Landing craft tank
The Landing Craft, Tank was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of versions. Initially known as the "tank landing craft" by the British, they later adopted the U.S. nomenclature "landing craft, tank". The United States continued to build LCTs post-war, and used them under different designations in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
Development
In 1926, the first motor landing craft was built by the Royal Navy. It weighed 16 tons, with a draught of, and was capable of about. It was later developed into the Landing Craft, Mechanised.It was at the insistence of the British prime minister Winston Churchill in mid-1940 that the LCT was created. Its speed was on engines delivering about. Designated the LCT Mark 1, 20 were ordered in July 1940 and a further 10 in October 1940.)
Mark 1
The first LCT Mark 1 was launched by Hawthorn Leslie, Hebburn on Tyne, in November 1940. It was designed to land three of the heaviest tanks then envisaged for the British Army in 2 ft 6ins of water on a 1:35 gradient beach. The load capacity was three 40-ton tanks, six 25-ton tanks or six 16-ton tanks. The forward draught was 3 feet forward and 5 feet 9 inches aft. They were designed on the same principle as a floating dock, with watertight side pontoons on each side joined by a tank deck set below the waterline. The tank deck swept up above the waterline near the bow before falling away again to the ramp. Engines were two Hall Scott Defender petrol engines of 500 hp each. The craft were arranged in four sections so they could be shipped to the Eastern Mediterranean as deck cargo on merchant ships. Thirty of these craft were ordered.Mark 2
The LCT Mark 2 was longer and wider than the Mark 1, with three Napier Lion petrol engines replacing the Hall-Scotts as these were required for Coastal Forces craft. At, it had three times the range of its predecessor. Seventy-three Mk.2s were built.Increasing the beam of the Mk2 by allowed a much greater cargo capacity of lighter vehicles, where the Mk1 could only carry three Valentine tanks the Mark 2 could carry 7. The first craft were ordered in December 1940 and completed in March 1941. The craft was a little faster but three sets of running gear strained the supply position so later Mk2 had two Paxman diesel engines of 500 hp each. It was apparent now that LCTs would be required in huge numbers and ship builders would not have the capacity so structural steelwork firms were added to the program to prefabricate the structure and former shipyards reopened to assemble the craft. Like the Mark 1 the Mark 2 was assembled in four sections to facilitate shipping to Eastern Mediterranean.
Mark 3
At the Mark 3 was longer than the Mark 2. Although this meant extra weight, the vessel was slightly faster than the Mark 1. Two hundred and thirty-five Mk. 3s were built.The 32 ft section was added in May 1941 to the Mark 2 as a fifth building section, parallel sided. This meant the capacity went to 11 Valentines or 11 M4 Sherman medium tanks or 5 Churchill infantry tanks. 166 craft were built using two Paxman diesels, 71 were built in the winter of 1943-1944 to a slightly revised pattern using two Sterling Admiral petrol engines. These are usually referred to as Mark 3* or 7000 series as they had pennant numbers from 7000 upwards. LCT7074, currently preserved in Portsmouth, UK, is of this type.
Mark 4
The Mark 4 had a much wider beam - - than the Mark 3. Built for use in the English Channel, it had a displacement of 586 tons and was powered by two 460 hp Paxman diesels. With a capacity of 350 tons, it could carry nine M4 Sherman or six Churchill tanks. Eight hundred and sixty-five Mk.4s were built, the largest LCT production in British yards.In addition to the increased beam, the Mark IV had a draught reduced to 3 ft 8in forward and 4 ft aft, allowing assault operations of much flatter beaches. The tank deck was brought above the waterline. Construction was somewhat flimsy and a number of these vessels broke their backs on uneven beaches or in heavy seas; nevertheless, the type gave excellent service. Later versions were stiffened and some made voyages to India. All of these vessels were built from prefabricated kits assembled in riverside yards, no ship builders were used in their construction.
