USS Inca, a 3,381-ton (light displacement) "Liberty" ship, was launched in March 1943 in Los Angeles, California, and entered merchant service later the same month as SS William B. Allison, MCE hull 724.

She was named after William B. Allison, (March 2, 1829 – August 4, 1908) a politician and leader of the Iowa Republican Party and became a United States House of Representatives member.

On 25 July 1945, based on a recommendation from the local War Shipping Administration (WSA) official, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) authorized Commander Service Division (ComServDiv) 104 to accept the ship "as is" at Okinawa and place her in service for non-self propelled floating dry storage.

ComServDiv 104 accepted her at Okinawa on 30 July and on 6 August the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) approved the name Inca and designator IX-229 for her.

CNO's response of 15 January, "above incorrect," was probably the first clear indication received in the Pacific that the name and designation they had been using for this ship for the past five months were wrong.

The ex-William B. Allison was consistently called Inca in all reporting from the Pacific Theater through mid-January 1946, and a photograph of her ashore at Buckner Bay appears to show the hull number IX-229 painted on her bow.

She was placed out of service on 8 February 1946, when she was reported lying on the bottom in Yonabaru Wan, Buckner Bay, Okinawa, with water in the holds up to the tween-decks.