Landing Craft Assault

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Canadian landings at Juno Beach.jpg
LCA (Landing Craft Assault) containing Winnipeg Rifles head for the Normandy Juno beach - June 6, 1944
Class overview
Name: Landing Craft Assault
Builders: John I. Thornycroft Ltd. and others
Operators:  Royal Navy
 Royal Canadian Navy
 Indian Navy
 Royal Australian Navy
 Royal New Zealand Navy
Preceded by: Various ship's boats and cutters
Succeeded by: LCA (Large), Westland Whirlwind (helicopter)
Built: 1938-1945
Completed: ~2,000
Active: 0
Lost: 1939–1945: 371 (267 in 1944)
General characteristics
Type: Landing craft
Displacement: 9 long tons (9,144 kg)
Tons burthen: 4 long tons (4,064 kg)
Length: 41.5 feet (12.6 m)
Beam: 10 feet (3.0 m)
Draught: light: 1 ft 1 in fwd, 1 ft 9 in aft
loaded: 1 ft 9 in fwd, 2 ft 3 in aft
Ramps: 1
Propulsion: 2x 65 hp Ford V-8 petrol
Speed: 10 kt (light), 6 kt (loaded)
Range: 50–80 miles
Troops: 36 troops or 800 lb (363 kg) cargo
Crew: 4 - coxswain, two seamen and a stoker plus 1 officer per group of 3 boats
Armament: 1x Bren gun, possibly 2x Lewis gun, 2x 2" mortar fitted aft (later models)
Armour: 10 lb. DIHT (3/4") on bulkheads and sides, 7.8 lb. DIHT (1/4") on decks above the troop space.

The Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a landing craft used extensively in the Second World War. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. During the war it was manufactured throughout the United Kingdom in places as various as small boatyards and furniture manufacturers. The design was also produced in Commonwealth boatyards in the Far East.

Typically constructed of hardwood planking and selectively clad with armour plate, this shallow-draft, barge-like boat with a crew of 4, could ferry an infantry platoon of 31, with space to spare for 5 additional specialist troops, to shore at 7 knots (13 km/h). Men generally entered the boat by walking over a gangplank from the boat deck of their troop transport as the LCA hung from its davits. When loaded, the LCA was lowered into the water. Soldiers exited by the boat's bow ramp.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The LCA was the most common British and Commonwealth landing craft of the Second World War, and the smallest landing craft employed by the Royal Navy on D-Day.[1]

Landing craft could hardly be adored by soldiers required to endure rides in them through any sea conditions. Still, the design’s sturdy hull, load capacity, low silhouette, shallow draft, little bow wave, and silenced engines were all assets that benefited the occupants. The extent of its light armour, proof against rifle bullets and shell splinters with similar ballistic power recommended the LCA. Also, many a Tommy and GI looked favourably upon the luxury of seating in the well for the soldier passengers. Throughout the war in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean, the LCA was the most likely sea assault transport of Allied Commandos, Rangers, and other Special Forces.

[edit] Origins

The history of amphibious operations in the British Isles reaches back at least as far as Julius Caesar’s legions crossing the Channel to invade from Gaul. For centuries the Royal Navy had been landing soldiers on hostile shores. During the inter-war period a combination of recent experience and economic stringency contributed to the delay in producing a modern infantry landing craft.

In military and government circles the costly failure of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War coupled with the emerging potential of airpower satisfied many that the age of amphibious operations had come to a close. Still, throughout the 1920s and 1930s, animated discussion in Staff Colleges in Britain and the Indian Army Staff College at Quetta surrounded the potential of the Dardanelles campaign compared with the attrition of the Western Front. The economic austerity of the worldwide economic depression and the Ten Year Rule assured that such theoretical talk would not result in the procurement of any equipment. for a successful landing, troops had to be put ashore safely and quickly in large numbers. The design and production, and use of landing craft was the responsibility of the Royal Navy

