Landing craft, tank

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US Navy LCT-202 .

The Landing Craft, Tank (also Landing Craft Tank) was a smaller landing craft used for amphibious operations. Depending on the task at hand, it carried up to four tanks, wheeled vehicles, troops and supplies, but was also used for special tasks over time. The common name was LCT .

Originally a British development, the LCT is mainly associated with the USA due to media perceptions. First copies were used by the Royal Navy and the United States Navy during World War II . They were also used for different purposes during the Korean War and the Vietnam War .

Building history

Landing of a tank during a test in Great Britain in 1942

After the evacuation of Dunkirk it became apparent that further warfare on the European continent could only be resumed after an amphibious operation. Winston Churchill's demand for a floating device that would be able to transport one or more tanks ultimately led to the development of the "Combined Operations Craft". British designers met in mid-1940 to design such a device. This then led to the construction of a first copy by the Hawthorn Leslie shipyard in Hebburn in November 1940 . It was called "LCT Mk I" or "LCT (1)".

The devices later manufactured in the USA were given the designations Mark V and Mark VI, whereby the LCT Mk V only had a bow ramp , while the Mk VI was equipped with a ramp each at the bow and stern. The LCT were only lightly armored and mostly not armed. The models (in addition to the prototype Mk I) Mk III, Mk IV, Mk V and Mk VI were built.

Their dimensions were designed in such a way that one vehicle could be transported on an ocean-going "LST (Landing Ship Tank)".

Conversions and modifications

In addition to its original use as a means of transport for vehicles, troops and goods, the LCT has proven to be a useful platform for many special tasks. In particular for the invasion of Normandy , a number of LCTs were converted to perform special tasks.

  • Air defense

In order to strengthen the air defense of the approaching convoys and within the operational zone, a number of the LCTs were converted into floating anti-aircraft batteries and renamed LCF (Landing Craft, Flight Defense or Defense) as early as 1942. Most of these vehicles were equipped with light anti-aircraft weapons. These were eight 20 mm Oerlikon cannons and four 2pdr (40 mm) Pom-Pom anti-aircraft guns . The prototype LCF-1 was equipped with two 4- inch twin guns.

  • Fire support

Some of the Mark III devices were equipped as landing support ships with guns or rocket launchers and were given the designation "Landing Craft Gun (Large)" LCG (L) or "Landing Craft, Tank (Rocket)" LCT (R). The LCG (L) were each equipped with two QF 4.7-inch cannons (12.0 cm) originally from destroyers , the LCT (R) carried over 1000 starter frames for 5-inch missiles (12.5 cm). These were fired in volleys of 24 each. Both versions were used for the first time during the Allied landing on Sicily . During the invasion of Normandy, about 60 boats of both variants were used. Four of the LCG (L) had already been handed over to the USA at this time.

  • Other uses

Some of the vehicles were converted into repair ships or minesweepers . 26 Mk III units were given armor and the designation LCT (A) "Landing, Craft Tank (Armored)". This reduced their maximum transportability by around 30 tons. Therefore, instead of four, only three tanks could be carried. These boats were intended for use in the first wave of an amphibious landing. By converting the ramp it was possible that the two front tanks could fire over the lowered ramp while approaching the beach.

An LCT during loading

post war period

After the end of World War II, the remaining Mk V of the US Navy were scrapped or sold for civilian use. Nevertheless, copies of the Mk V model were made afterwards, which were equipped with improved accommodation options for the crew. Some of these ships were still used during the Vietnam War. In the meantime only used as a feeder for the supply transporters lying in the roadstead , they were now called "Harbor Utility Craft (YFU"). The Mk VI vehicles were reclassified and continued to operate as “Utility Landing Ship (LSU)”. In 1949 there was another reclassification in "Landing Craft Utility (LCU)". Six of these devices were converted for use in the Arctic between 1948 and 1949 .

14 LCUs from British and two from US production were most recently used by the Rhine River Patrol in Germany .

An LCT was adopted by NASA in 1964 as a retriever and used as a training ship for rescuing astronauts .

production

Production in the USA

A total of 1,435 of these vehicles were made in the United States, 965 of them during World War II. The general contractor was the Darby Steel Plant in Kansas City (Kansas) . From there, the ships drove over 1,600 miles down the Missouri and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans , where they were loaded onto cargo ships. This practice earned the LCTs the nickname "Prairie Ships".

The vehicles with the hull numbers LCT-401 through LCT-500 (all of the type Mk V) were manufactured by New York Shipbuilding in Camden , New Jersey .

In 2004 a single one of these vehicles was known to be in use. It was LCT-203 , which went under the name Outer Island as a work ship on the Upper Lake .

UK production

A total of 864 pieces of the Mk IV were made here.

The vehicle with the number HM LCT (3) 7074 had been handed over to the "Warship Preservation Trust" and was on the Wirral Peninsula in northwest England until the owners of the collection stopped it after the "Warship Preservation Trust" was dissolved in 2006 the "Mersey Docks and Harbor Company" was handed over on the River Mersey .

Type description

LCT Mk III

  • First used in May 1941.
  • Production quantity: 235
  • Displacement: 305 ts
  • Length: 191 ft / 58 m
  • Width: 31 ft / 9.4 m
  • Drive: "Paxman" diesel engine (71 units with "American Sterling Admiral petrol" engines)

LCT Mk IV

In contrast to the usual vehicles for this purpose, the deck area was above the waterline. About 750 landing craft of the MK IV type were built, starting with the number 501. They were specially developed for the flat and shallow coastal waters of Normandy .

LCT Mk V

  • Displacement: 133 ts
  • Length: 117 ft / 35.7 m
  • Width: 32 ft / 9.8 m
  • Draft: 2 ft 10 in / 0.9 m at bow, 4 ft 2 in / 1.3 m stern (on landing)
  • Top speed: 8 knots (15 km / h)
  • Armament: 2 × 20 mm Oerlikon
  • Crew: 1 officer , 12 crews
  • Transport capacity: 5 × 30-ton (27 t) or 4 × 40-ton (36 t) or 3 × 50-ton (45 t) tanks; or 9 trucks; or 136 tons of material
  • Propulsion: three Gray 225 hp (168 kW) diesel engines; three screws

LCT Mk VI

  • Displacement: 314 t
  • Length: 119 ft (36.3 m)
  • Width: 32 ft (9.8 m)
  • Draft: 3 ft 7 in (1.1 m) bow, 4 ft (1.2 m) stern (on landing)
  • Top speed: 8 knots (15 km / h)
  • Armament: 2 × 20 mm
  • Crew: 1 officer, 12 men
  • Transport capacity: 4 medium or 3 × 50-ton (45 t) tanks; or 136 tons of material; additional accommodation for eight soldiers
  • Propulsion: three Gray 225 hp (168 kW) diesel engines; three screws

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Tank of the 30 ton class.
  2. ↑ LCT IV
  3. ↑ The preceding Y indicates an auxiliary ship.
  4. ↑ type is not known.
  5. ↑ The current status is not known.
  6. ↑ HM = Her Majesty's