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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Cecil (APA-96)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Victor - Golf
NZVG

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal

Bayfield Class Attack Transport:

Laid down, 24 June 1943, as SS Sea Angler a Maritime Commission type (C3-S-A2) under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1544) at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Francisco, CA.

Launched, 27 September 1943

Acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission 26 February 1944

Delivered to the Navy, 26 February 1944

Placed in reduced commission, 27 February 1944, as USS Cecil (APA-96) for transit to her fitting out yard at Portland, OR.

Fitted out as an Attack Transport at Continental Iron Works, Portland, OR.

Placed in full commission 15 September 1944, CAPT. Peter G. Hale in command

During World War II USS Cecil was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
TransRon Sixteen(flagship), COMO J. R. McGovern USN;
TransDiv Forty-Six and participated in the following campaigns:

Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Iwo Jima operation Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 to 28 February 1945	Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 9 to 15 April 1945

Following World War II USS Cecil was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal
2 to 10 September 1945
5 to 11 October 1945

Decommissioned 24 May 1946

Struck from the Naval Register, 10 June 1946

USS Cecil earned two battle stars for World War II service

Merchant Service

Returned to the Maritime Commission, 25 May 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA.

Towed from Lee Hall, VA. to Galveston TX., 29 November 1946 by Moran Towing and Transportation Co.

Sold, 7 August 1947, at Galvestion, TX. to Isthmian Steamship Co, renamed SS Steel Admiral

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 18 October 1973, to Yung Tai Steel & Iron Co. Ltd., Taiwan

Specifications:
Displacement 8,100 t.(lt), 18,000 t.(fl)
Length 492'
Beam 69' 6"
Draft 26' 6"
Speed 18.4 kts (trial)

Complement

Officers 60

Enlisted 518

Flag Accommodations

Officers 43

Enlisted 108

Troop Accommodations

Officers 79

Enlisted 1,423

Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
Cargo Capacity 180,500 cu. ft, 4,500 DWT
Boats 12 LCVP, 4 LCM (Mk-6), 3 LCP(L) (MK-IV)

Armament

two single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts, one fore and one aft

four twin 40mm AA gun mounts

eighteen single 20mm AA gun mounts

Fuel Capacities

NSFO 8,510 Bbls

Diesel 750Bbls

Propulsion

one General Electric geared drive turbine

two Babcock and Wilcox D-type boilers, 1465psi 765°

double General Electric Main Reduction Gears

three turbo-drive 200Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators

single propeller, 8,500shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
USS Cecil (APA-96)
100309606	193k	USS Cecil (APA-96) underway on the Willamette River near her fitting out yard, Continental Iron Works, Portland, OR., circa 15 September 1944. Her camouflage scheme is measure 32, Design 3D. U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships photo # 190-N-75779	Robert Hurst
100309605	190k	USS Cecil (APA-96) in convoy lined up in formation followed by at least nine additional amphibious attack transports and attack cargo ships, 6 February 1945, for antiaircraft firing practice while enroute to the Iwo Jima invasion, 6 February 1945. US Navy photo by US Navy photographer Wallace Page	Dave Way, Historian / Artifact Collections, Pacific Battleship Center \| National Museum of the Surface Navy at the Battleship IOWA
100309604	357k	Fifth Division Marines, enroute to the battle of Iwo Jima hear mass celebrated by LT. J. McGoldrick, USNR, Catholic Chaplain, aboard *USS Cecil* (APA-96)*, February 1945. US National Archives Identifier 74250884* US Marine Corps photo Hdqtrs. No. 109,422.	David Upton
	69k	*USS Cecil* (APA-96)** in the harbor at Batangas, Luzon, P.I., August 1945	Louis Shannon
	97k	*USS Cecil* (APA-96)** at anchor with accommodation ladder rigged, circa 1945. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH73858.	US Naval History and Heritage Command
100309607	118k	U.S. Navy attack transports in Pearl Harbor, as seen from the escort carrier *USS Breton* (CVE-23), 25 January 1945. The transports are right to left to right: USS Cecil (APA-96) (in camouflage scheme is measure 32, Design 3D) USS Bracken (APA-64) (in camouflage scheme measure 32, Design 4T) and USS Newberry (APA-158)** (in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 4T). U.S. National Archives and Records Administration photo # 80-G-265012, a U.S. Navy photo now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives.	Robert Hurst
Merchant Service Isthmian SS Co.
	288k	Ex-*USS Cecil* (APA-96)** under way while in merchant service as the Isthmian Steam Ship Co. cargo vessel SS Steel Admiral Original copyright by Alex Duncan.	Gerhard Mueller-Debus

USS Cecil (APA-96)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	CAPT. Hale, Peter Gerald	15 September 1944 - 28 December 1944
02	CAPT. Lyon, George Dunham	28 DEcember 1944 - 15 August 1945
03	CAPT. Casey, Thomas Joseph	15 August 1945 - 24 May 1946


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
MARAD Vessel History Database
Postal Covers related to the ship

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 26 May 2023