The Munich Agreement of 1938 delayed the inevitable war between Britain and Germany. Munich also led to many changes in Imperial General Staff policies, among which was the acceptance of a proposal in November from the Inter-Service Training Development Centre based at Fort Cumberland for amphibious assault procedures and for a new type of landing craft.[1][2] Up to this time the Landing Craft Committee had produced some Motor Landing Craft but had not formed procedures for the assault role of these boats, but now there were specifications for what the new boat must be able to do.[2] They must be under ten long tons, enabling lifting by passenger liner davits. The new craft also had to be built around the load - apart from crew they should carry the thirty-one men of a British Army platoon and five assault engineers or signallers – and be so shallow drafted as to be able to land them in eighteen inches of water.[1] The troops had to unload quickly, so the seats had to be fore and aft and the exit had to be a ramp in the bows.[3] The protection they needed was against rifle and machine-gun fire. the Inter-Service Training Development Centre carried out experiments at the Musketry School at Hythe to determine the thickness and type of plate to be ‘used, and the behaviour of a bullet when striking the water, making allowance for the fact that German bullets had 200 fps greater velocity than the Lee-Enfield’s.[3] All of these specifications made the LCA personnel carriers; a separate set of requirements were laid down for vehicle carriers, although previously the two roles were combined in the Motor Landing Craft. Admiralty designers, swamped with the accelerating demands of rearmament, were unable to produce a design on short notice. So Mr. Fleming of Liverpool, who had produced the Fleming lifeboat, came to Fort Cumberland and the design of the first LCA began.[3]

[edit] Design

Royal Navy Beach Commandos aboard a Landing Craft Assault of the 529th Flotilla, Royal Navy

All landing craft designs (and landing ship designs for ships intended to beach) must find a compromise between two divergent priorities; the qualities that make a good sea boat are opposite those that make a craft suitable for beaching.[4] By this challenging criteria, the LCA was a reasonable compromise.[citation needed] The LCA had a hull built of double-diagonal mahogany planking. The sides were plated with "10lb. DIHT" armour, a heat treated steel based on D1 steel,[5] in this case Hadfield’s Resista ¼”.[6] Steps were taken to ensure that the boat would not sink when swamped. In the bow section between the armoured doors and the ramp, each bulkhead was packed with 30 cubic feet of Onozote buoyant material. The same Onozote packing was placed along both hull sides for the length of the well, and 42.5 cubic feet filled the aft compartment.[6][7]

The LCA had a long central well section fitted with three benches, one centre, one each port and starboard, for seating troops. The side benches were covered by the top deck. The well was divided from the bow by a bulkhead fitted with two vertically hinged doors. This pair of forward-opening armour-plate doors lead to the ramp, which was lowered and raised by a simple arrangement of pulleys and wire. Two rollers on the leading outboard edge providing some freedom of movement for the ramp when it was grounded. Over this ramp troops could come ashore in two to three minutes, or less if the soldiers and crews were well trained. Immediately behind the bulkhead were the steering shelter on the starboard, and the Lewis gun shelter on the port.[8][9] The steering shelter was fitted with a telegraph and voice pipe for communication with the stoker, a featherspray control lever, and a fold-up seat. The shelter was protected on all four sides by non-magnetic bulletproof plate surmounted by a hinged double-door roof.[10] Most LCA were fitted with a compass.

Drive was by two shafts from the pair of low-powered Ford V8 engines to two 19”x14” 2-bladed propellers. Fuel capacity was 64 imperial gallons (290 l). The craft were steered by twin rudders with steering wires that ran from the coxswain’s shelter aft through the well and engine compartment, and the last three foot (unarmoured) buoyancy section in the stern. The LCA propulsion system was designed to be quiet. At low speeds the engines could not be heard at 25 yards.[10] The LCA handled well enough in moderate seas when waves were 3 to 5 ft but could make no speed against rough weather, demonstrated in the number of LCA-hulled support craft that foundered in 6 ft waves while on tow to Normandy (specifically LCA(HR))[citation needed]. The power-plant, while quiet, has been criticized for being underpowered. Nevertheless the bow lines and small ramp made the LCA a reasonably good sea boat.

[edit] Variants

From the start, the Inter-Service Training and Development Centre intended to use armed versions of the LCA to provide close support to the troop-carrying types. These variants were armed with heavy machine guns and smoke-firing mortars.[11] The two prototype LCA from 1938 were converted for this purpose, and other, similar, conversions became the Mkl LCS(M).[12] The Mk1 had a centrally located armoured steering shelter just fore of the engine compartment, and was armed with two .50 calibre machine guns, two .303 Lewis guns, and one 4' mortar or a 20mm gun. The crew of 11 included 1 officer, 3 ratings to sail, and 7 gun crew. The Mk2 was similarly armed on a standard LCA hull, except the two machine guns were in a twin turret rather than single mounts.[6] These craft were not expected to beach and later in production boats were given a proper bow, making them more seaworthy. Thus the LCS(M)(3) was produced and stayed in production for the rest of the war.[6] The LCS(M)(3) used Scripps marine conversions of the Ford V8 engine and had 98 gal. fuel tanks.[9] The turret was armed with twin .50 cal. Vickers power-operated machine-guns.[9]

