Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (such as infantry and its vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger, and smaller craft, such as paddled soft-bottomed rubber rafts. Production of landing craft peaked during World War II, with a significant number of different designs produced in large quantities by the United Kingdom and United States. Because of the need to run up onto a suitable beach, World War II landing craft were flat-bottomed, and many designs had a flat front, often with a lowerable ramp, rather than a normal bow. This made them difficult to control and very uncomfortable in rough seas. The helm (too rudimentary to call a bridge on the smaller craft) was normally at the extreme rear of the vessel, with the notable exception of the LCA, where an armoured box was provided. In all cases, WWII landing craft were known by an abbreviation derived from the official name rather than by the full title.
History Ship's boats were used as landing craft in the days of sail. These utility boats were sufficient in an era when marines were effectively light infantry which engaged mostly in small-scale engagements against enemy forces and settlements, often in far-flung colonies and against less well-equipped indigenous opponents.
Predecessors Barges redesigned as landing craft were used by Álvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz during the conquest of the Azores in 1583. They were assisted in their movement by galleys, which also assisted two heavy galleasses brought to cover the landing with their firepower. In order to support amphibious operations during the landing in Pisagua (1879) by carrying significant quantities of cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore, the Government of Chile built flat-bottomed landing craft, called Chalanas. They transported 1,200 men in the first landing and took on board 600 men in less than 2 hours for the second landing.
Origins
During World War I, initial amphibious landings during the Gallipoli campaign took place in unmodified ship's boats that were extremely vulnerable to attack from the Turkish shore defenses. The mass mobilization of troops equipped with rapid-fire weapons quickly rendered such boats obsolete.
In February 1915, orders were placed for the design of purpose built landing craft. A design was created in four days resulting in an order for 200 'X' Lighters (or X-lighters) with a spoon-shaped bow to take shelving beaches and a drop down frontal ramp. The first use took place after they had been towed to the Aegean and performed successfully in the 6 August landing at Suvla Bay of IX Corps. 'X' Lighters, known to the soldiers as 'Black Beetles', carried about 500 men, displaced 200 tons (or 160 tons according to some sources) and were based on London barges being 105 feet 6 inches long, 21 feet wide, and 7 feet 6 inches deep (32.2 m × 6.4 m × 2.3 m). The engines mainly ran on heavy oil and ran at a maximal speed of approximately 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). The boats had bulletproof sides and a ramp at the bow for disembarkation. Spain purchased 26–28 X-lighters. During the Rif War, they were used in the 1925 Alhucemas landing, arguably the first major amphibious landing in which tanks were disembarked in large numbers.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
