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APA-55 Windsor

USS Windsor, a 13,143-ton attack transport, was built at Sparrows Point, Maryland. Originally begun as the merchant freighter Excelsior, she was taken over by the Navy while under construction and launched under the hull number AP-100, which was changed to APA-55 by the time she was commissioned in June 1943.

USS Leedstown, an 8600-ton Windsor class attack transport, was built at Baltimore, Maryland. Originally intended to become the commercial freighter Exchequer, she was taken over for Navy purposes while still in the early stages of construction, designated AP-101 and renamed Wood in October 1942. In February 1943 she was reclassified as an attack transport, receiving the new hull number APA-56. Renamed Leedstown in mid-March 1943, about a month after launching, she was commissioned in mid-July.

At least 230 attack transports (APA), the backbone of an amphibious war, sailed during the Second World War. By 2007, only five were in existence. One of the five, the only one in the Windsor class, was USS Queens (APA 103).

Note: APA-33 through APA-56 were originally designated AP-78 through AP-101, respectively. None of these ships had any service as APs.