The LCA was used as the basis for another support weapon variant; the LCA(HR). The capacity to carry troops was replaced by Hedgehog spigot mortar weapon. The additional weight of this weapon and the force it placed on the craft when fired required strengthening of the well floor.[13] As employed for anti-submarine use, it fired 24 bombs arranged in four rows of six in what had been the troop well space,[6] each bomb containing about 30 lb of HE into a 100 circle about 250 yards forward. It was expected that the bombs would clear paths through mines and wire on the beach and for this it was known as "Hedgerow" and the vessels were known as LCA(HR).[13][14] Using this principle of ‘counter-mining’ - the explosions from mortar rounds setting off the mines both above and below the water’s edge, proved very successful.[6] They were used at Salerno[15] and Normandy. The US had a similar craft the "Woofus" based on the LCM.[16]

While not, perhaps, a variant, a field modification was developed by US Rangers, with assistance from LCA crews and Commandos, for the famous Pointe du Hoc assault of 6 June 1944.[17] Each of the 10 LCA of Flotillas 510 and 522 which carried the US 2nd Ranger Battalion to Pointe du Hoc, was fitted with 3 pairs of rocket tubes, firing six-tine grapnels.[18][17] These pulled up (by pairs) ¾” plain ropes, toggle ropes, and rope ladders.[17] The ropes and ladders were stowed in three large tackle boxes mounted down either side of the LCA decks and the rocket tubes were positioned down either side behind the corresponding boxes.[19] In addition, each craft carried a pair of small hand-projector-type rockets, which could be easily carried ashore and fired small 100’ ropes. These could carry to full extension provided the line was dry and used in moderate weather conditions. Each craft also carried tubular-steel extension ladders made up of light, four-foot sections suitable for quick assembly.[17] These modified craft had the central bench in the well removed. At least some of the LCAs also had smoke floats on the stern and the armament in the gunner’s shelter was a Lewis gun, but a variety of Brens and other light weapons were also carried.

Additional support craft variants included the LCA (OC), which was fitted to clear foreshore obstructions.[20] Neither the LCA (FT) fitted with a flamethrower, nor the LCA (CDL) appears to have been used in action. The latter was a conversion by the parent firm of Thornycroft to carry an armoured searchlight (‘canal defence light’) originally developed for use in tanks and intended to blind the enemy in a night attack. Though plans exist of a prototype conversion it is not clear whether it was ever completed.[20] There was an LCA (Bakery) variant to provide fresh bread.[6]

[edit] Production and development history

With few exceptions, the hull, ramp, and power plant of the LCA remained the same throughout the war. Early on the coxswain’s position was moved from aft to forward on the starboard side.[21] Other particulars could vary greatly; some LCA having Direction Finder antenna loops, others Danforth anchors on vertical racks forward. The hatch layout on the stern deck varies, as do the placement and type of mooring bits, chocks, cleats, fairleads, and fuel caps. Photographic evidence shows all these variations and also differences in the placement of the lifelines that were looped along either hullside for men in the water.

The Admiralty ordered 18 LCA from Messrs. Thornycroft in April 1939.[22] These early boats weighed more than 9 tons and had flush-decked hulls, an armoured bulkhead forward that wrapped around the steering compartment on the starboard side. The steering compartment’s armour plates stood about two feet proud of the deck line.[22][23] In September, 8 more were ordered. Ford V8 marine conversions by Thornycroft powered the early groups of LCA, these water-cooled petrol engines developing 65 hp each when driving the 19”x14” 2-bladed propellers through a 41:20 gear reduction. The twin propulsion units gave a speed of 10½ knots at 2,800 revolutions per minute with a load of 8,300 lb in the boat.[24] Later craft used propellers with three blades.

British Navy Landing Craft LCA-1377. Carries American troops to a ship, in a British port during preparations for the Normandy invasion, circa May-June 1944.

