Landing Craft Mechanized
An American landing craft mechanized (LCM) in June 2009.
Troops and an LCM in August 1943
An LCM during the invasion of Leyte
The landing craft mechanized (LCM) also landing craft mechanical is a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults.
Contents
1 Variants
1.1 LCM (1)
1.2 LCM (2)
1.3 LCM (3)
1.4 LCM (4)
1.5 LCM (5)
1.6 LCM (6)
1.7 LCM (7)
1.8 LCM (8)
2 Operators
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links
Variants
There was no single design of LCM used, unlike the landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP) or landing craft assault (LCA) landing craft made by the US and UK respectively. There were several different designs built by the UK and US and by different manufacturers.
The British motor landing craft was conceived and tested in the 1920s and was used from 1924 in exercises. It was the first purpose built tank landing craft. It was the progenitor of all subsequent LCM designs.
LCM (1)
The landing craft, mechanised Mark I was an early British model. It was able to be slung under the davits of a liner or on a cargo ship boom with the result that it was limited to a 16-ton tank.[1]
The LCM Mark I was used during the Allied landings in Norway[citation needed], and at Dieppe and some 600 were built.
- Displacement: 35 tonnes
- Length: 13.6 m
- Width: 4.27 m
- Draught: 1.22 m
- Machinery: two Chrysler 100 hp petrol engines
- Speed: 7 knots
- Crew: 6 men
- Armament: two .303 in. Lewis guns
- Capacity: one medium tank, or 26.8 tons of cargo or 60 troops
- 100 men[2]
- 54,500 lbs with 9 inches of freeboard[3]
- 100 men[2]
LCM (2)
- Displacement: 29 tons
- Length: 45 ft (14 m)
- Beam: 14 ft 1 in (4.3 m)
- Draft: 3 ft (0.91 m)
- Speed: 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h)
- Armament: two .50-cal M2 Browning machine guns
- Crew: 4
- Capacity; 100 troops, or one 13.5 ton tank, or 15 tons of cargo
The first American LCM design, from the US Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair. Approximately 150 were built by American Car & Foundry and Higgins Industries.
LCM (3)
Higgins LCM-3 at Battleship Cove
There were two designs:
- Bureau
Capable of carrying 120,000 lb (54,000 kg) of cargo
- Higgins
In appearance very similar to the LCVP which Higgins Industries also constructed, with a 10-foot (3.0 m) wide load area at the front and a small armoured (1/4 inch steel) wheelhouse on the aft decking over the engine room. A Higgins LCM-3 is on display at the Battleship Cove maritime museum in Fall River, Massachusetts.[4]
- Displacement: 52 tons (loaded); 23 tons (empty)
- Length: 50 feet (15 m)
- Beam: 14 feet (4.3 m)
- Draft: 3 feet (0.91 m) (forward); 4 feet (1.2 m) (aft)
- Speed: 8 knots (9.2 mph) (loaded); 11 knots (13 mph) (empty)
- Armament: two .50-cal M2 Browning machine guns
- Crew: 4
- Capacity: One 30-ton tank (e.g. M4 Sherman), 60 troops, or 60,000 lb (27,000 kg) of cargo
LCM (4)
In the years 1943 and 1944, seventy-seven LCM(4)s were built.[5] Outwardly, the LCM(4) was almost completely identical to a late model LCM(1) – the difference lay inside the pontoon. Here special bilge pumps and special ballast tanks allowed the LCM(4) to alter trim to increase stability when partially loaded.
LCM (5)
British model of LCM
LCM (6)
An LCM (3) extended by 6 feet (1.8 m) amidships. Many were later adapted as armoured troop carriers (ATCs or "Tangos") for the Mobile Riverine Force in the Vietnam War; others became "Zippos" with flamethrowers, "Monitors" with 105mm guns or "Charlie" command variants.
- Power plant:
- 2 Detroit 6-71 diesel engines; 348 hp (260 kW) sustained; twin shaft; or
- 2 Detroit 8V-71 diesel engines; 460 hp (340 kW) sustained; twin shaft
- Length: 56.2 feet (17.1 m)
- Beam: 14 feet (4.3 m)
- Displacement: 64 tons (65 metric tons) full load
- Speed: 9 knots (10.3 mph, 16.6 km/h)
- Range: 130 miles (240 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h)
- Military lift: 34 tons (34.6 metric tons) or 80 troops
- Crew: 5
LCM (7)
British model of LCM
LCM (8)
LCM-8 in March 1972
General characteristics, LCM 8 Type
- Power plant: four 6-71 six-cylinder diesels, two hydraulic transmissions, two propeller shafts. (Lighterage Division, NSA Danang 1969-1970) crew of 3: coxswain, bowhook, and engineer (aka "snipe")
- Power plant: 2 Detroit 12V-71 diesel engines; 680 hp (510 kW) sustained; twin shafts
- Length: 73.7 feet (22.5 m)
- Beam: 21 feet (6.4 m)
- Displacement: 105 tons (106.7 metric tons) full load
- Speed: 12 kt (13.8 mph, 22.2 km/h)
- Range: 190 nm (350 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h) full load
- Capacity: 53.5 tons (54.4 metric tons)
- Military lift: one M48 or one M60 tank or 200 troops
- Crew: 5
Operators
Turkey – Turkish Naval Forces[6]
United States – United States Navy, U.S. Army 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary
Khmer Republic – Khmer National Navy
Thailand – Royal Thai Navy
Australia – Royal Australian Navy
Australia – Australian Army
Spain – Spanish Navy
New Zealand – Royal New Zealand Navy
Egypt – Egyptian Navy
Saudi Arabia – Royal Saudi Navy
Pakistan - Pakistan Navy
Japan - Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Vietnam - Vietnam People's Navy
South Vietnam – Republic of Vietnam Navy (former)
See also
- Motor Landing Craft
- Landing Craft, Tank
- LCVP (United States)
- LCM2000
LCM 25 ton type - Japanese version of LCM-6
Notes
^ William F Buckingham. D-Day the First 72 hours Tempus Publishing, Stroud. 2004
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2009-01-05.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link).mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Norman Friedman U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History Naval Institute Press, 2002 9781557502506
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-03-20.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
^ Ladd, 1976, p. 44
^ "Ç-302 LCM CLASS". 24 March 2013.
References
- Gordon L. Rottman & Tony Bryan, Landing Ship, Tank (LST) 1942–2002, New Vanguard series 115, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2005.
ISBN 9781841769233
- Gordon L. Rottman & Hugh Johnson, Vietnam Riverine Craft 1962–75, New Vanguard series 128, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2006.
ISBN 9781841769318
- Gordon L. Rottman & Peter Bull, Landing Craft, Infantry and Fire Support, New Vanguard series 157, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2009.
ISBN 9781846034350
External links
- Skill in the Surf: A Landing Boat Manual
- LCM-6 principal characteristics
- History of "Logistics over The Shore" operations
- LCM & LCU fact file
- LCM information
- USS Rankin (AKA-103): LCM
- LCM-6 Xj3D/VRML model
LCM-6 surface textures required for Xj3D/VRML model[permanent dead link]
