USS Tuscana (AKN-3)

USS Tuscana (AKN-3)

USS Tuscana (AKN-3) was an Indus-class net cargo ship in the service of the United States Navy in World War II. Probably named after a variant spelling of the constellation Tucana, it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.

Tuscana was laid down 5 December 1943 as liberty ship SS William R. Cox (MCE hull 2406) by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, under a Maritime Commission contract; launched on 29 December 1943; sponsored by Miss Cheshire Cox; acquired by the Navy under bareboat charter and renamed Tuscana on 8 January 1944; converted to a net cargo ship at Baltimore by the Maryland Drydock Co.; and commissioned on 28 March 1944, Comdr. Thomas J. Butler, USNR, in command.