The Admiralty placed orders for 30 LCA in March 1940. By this time, Thornycroft were subcontracting with South Coast yacht-builders to fill the Admiralty’s many small boat orders as Thornycroft yards were overtaxed building war-emergency convoy escorts and the like. Some LCA - Numbers 24-29 and 51 - were fitted with Parsons conversions of the Ford V8, driving propellers similar to the standard type but on a 2:1 gear reduction; these LCA did 12 knots at 3,300 revolutions. The standard engine fitted in almost all other craft was the Scripps conversion of the Ford V8. Official trial results for craft built in 1940-1 with this engine show a consistent performance with an unladen speed of 11 knots at 2,800 revolutions.[24] June saw 64 more LCA orders, and then between late September and March1941 another 104. These early craft did not yet have the later standard portside armoured Lewis gun position, but nevertheless, had framed canvas hold covers, scaling ladders mounted on the decks amidships, and various other refinements dropped when mass production got into full swing.[9][25] The finish and performance of these early LCA were quite fine, which might be expected as these boats were built in established Thornycroft selected yards, but in circumstances of nightly blackouts, air raids, wartime restrictions, and shortages the LCA building programme was a remarkable achievement.[24]

About April 1941 the Admiralty decided not to place orders exclusively through Thornycroft and leaving them to sub-contract, rather, the Admiralty placed orders directly with cabinet makers, carpenters, and yacht-builders in all parts of Britain. In this way, Britain was able to produce an additional 1,694 LCA before the end of 1944.[25] Certain details were modified as production ran, but the basic LCA design remained unchanged for the length of the war. By the time production was in full tilt in preparation for Overlord production rose to sixty LCA a month.[21]

Sources differ regarding the speed and endurance of the LCA. By 1945 the all-up loaded weight of a LCA had risen to 13½ tons, due to the addition of further armour and the weight of weaponry an infantry platoon expected to carry into battle.[23] As with all wooden vessels after prolonged immersion, weight increased in the LCA and performance consequently fell.[23] The equipment had evolved and so had the personnel. The time of needing a few craft for raiding was past and the time for invasion, for scores of flotillas dawned. Another obstacle to getting the best performance out of the LCA was the early war tendency to return ratings to their various barracks who had landing craft and small marine engine training. Unfortunately, the Navy appointed these ratings to duties without regard to the importance of their amphibious skills.[26] In June 1941 this pattern was changed with the establishment of the Combined Operations naval base HMS Quebec at Inveraray. Combined Operations was then able to keep trained landing craft crew until boats became available.[27]

[edit] Service history

Throughout the Second World War, LCA were used for landing Allied forces in almost every Combined Operation, major and minor, in the European theatre. They also saw service in North Africa and the Indian Ocean. They saw a little service in the Pacific close to the end of the war. Below are operations involving LCA and LCA variants, and descriptions of how the attributes of the craft, good or ill, suited operational circumstances.

[edit] 1940

The first four LCA used in an opposed landing disembarked 120 French Foreign Legionnaires near Narvik in the May 1940 Norwegian campaign.[21][28] All four were lost in an unsuccessful attempt to tow them home at the end of the campaign. More than a dozen LCA played a part in evacuating the BEF from Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo). The LCA were sent to Dunkirk on a merchant ship, Clan MacAllister. Designed to be hoisted on the standard passenger liner davits used for the 99 man lifeboats, the LCA could be carried and launched from a large number of Merchant Navy vessels.[29] Five LCA were lost when Clan MacAllister was attacked by German aircraft and sunk 29 May. Clan MacAllister was hoisting out LCA upon arriving at Dunkirk but was attacked and sunk before releasing half the craft.[30] The remaining eight began taking soldiers off the beaches at La Panne and Dunkirk. One became stranded on the beach and was set afire by its crew.[31] The balance returned to England “in a bad way” after taking some 2,000 soldiers directly off the beaches.[32]

[edit] 1941

In the Mediterranean, LCA from HMS Glengyle carried No. 4 Commando in their raid on Bardia in April. The objective was to silence a coastal defence battery atop 300 ft high cliffs on a rocky coast. Here the sturdy hull of the LCA, coupled with the skill of the crews allowed many of the Commandos to land almost dry-shod.[33] Later that month LCA were involved in the evacuation of Greece, where some 50,000 troops were embarked in hastily organized operations from Raphto, Argos and Kalamata. In May LCA ferried many of these troops to Crete, and days later, LCA from HMS Glengyle and the SS Cameronia evacuated 6,000 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders during the evacuation of Crete.

