USNS Henry Gibbins (T-AP-183)

USNS Henry Gibbins (T-AP-183)

USNS Henry Gibbins (T-AP-183) was a troop transport that served with the United States Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) during the 1950s. Prior to her MSTS service, she served as US Army transport USAT Henry Gibbins during World War II. She later served with the New York Maritime Academy as TS Empire State IV and with the Massachusetts Maritime Academy as USTS Bay State.

Henry Gibbins was laid down as the fast banana boat Biloxi for the United Fruit Company under Maritime Commission contract by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company of Pascagoula, Mississippi, 23 August 1941; launched 11 November 1942; and delivered to the Army Transportation Service 27 February 1943. She was renamed Henry Gibbins and served the Army as a troop transport during World War II.

Following the war, the Henry Gibbins was refitted as a "war brides ship," a baby passenger liner. Three decks of cabins, lounges, two formal staircases, a formal dining room and substantial plumbing upgrades were installed, and the Army operated her to transport American military personnel and their dependents on a route between Bremerhaven and the US East Coast until she was transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1950.