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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Seaward (IX-209)
ex
USS LST-278 (1943 - 1945)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Lima - Mike
NZLM

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Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal

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During World War II USS LST-278 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
LST Flotilla Five, CAPT. J.R. Clark;
LST Group Fourteen, LCDR. K.L. DeForest USNR;
LST Division Twenty-Eight and participated in the following campaigns:

Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Marianas operation Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 June to 28 July 1944	Western Caroline Islands operation Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944
Tinian capture and occupation, 24 to 28 July 1944 Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 21 January to 8 February 1944

Final Disposition, declared in excess of the Navy's needs and destroyed, 16 October 1946

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Specifications:

Displacement

1,625 t.(lt)

4,080 t.(fl) (sea-going draft w/1675 ton load)

2,366 t. (beaching displacement)

Length 328' o.a.

Beam 50'

Draft

light 2' 4" fwd, 7' 6" aft

sea-going 8' 3" fwd, 14' 1" aft

landing 3' 11" fwd, 9' 10" aft (landing w/500 ton load)

limiting 11' 2"

maximum navigation 14' 1"

Speed 11.6 kts. (trial)

Endurance 24,000 miles @ 9kts. while displacing 3960 tons

Complement

13 officers

104 enlisted

Troop Accommodations

16 officers

147 enlisted

Boats 2 LCVP

Cargo Capacity (varied with mission - payloads between 1600 and 1900 tons)

Typical loads

One Landing Craft Tank (LCT), tanks, wheeled and tracked vehicles, artillery, construction equipment and military supplies. A ramp or elevator forward allowed vehicles access to tank deck from main deck

Additional capacity included sectional pontoons carried on each side of vessel amidships, to either build Rhino Barges or use as causeways. Married to the bow ramp, the causeways would enabled payloads to be delivered ashore from deeper water or where a beachhead would not allow the vessel to be grounded forward after ballasting

Armament (varied with availability when each vessel was outfitted. Retro-fitting was accomplished throughout WWII. The ultimate armament design for United States vessels was

2 - Twin 40MM gun mounts w/Mk. 51 directors

4 - Single 40MM gun mounts

12 single 20MM gun mounts

Fuel Capacity

Diesel 4,300 Bbls

Propulsion

two General Motors 12-567A, 900hp Diesel engines

single Falk Main Reduction Gears

three Diesel-drive 100Kw 230V D.C. Ship's Service Generators

two propellers, 1,700shp

twin rudders

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Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Source
USS LST-278
	140k	Launching of LST-278, 16 June 1943, at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA.		Dennis Mierzwa
	121k	LST-278 sponsor Mrs R.P. Dickinson Jr on the right, at left her mother-in- law Mrs R.P. Dickinson Sr, middle Mrs Dickinson Sr's. daughter Mrs Joe Baker, 16 June 1943, at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA.		Dennis Mierzwa
	129k	Luncheon served to the launch party, 16 June 1943, at American Bridge Co., Ambridge, PA. Mrs. R.P. Dickinson Jr. is in center under the flag		Dennis Mierzwa
1016027807	146k	USS LST-278 after a bulldozer assist to remove as much beach soil as necessary to open her bow doors and drop her ramp to begin loading H, S, K and L Batteries of the 4th Battalion, 11th Regiment, 1st Marine Division at Macquitti Bay, Pavuvu, Russell Islands, 23 August 1944. Frame from short film named "Marines Load Equipment at Pavuvu For Palau Invasion'', National Archives ID 77568. Local ID 428-NPC-5573. Marine unit, date and location verification reference USS LST-278- War Diary, 8/1/44 to 10/31/44, National Archives		David Upton
1016027806	133k	USS LST-278 loading H, S, K and L Batteries of the 4th Battalion, 11th Regiment, 1st Marine Division at Macquitti Bay, Pavuvu, Russell Islands, 23 August 1944. Frame from short film named "Marines Load Equipment at Pavuvu For Palau Invasion'', National Archives ID 77568. Local ID 428-NPC-5573. Marine unit, date and location verification reference USS LST-278- War Diary, 8/1/44 to 10/31/44, National Archives		David Upton
USS Seaward (IX-209)
	36k	USS Seaward (IX-209) beached at Guam, Marianas Islands in 1945.		John De Noma
	130k	USS Seaward (IX-209) Guam, Marianas Islands in 1945.		Steve Franklin
1015034504	503k	USS LCI(G)-345 USS LCI(G)-346 USS LCI(G)-449 USS LCI(G)-437 USS LCI(G)-348 USS LC(FF)-423 USS LC(FF)-423 alongside USS Seaward (IX-209) and LCT(6)-1314 at anchor in the far distant background at Naval Station Guam in July 1945. TimeLife_image 115952714 by J. R. Eyerman. Life Magazine. For personal non-commercial use only.		David Upton

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Commanding Officers
01	LT. Black, Morton N., USNR	22 October 1943 - 22 January 1945	LST-278
	Decommissioned	22 January 1945 - 14 February 1945
02	LTjg. Adonizio, Charles A., USNR	14 February 1945 - ?	Seaward (IX-209)

Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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For more photos and information about USS LST-278 / USS Seaward (IX-209)see; Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) Western Caroline Islands Attack Landing Order Beach White Peleliu - CTF 32 Operation Plan A501-44 Appendix 4 to Annex "D" The USS LST Ship Memorial LST Home Port State LST Chapters United States LST Association

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This page is created by David W. Almond and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 5 August 2022