[edit] 1942

Operation Biting (also known as the Bruneval Raid) attacked a German coastal radar installation between 27–28 February. The raiding party itself was dropped by parachute that night and would be taken back to England by sea. The naval force under Commander Cook, Royal Australian Navy, departed earlier,during the afternoon, for the journey across the Channel. MGBs towed LCA across the Channel and carried detachments of infantry who would provide fire support for the raiding party when they reached the evacuation beach. To accomplish this task each LCA had sandbags laid down its decks as parapets for Boys anti-tank rifles and Bren guns fitted with high volume drum magazines.[34] When close to the coast the infantrymen climbed into the LCA, the crews cast off, and the craft made for the beach under their own power. Having accomplished their objectives the raiders withdrew to the evacuation beach. By this time, it was 02:15 but there was no sign of the naval force that was to evacuate the airborne troops. The raiders fired off an emergency signal flare, and soon after the naval force was seen approaching. The original plan for the operation had called for two LCA to land on the beach at a time, but this had never been satisfactorily achieved during the training manoeuvres; instead, all six landed at the same time. Troops in the landing craft opening fire on German troops gathering by the top of the cliff.[35] With all the craft beached at once, and enemy fire causing considerable confusion on the beach, some LCA left over-crowded, whilst others left half-empty. However, the entire raiding force was taken off the beach and soon transferred to MGBs for more comfortable transport back to England. Communications had failed; the naval force had received no signals apart from the signal flare, and had spent much of the time hiding from a German naval patrol that had nearly discovered them. The journey back to Britain was uneventful, with the MGBs, LCA in tow, being escorted by four destroyers and a flight of Supermarine Spitfire fighters.[35]

In April two troops of No.4 Commando and eight officers and 43 other ranks of the Carleton and York Regiment (Canadian 1st Infantry Division) took part in Abercrombie, a raid on Hardelot, France, near Boulogne. The LCA of HMS Prince Albert transported the party. This raid also marked the first operational use of the new LCS.[36] The raid set out on the night of 19 April with the LCA being towed by Motor Gun Boats (MGBs). The procedure was for the party to travel to within two miles of the French coast on the MGBs and then to transfer to the LCA for the landing. Due to high seas and strong winds, which swamped and sank LCA 211, the raid was stopped with the loss of two naval ratings.[37][38] The raid was remounted two nights later in calmer seas, but the period of optimum tide, moon, and darkness had past. The raid became uncoordinated, and whilst the Commandos got ashore and began their mission, the boats with the regular infantry became lost. Soon a German E-Boat was engaged by the MGBs. The army officers in the LCA conferred and decided not to disembark. Aboard the LCS, the senior naval officer’s compass failed, and the flotilla only returned to England steered by Lt. Groom’s army compass.[39]

Beginning in May, LCA were used in Operation Ironclad, where British and Commonwealth forces landed in Madagascar to deny its harbours to the Japanese. Because the entrance to Diego Suarez harbour and its approaches were heavily mined the ships of the invasion fleet were unable to anchor close and LCA were required to make long and frequent journeys from ship to shore to satisfy requirements for supplies and reinforcements in worsening sea conditions.[40] Here it became obvious that the assault design was not ideal for utility and supply purposes and future expeditions were allotted more LCM and LCV.[41] LCA were used in three additional landings during the campaign before Madagascar surrendered in September.

They carried the assault infantry of the Canadian 2nd Division to Dieppe in August.

US and British infantry divisions of the Centre and the Eastern Task Forces in the Operation Torch landings in French held North Africa.

[edit] 1943

By February it was obvious that there would be no major amphibious operation in Burma before the onset of the monsoon season, due in the Bay of Bengal in May. Nevertheless, Lieutenant Commander Robert D. Franks, RN, managed to introduce two craft, LCS(M) 17 and LCS(M) 23 into the Mayu River, which empties into the Bay of Bengal just north of Akyab, and of which the Japanese held the mouth.[42][43] The little flotilla was meant to frustrate Japanese use of the river to reinforce their army which was pushing the British north. Two Motor Launches of the Burma Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (BRNVR) had forced their way into the river already. For two and a half months these two LCS, designed for the English Channel, and the two BRNVR MLs took turns dodging Japanese patrols by day and wrecking Japanese outposts and ambushing Japanese supply craft at night among the creeks and chaungs. On 25 April, LCS(M) 17 was sunk by enemy action.[44] Gradually, the Japanese advance over land forced Franks higher up the river: he might have continued operations against the enemy, but in mid-May he was shot up by the RAF and decided it was unsafe to stay in the no-man's-land between the two armies.[45] The British troops had had to withdraw so far up the river that there was no longer enough depth of water for the other three vessels to manoeuvre. The MLs were destroyed by their crews, and the remaining LCS(M) 23 was laid up at Taung Bazaar on a muddy bank where it was claimed by the jungle.[46]The 21 Bitish Empire survivors of this vicious little campaign had to struggle back to friendly lines on foot through swamps.[47]