Mark 5
After World War II, eleven were used in 1950-1960 by the Polish Navy amphibious forces, with BDS, later ODS prefixes.Production:
- New York Shipbuilding, NJ: 100
- Quincy Barge Builders, IL: 66
- Bison Shipbuilding, NY: 52
- Manitowoc, WI: 36
- Kansas City Steel, KS: 36
- Mount Vernon Bridge, OH: 36
- Decatur Iron & Steel, AL: 33
- Pidgeon Thomas Iron Works, TN: 31
- Omaha Steel, NE: 24
- Missouri Valley Bridge, KS: 20
- Darby Corporation, KS: 20
- Jones & Laughlin, PA: 16
- Aug 1942: 53
- Sep 1942: 111
- Oct 1942: 145
- Nov 1942: 114
- Dec 1942: 44
Mark 6
Production:
- Bison Shipbuilding, NY: 301
- Mare Island Navy Yard, CA: 216
- Pidgeon Thomas Iron Works, TN: 156
- Quincy Barge Builders, IL: 110
- Kansas City Steel, KS: 49
- Mount Vernon Bridge, OH: 46
- Missouri Valley Bridge, KS: 44
- Darby Corporation, KS: 42
- Manitowoc, WI: 1
- Q3 1943: 43
- Q4 1943: 126
- Q1 1944: 238
- Q2 1944: 253
- Q3 1944: 216
- Q4 1944: 88
Mark 7
Mark 8
The 225-foot LCT Mark 8, intended for service in the Pacific, was developed by the British in 1944. One hundred and eighty-six Mk.8s were ordered; however, when the war ended, most were cancelled and scrapped, or sold directly into civilian service. Only 31 entered service with the Royal Navy. Twelve were later transferred to the British Army; these were initially operated by the Royal Army Service Corps, then by the Royal Corps of Transport. Between 1958 and 1966, the other 19 ships were transferred to foreign navies or civilian companies, converted for other uses, or otherwise disposed of.Mark 9
An even larger LCT Mark 9 was considered in 1944, but the design was never finalised and none were built.Armament
The LCTs had a variety of weapons, with the British QF 2-pounder "pom-pom" mounts being gradually replaced by the faster firing 20 mm Oerlikon cannon. The Bofors 40 mm was also widely used, and proved that the LCT was an excellent gunfire support vessel. Various machine guns were often mounted for self-defence from aircraft and small boats, often two to four in the.30-calibre and.50-calibre, range depending on the operating country. Some models were fitted with a pair of 'Fast Aerial Mine' launchers near the bow.Conversions and modifications
Several special purpose versions were created for use during the Normandy landings. The British created the Landing Craft Tank modified to fire salvoes of three-inch RP-3 rockets, while the Landing Craft Guns was armed with two QF 4.7 inch guns, eight Oerlikon 20 mm AA guns and two 2-pounder pom-poms. These ships did not beach; their mission was close-in gunfire support.The Landing Craft Tank was designed for use by the first wave and was equipped with additional armour protection for the crew stations and on the bows, while a heavy wooden ramp allowed the two forward tanks to fire forward. These were all U.S-built LCT Mk.5s, which had been provided under Lend-Lease to the British for Mediterranean operations, then "reverse lend-leased" back to the U.S. for the invasion.
The Landing Craft Tank carried self-propelled guns for fire support; in U.S. vessels these were 155 mm, while the British used M7 105 mm self-propelled guns and called them "Landing Craft Tank ". A related variant was the British Landing Craft Tank , which carried three British Sherman Firefly tanks fitted with the 17-pounder high velocity gun, specifically deployed to attack fortifications. Other variants included the Landing Craft Tank for casualty evacuation, and one LCT served as a floating bakery at Normandy.
Some LCTs with specialised weaponry were used as floating anti-aircraft batteries. These were often manned by mixed army and navy crews. Others were modified after the war for uses such as dredging.
Post-war
Unlike most wartime landing craft, the LCT remained in active duty with the U.S. Navy after the war, and many LCTs were also loaned or given to the post-war navies of Allied countries. Between 1945 and 1946 the Royal Netherlands Navy loaned multiple LCT Mark 3s that were used to dump munitions. The RNLN also loaned and acquired after the Second World War several LCT Mark 4s. Some of these were stationed in the Netherlands and used to dump munitions, while others served in the Dutch East Indies and were used to transport troops and material during the Indonesian War of Independence. In April 1951 the RNLN acquired two more LCT Mark 4s that were stationed in Dutch New Guinea.In early 1949, their designation was changed to landing ship utility, and changed again in late 1949 to landing craft utility. New landing craft were also built to a modified Mark 5 design. Some were later reclassified during the Vietnam War as harbor utility craft as they no longer served in an amphibious assault role, but were used in harbor support roles such as transporting goods from supply ships; however, the YFU-71 class were 11 "Skilak" lighters purchased as 'commercial off-the-shelf', and so were not originally LCUs. In April 1951 the RNLN acquired two more LCT Mark 4s that were stationed in Dutch New Guinea.
In 1964, NASA converted an LCT Mk.5 for astronaut recovery training as.
In modernized navies tanks are mostly transported via airlift or National Defense Reserve Fleet freighters over long distances, but can be delivered by Landing Craft Air Cushion.