USS Arthur Middleton (AP-55/APA-25) was a transport in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Arthur Middleton, a member of the Continental Congress. African Comet, ordered as American Banker, was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 106) on 1 July 1940 at Pascagoula, Mississippi, by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation, launched on 28 June 1941 and delivered 31 December 1941. She was sponsored by Miss Mary Maud Farrell and acquired by the Navy from the American South African Line, Inc., on 6 January 1942. The ship was renamed Arthur Middleton (AP-55) on 7 January 1942. The ship underwent initial conversion at Tietjen & Lang Dry Dock Co. yard in Hoboken, N. J. for operation as a civilian-manned convoy-loaded transport. She was fully converted for s