Toward the end 1943 ships from one assault force (HMS Bulolo and six LSI with their attendant LCA) that had taken part in Husky were transferred to India only to be recalled to the Mediterranean for Anzio. [48]

[edit] 1944

On D-Day LCA put troops ashore on Juno, Gold and Sword Beaches. The LCA also landed the US infantry formations on either flank of Omaha and the Rangers who assaulted Pointe du Hoc. In addition to the gently sloping sand beaches that amphibious planners favour, sometimes it is necessary to make landings on turbulent waters on rock-infested shores. The sturdiness and quietness of the LCA proved invaluable during Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France in July 1944. Operation Romeo had Landing Craft Assault of the Royal Canadian Navy disembark the 1er Commando Français de l'Afrique du Nord to disable German artillery atop the cliffs of Cap Nègre. Canadian LCAs also landed the U.S.-Canadian 1st Special Service Force on the difficult, sharp-rocked shores of Isle de Levant in a pre-dawn operation to silence batteries there that threatened the main force.[49] The LCA was a strong little craft, in this instance standing up better to the pounding in rough landings than other LC types, especially on these rocky offshore islands in the Dragoon landings when many LCVPs were lost.[50] Following the landings in Southern France the Royal Navy’s LSI units remained in the Mediterranean or began moving to the Indian Ocean in anticipation of joining the war against Japan.
There was one more notable use of LCA in the war against Germany; the fierce Walcheren fighting around Flushing and the Western Scheldt in the operations designed to open Antwerp (Battle of the Scheldt). Because the approaches precluded the use of destroyers to support the assault, the presence of LCS and other support craft was vital in providing covering fire and warding off the attacks of German craft contesting the landings. The low speed of the LCA made the navigation plans and timing of the infantry assault more challenging due to the Scheldt’s 4 and 5 knot currents.[51] Still, No.4 Commando got ashore from the bullet-proof LCA with only two or three casualties under heavy fire. The LCA containing the heavier equipment was sunk by an anti-invasion obstacle. Two hours later, the 5th King's Own Scottish Borderers were also landed from LCA at Flushing. During the balance of the operations around Walcheren LCA were used to ferry troops through the river network and the extensive flooded areas.

[edit] 1945

[edit] Crew and Flotilla structure

In Royal Navy service LCA were normally crewed by hostilities-only ratings, personnel of the Royal Naval Patrol Service, and officers and ratings of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR).[4][27] Approximately 43,500 hostilities-only and 5,500 RNVR officers and ratings crewed the various landing craft types in 1944.[52] Of these, the Royal Canadian Navy provided 60 officers and 300 ratings, provided they be formed into specifically Canadian companies.[53] In July 1943 Royal Marines from the Mobile Naval Bases Defence Organization and other shore units were drafted into the pool to crew the expanding numbers of landing craft being gathered in England for the Normandy invasion.[54] By 1944, 500 Royal Marine officers and 12,500 Marines had become landing craft crew.[52]

A junior naval or Royal Marine officer commanded 3 LCA and was carried aboard one of the craft.[55] The officer relayed signals and orders to the other two craft in the group by signal flags in the earlier part of the war, but by 1944 many of the boats had been fitted with two-way radios. On the wave leader’s boat the Sternsheetsman was normally employed as the Signalman but flags, aldis lamps, and loudhailers were sometimes more reliable than 1940s radio equipment.[56] The communications equipment of the troops being ferried could sometimes prove helpful.

