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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LST-178


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Quebec - Quebec
 NZQQ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal

USS LST-178 was transferred to the United Kingdom and later sold to Egypt
LST-1 Class Tank Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, 6 February 1943, at Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Co., Evansville, IN.
  • Launched, 23 May 1943
  • Commissioned USS LST-178, 21 June 1943, LT. Louis L. Bernard, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS LST-178 served in the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and participated in the following actions/campaigns:

    European-Africa-Middle East Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Convoy UGS-36, 1 April 1944 Invasion of southern France, 15 August to 25 September 1944

  • Decommissioned and transferred to the Royal Navy, 24 December 1944
  • Royal Navy History
  • Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HM LST-178, 24 December 1944
  • HM LST-178 sailed from Patras, Greece, 24 February 1945, loaded with Army personnel and vehicles bound for Corfu.
  • Damaged by two explosions the same day - One explosion to port forward followed almost immediately by an explosion on the port side aft. Although badly damaged with shell plating caved in, her port rudder blown off and a damaged port propeller, LST-178 remained afloat and steamed back to Patras.
  • After patching up the damage she was declared a total loss and towed to Egypt
  • Decommissioned from the Royal Navy, 28 May 1945,
  • Handed over to Egypt in November 1946, named Aka
  • Sunk by British air strike during the Suez crisis, 1 November 1956, while being prepared for scuttling as blockship near Lake Timsah.
  • Refloated in February 1957, beached and abandoned.
  • Struck from the US Naval Register, 22 January 1947
  • USS LST-178 earned two battle stars for World War II service
    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
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS LST-178
    LST-178 232k USS LST-178 under way off the U.S. east coast, circa 1943.
    US National Archives Photo # 80-G-411690, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Naval History an Heritage Command
    LST-178 1679k Four LSTs, (right to left) USS LST-178 USS LST-74, unidentified, and USS LST-656 load out at Bagnoli, Italy, 8 August 1944, for the upcoming invasion of southern France.
    US National Archives photo # III-SC-193359, Box 225 a US Army Signal Corps photo, by Lapidus, now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Dave Kerr
    LST-178 59k As many as eight LSTs ready for transfer to the United Kingdom tied up at Bizerte, Tunisia in December 1944. Included are USS LST-178 and USS LST-358 (This ship could also possibly be USS LST-351). Bob Rutter, photo by his grandfather CAPT. Anthony Kohout Jr.
    Aka
    LST-178 34k Ex-USS LST-178, ex-HM LST-178 under way in Egyptian Naval service as Aka.
    Official Egyptian Navy photo from "Jane's Fighting Ships 1956-57".    		 Robert Hurst
    USS LST-178
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Bernard, Louis L., USNR21 June 1943 - 24 December 1944
    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
    The USS LST Ship Memorial
    LST Home Port
    State LST Chapters
    United States LST Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Tank Landing Ship (LST) Photo Index
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    This page created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 21 April 2017