t. (fl)
|Ship length={{convert|472|-|492|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|66|-|69.5|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|25|-|26.5|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
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|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=Steam turbine engine, single propeller, {{convert|8000|shp|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed={{convert|18|kn}}
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=Troops: Officer 94 Enlisted 1,463
Cargo:{{convert|150000|cuft|abbr=on}}, 1,600 tons
|Ship complement=91 officers, 522 enlisted
|Ship crew=
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship troops=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=Variable, but usually 1 x [[5"/38 caliber gun|5"/38 caliber]] dual-purpose gun mounts, 2 x [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40mm gun]] mounts, 2 x twin [[Oerlikon 20mm cannon|20mm gun]] mounts, 18 x single 20mm gun mounts
|Ship armour=
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|Ship notes=[[Maritime Commission|MCV]] hull types C3-S-A1, C3-S-A3, possibly also C3-S-A2 or C3-S1-A3
}}
|}

The '''''Windsor''-class attack transport''' was a class of nine [[US Navy]] [[attack transport]]s. Ships of the class saw service in [[World War II]].

Like all attack transports, the purpose of the ''Windsor''s was to transport troops and their equipment to foreign shores in order to execute [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] invasions using an array of smaller [[landing craft|assault boats]] integral to the attack transport itself. The class was well armed with [[antiaircraft]] weaponry to protect itself and its cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone.

==Class history==
The ''Windsor'' class is inconsistently documented in the US Navy's official ''[[Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]]'' (DANFS). Its class of nine ships were based upon three variants of the [[Maritime Commission]]'s ubiquitous [[Type C3 ship|C3 cargo]] type; unusually, they appear to be of more than one subtype.  This is probably reflects the class entering service in fits and starts, the first two vessels from June 1943 and the remaining seven between July 1944 and January 1945.

The early ''Windsors'' were based upon the C3-S-A1 hull, followed by several on the C3-S-A3; however, the last two, {{USS|Griggs|APA-110}} and {{USS|Grundy|APA-111}}, have length, beam and draft specifications which are inconsistent with their listed subtype, but consistent (in larger length and beam) with the C3-S-A2 hull.<ref>Outboard Profiles of Maritime Commission  Vessels: C3 Cargo Ship, Sub-Designs and Conversions [http://drawings.usmaritimecommission.de/drawings_c3.htm]</ref>

Also, ''Griggs'' and ''Grundy'' were built by [[Ingalls Shipbuilding]] in [[Pascagoula, Mississippi]], where the large majority of C3-S-A2 based ships subsequently modified to {{sclass|Bayfield|attack transport}}s were produced.  The other seven ''Windsors'' were built by [[Bethlehem Steel]] at its [[Sparrows Point Shipyard]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland]] where few if any ''Bayfields'' were built.

Since ships of a given class usually have the same dimensions either the ''Windsor''-class was constructed of three different C3 hull types, which would make it quite unusual, or DANFS has listed the subtype incorrectly.

Other unusual aspects in regards to this class is that they are listed with a variety of different armaments. Early models had two five-inch guns while the later ships had only one; the ''Leedstown'' was at least initially fitted with 1.1" antiaircraft guns instead of 40mm; and ''Griggs'' is listed with 8 x 40mm guns and no 20mm, whereas the other ships are listed with a maximum of 2 x 40mm and 22 x 20mm. The ''Windsor''s also appear to be more lightly armed than most other attack transport classes, particularly with respect to the 40mm weapon which was considered far more effective than the 20mm gun which comprised most of the ''Windsor''{{'}}s armament.

===In service===
Ships of the ''Windsor'' class served exclusively in the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theatre]]. The first two ships of the class, the {{USS|Windsor|APA-55}} and {{USS|Leedstown|APA-56}}, were built and commissioned in mid-1943, much earlier than the later units. Consequently, they saw much more action, both earning at least five [[battle star]]s. The next two were not commissioned until at least July 1944 and only saw three combat operations between them. The remaining five ships arrived too late to see combat and served out the war on transport and training missions.

After [[V-J Day]], the ''Windsor''s, like virtually all classes of attack transport, were assigned first to transporting fresh troops to occupation missions in [[Japan]] and its former occupied territories such as [[China]] and [[Korea]], and later to [[Operation Magic Carpet]], the giant sealift organized to bring millions of demobilizing servicemen back to the [[United States]].

The class as a whole was subsequently demobilized in early 1946, and the individual ships sold into commercial service, mostly as cargo ships. Most of the ships were scrapped in the early-to-mid-1970s, having enjoyed overall service lives of approximately 30 years. A notable exception was the {{USS|Queens|APA-103}}.  Following her refurbishment and service as passenger-cargo ship SS ''Excambion'', she was loaned to the [[Texas Maritime Academy]] in April 1965 and spent the next 30 years as training ship [[Texas Clipper|USTS ''Texas Clipper'']]. She was finally decommissioned in 1995 and sunk as an artificial reef in 2007.  Another ''Windsor'' class ship, {{USS|Dauphin|APA-97}} served as passenger-cargo ship {{SS|Exochorda}} before becoming dormitory ship {{SS|Stevens}} for [[Stevens Institute of Technology]] in 1967.

==Ships in class==
* {{USS|Windsor|APA-55|2}}
* {{USS|Leedstown|APA-56|2}}
* {{USS|Adair|APA-91|2}}
* {{USS|Dauphin|APA-97|2}}
* {{USS|Dutchess|APA-98|2}}
* {{USS|Queens|APA-103|2}}
* {{USS|Shelby|APA-105|2}}
* {{USS|Griggs|APA-110|2}}
* {{USS|Grundy|APA-111|2}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==

See the individual DANFS ship entries (APA numbers 55, 56, 91, 97, 98, 103, 105, 110 and 111) in the [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/amphib/ DANFS Online] amphibious ship index.

{{Windsor class attack transport}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Windsor Class Attack Transport}}
[[Category:Windsor-class attack transports| ]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States| ]]
[[Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States| ]]