The LCA’s crew of four ratings included a Sternsheetsman, whose action station was at the stern to assist in lowering and raising the boat at the davits of the LSI, a Bowman-gunner, whose action station was at the front of the boat to open and close the armoured doors, raise and lower the ramp, and operate the one or two Lewis guns in the armoured gun cockpit opposite the steering position, a stoker-mechanic responsible for the engine compartment, and a Coxswain who sat in the armoured steering cockpit forward on the starboard side.[23][57][58] Though in control of the steering, the coxswain did not have direct control of the engines and gave instructions to the stoker through voicepipe and telegraph. The craft relayed signals and orders to the other two craft in the group by signal flags in the earlier part of the war, but by 1944 many of the boats had been fitted with two-way radios.[56]

It appears that the number of boats in a Landing Craft Assault Flotilla could vary, perhaps depending on the number of davits available on a given LSI. Generally, a Flotilla comprised 12 boats at full complement. Normally, an infantry company would be carried in six LCA. Flotillas were normally assigned to one of the Landing Ship, Infantry. These varied in capacity with smaller ones, such as the 3,975+ ton HMCS Prince David able to hoist 6 LCA, and larger ones, such as the nearly 16,000 ton HMS Glengyle Landing Ship, Infantry (Large)(LSI(L)) with room for 13 LCA.[55]

[edit] LCA post war

Perhaps 1,500 LCA survived the war in serviceable condition. Flotillas were retained in Royal Navy service through the 1960s, landing Nos. 40 and 42 Commando at Port Said in the 1956 Suez Crisis.[59] Perhaps the last operational use of LCA by the Royal Navy was in 1967 when boats from HMS Albion supported operations in Aden; a LCA being the last craft to carry British personnel away from Aden.[60] Nevertheless, the end of the Second World War meant the merchant ships and passenger liners requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as Landing Ship, Infantry (Large) were returned to their owners and refitted to civilian trim. This left a LCA surfeit that was sold off for civilian uses. They were popular acquisitions among riparian holiday-makers and canal enthusiasts in Britain. Their holds covered and ramps sealed LCA became charming little houseboats.[21]

As France began repossession of its Southeast Asian colonies after the Japanese surrender, the need for amphibious craft became apparent. France procured a number of LCA and other landing craft from Britain. The French Army and Navy created a number of river flotillas and in 1947 these were designated Divisions Navales d'Assaut.[61] These French Indochina boats were the last LCA to be recorded in combat service.

The first amphibious craft of the Navy of the Federal Republic of Germany were 10 LCA obtained from Britain in October 1958. These boats were regarded as well built by the German Navy, having good timber, and were fitted with a machine-gun and carried 25 soldiers. Though well regarded, they were small for the tactical plans of the time and sometime about 1967 they were mustered out.[62]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c Buffetaut 1994, p. 26
  2. ^ a b Maund 1949, p. 4–5
  3. ^ a b c Maund 1949, p. 10
  4. ^ a b Saunders 1943, p. 11.
  5. ^ Welding & Fabrication of Ships Structure MOD
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Buffetaut 1994, p. 49
  7. ^ Ladd 1976, p. 34
  8. ^ shelters are referred to as cockpits in the 1944 US Navy pamphlet "Allied Landing Craft and Ships"
  9. ^ a b c d US Navy ONI 226 Allied Landing Craft and Ships. US Government Printing Office, 1944.
  10. ^ a b Ladd, 1976. p ??.
  11. ^ Maund, 1949. p 19.
  12. ^ Ladd, 1976. pp. 170-171.
  13. ^ a b Ladd, 1976. p 173.
  14. ^ http://www.royalmarinesmuseum.co.uk/museumresearch/PDFs/Royal%20Marines%20&%20Landing%20Craft.pdf Royal Marine Museum PDF
  15. ^ Tomblin, Barbara (2004). With Utmost Spirit: Allied Naval Operations in the Mediterranean, 1942-1945 Part 771. University Press of Kentucky. p. 257. ISBN 9780813123387. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=XDqBUqnrFLYC&pg=PA257&lpg=PA257&dq=lca+hedgerow+troops&source=bl&ots=yW6IxQl65r&sig=5HI6Y-z-nqBkRpUMGJqsO58ScqU&hl=en&ei=C668Sov5AcWt4Qbf1_XECQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10#v=onepage&q=lca%20hedgerow%20troops&f=false. 
  16. ^ Friedman (2002). U.S. amphibious ships and craft: an illustrated design history, Volume 895. Naval Institute Press. p. 246. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=oWX-x0b4pw4C&pg=PA228&lpg=PA228&dq=lca+hedgerow+troops&source=bl&ots=evrW63JFjD&sig=2inZaCBds0YGceKT0gvimVVB8XY&hl=en&ei=C668Sov5AcWt4Qbf1_XECQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#v=onepage&q=woofus&f=false. 
  17. ^ a b c d Historical Division, 1945, p. 88
  18. ^ Hall, 2001. p 92.
  19. ^ Imperial War Museum photographs MH789 and MH790
  20. ^ a b Ladd, 1976. p 38.
  21. ^ a b c d Buffetaut 1994, p. 27
  22. ^ a b Maund 1949, p. 19
  23. ^ a b c d Ladd 1976, p. 37
  24. ^ a b c Ladd 1976, p. 38
  25. ^ a b Maund 1949. pp. 19–78
  26. ^ Maund 1949, p. 100
  27. ^ a b Maund 1949, p. 101
  28. ^ Maund 1949, p. 41
  29. ^ Maund 1949, p. 66
  30. ^ Fergusson, p. 44
  31. ^ Fergusson, p. 44
  32. ^ Maund 1949, p. 62
  33. ^ Bruce 1999, p. 24
  34. ^ Chappell, p.27
  35. ^ a b Otway, p. 69
  36. ^ Tooley, p.84
  37. ^ http://www.naval-history.net/WW2BritishLosses4Amphib.htm
  38. ^ Tooley, p.84
  39. ^ Tooley, p.85
  40. ^ Fergussen 1961, pp. 163-164
  41. ^ Maund 1949, p. 113
  42. ^ http://www.naval-history.net/WW2BritishLosses4Amphib.htm
  43. ^ Fergusson, p.366
  44. ^ http://www.naval-history.net/WW2BritishLosses4Amphib.htm
  45. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1582800/Captain-Robert-Franks.html
  46. ^ Fergusson, p.366
  47. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1582800/Captain-Robert-Franks.html
  48. ^ Maund p.293
  49. ^ Milne 1960, p. 28
  50. ^ Ladd 1976, p.35
  51. ^ Bruce 1999, p.181
  52. ^ a b Ladd 1976, p. 20
  53. ^ Training In Small Landing Craft Operations combinedops.com
  54. ^ Ladd 1982, p. 107
  55. ^ a b US Navy ONI 226 Allied Landing Craft and Ships. US Government Printing Office, 1944. “Statistical Table”.
  56. ^ a b Ladd 1976, p. 15
  57. ^ Balkoski 2004, pp. 368–369
  58. ^ Bruce 1999, p. 18
  59. ^ Ladd 1982, p. 130
  60. ^ Ladd 1982, p. 148
  61. ^ Fulton, Major General William B.. Riverine Operations 1966-1969. p. 13. LCCN 72-600370. http://www.history.army.mil/books/Vietnam/riverine/chapter1.htm#d2. 
  62. ^ Breyer 1978, p. 249

