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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Mary Lyon (Navy) |
| Builder | Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi |
| Yard number | 255 |
| Laid down | 21 August 1939 |
| Launched | 12 October 1940, as Mormactide |
| Acquired |
|
| Commissioned | 13 September 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 3 May 1946 |
| Renamed | Lyon, 20 August 1942 |
| Honors and awards | 5 battle stars (World War II) |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 18 January 1972 |
| Notes | Official number: 240348 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type |
|
| Displacement | 7,954 long tons (8,082 t) |
| Length | 491 ft 8 in (149.86 m) |
| Beam | 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m) |
| Draft | 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam turbine, single shaft, 8,500 hp (6,338 kW) |
| Speed | 18.4 knots (34.1 km/h; 21.2 mph) |
| Complement | 429 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USS Lyon (AP-71) was a type C3 ship of the United States Navy which played an extensive role in naval transportation during World War II. The Lyon was built as Mormactide under a Maritime Commission (MC) contract by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company of Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was laid down 21 August 1939, and was launched on 12 October 1940; sponsored by Gloria McGehee.
Mormactide was the third ship to be built by Ingalls for Moore-McCormack Lines and was designed specifically for the South American trade. The ship was completed in April 1941 and turned over to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) for wartime operation in March 1942 when it was operated by Moore-McCormack for the WSA under a United States Army Transportation Corps agreement. In August the ship was transferred to the Custody of the War Department. On 20 August 1942 the ship was acquired by the Navy and was renamed the Lyon after Mary Lyon, the founder of Mount Holyoke College (then Mount Holyoke Female Seminary). (See also List of U.S. military vessels named after women.)
The Lyon was transferred for conversion to the Atlantic Basin Iron Works of Brooklyn, New York on 13 September 1942. The ship was commissioned on 16 September 1942. After the ship's service in World War II, the ship was decommissioned on 3 May 1946, and was returned to her owners, Moore-McCormack Lines. In 1966 the ship was acquired by Grace Lines and renamed the Santa Regina.