The USS Dauphin (APA-97) was a Windsor-class attack transport constructed during World War II, serving with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. Launched on June 10, 1944, by Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard in Maryland under a Maritime Commission contract, the vessel was transferred to the Navy and commissioned on September 23, 1944. The ship was named after Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Designed as an attack transport, the Dauphin’s primary role was to carry troops, cargo, and casualties in support of amphibious operations. After initial training at Newport, Rhode Island, where she served as a duty ship for the precommissioning crews of 36 ships, she moved to Norfolk, Virginia, in January 1945 to load cargo. She then set sail for the Pacific Theater, arriving at Pearl Harbor in March 1945, where she embarked troops and combat cargo in preparation for the Okinawa operation. During the Okinawa campaign, the Dauphin arrived at Ulithi staging area and subsequently participated in landing reinforcements at Hagushi Beach from April 26 to 30, 1945. She also transported casualties and made subsequent voyages to Saipan and San Francisco. Afterward, she transported troops from New Guinea to the Philippines and supported occupation duties following Japan’s surrender, arriving in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. She continued to carry troops from the Philippines to Japan until October 1945 and later participated in Operation Magic Carpet, repatriating veterans from Japan and the Philippines. Decommissioned on April 3, 1946, at Norfolk, the Dauphin was transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal. She was sold into commercial service in 1948, converted into the passenger-cargo ship SS Exochorda, later renamed SS Stevens, and served as a floating dormitory for Stevens Institute of Technology. The vessel was scrapped in 1979. Throughout her service, the USS Dauphin earned one battle star for her contributions during World War II.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.