[edit] References

  • Balkoski, Joseph Omaha Beach, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2004. ISBN 0-8117-0079-8
  • Breyer, Siegfried und Koop, Gerhard Die Schiffe und Fahrzeuge der deutschen Bundesmarine 1956 - 1976. München, 1978. ISBN 3-7637-5155-6.
  • Bruce, Colin J Invaders, Chatham Publishing, London, 1999. ISBN 1-84067-5330
  • Buffetaut, Yves D-Day Ships, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1994. ISBN 1-55750-152-1
  • Chappell, Mike Army Commandos 1940-45, Osprey, Oxford, 1996. ISBN 978-1-85532-579-1
  • Fergusson, Bernard The Watery Maze; the story of Combined Operations,Holt, New York, 1961.
  • Hall, Tony, Ed., D-Day, Zenith Press, XXXXX, 2001. ISBN 0-7603-1192-7
  • Ladd, JD Assault From the Sea: 1939-1945, Hippocrene Books, Inc., New York, 1976. ISBN 0-88254-392-X
  • Ladd, JD Royal Marine Commando, Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd., London, 1982. ISBN 0-600-34203-4
  • Maund, LEH Assault From the Sea, Methuen & Co. Ltd., London 1949.
  • Milne, Gilbert A. HMCS. London: Thomas Allen, 1960.
  • Otway, T.B.H The Second World War 1939-1945, Imperial War Museum, London, 1990. ISBN 0-90162-75-77
  • Robertson, Terence “The Shame and the Glory: Dieppe”, McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1967 ISBN 0-921022-00-X
  • Saunders, Hilary A. St. George Combined Operations: The Official Story of the Commandos. New York: Macmillan, 1943.
  • Tooley, Robert Invicta, New Ireland Press, Fredericton, NB, 1989. ISBN 0-920483-29-1
  • US Navy ONI 226 Allied Landing Craft and Ships, US Government Printing Office, 1944.
  • US War Department OMAHA Beachhead, US Government Printing Office, 1945.
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