Landing Craft

Could someone tell me some more about Landing Craft like what branch of the service they were in and who operated them. World War 2 is the most covered event in history but the Landing Craft gets very little attention.

 

Landing craft, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, a few foreign countries.
LCVP-class Landing Craft

 

Thanks for the information.

 

If you what a LOT of information on Landing Craft, including ww2 films etc…..the link below will take you to Internet Archives

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

 

If you’re just getting into something, Wikipedia is a good place to start.

Not surprisingly, landing craft are most commonly operated by navies, but there are other arrangements. The US Army had a significant amphibious force in WW2 (Engineer Special Brigades) and still operates a substantial force today. The British Royal Marines operate landing craft.

In WW2 the US Coast Guard, who have considerable expertise in small boat operations, often manned landing craft. Their first (only?) Medal of Honor winner was a landing craft crewman named Munro who died covering troops during the Guadalcanal campaign.

In WW2 and sometimes since, small landing craft like LCVPs were assigned to transport ships. If you see a landing craft with a number like PA13-6, that means landing craft #6 from APA-13 (Attack Transport). These would usually be carried on deck or on davits.

Larger landing craft like LCUs or LCACs usually belong to landing craft units and are assigned to amphibious ships for specific operations or deployments.

 

Cody, this book will give you photo’s and information on all the different sorts of Landing Craft used by the Allies in WW2

https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/ONI/ONI-226/ONI-226.pdf

 

There are many different craft designed to transport different things. I'm no expert on British types but am very well versed in US craft and fairly so in Japanese craft.
The US craft were developed during the 1930's when experimentation by the US Navy and Marine Corps were trying to develop amphibious doctrine and equipment. The ships boats and motor launches that were initially used were determined to be inadequate for the job.
During the times of small budgets and huge needs, (new battleships, carriers, aircraft, destroyers, etc.) the amphibious stuff got back burnered and if it had not been for some true believers, amongst the Navy and Marine Corps officers working on the concepts and Andrew Higgins, a boat builder in New Orleans, we wouldn't have been able to conduct the amphibious operations that defeated the Axis powers.

Andrew Higgins developed the "Eureka boat" in 1926, Andrew Higgins - Wikipedia .
"In 1926 he designed the Eureka boat, a shallow-draft craft for use by oil drillers and trappers in operations along the Gulf coast and in lower Mississippi River. With a propeller recessed into a semi-tunnel in the hull, the boat could be operated in shallow waters where flotsam and submerged obstacles could foul the usual types of propellers. He designed a "spoonbill" bow for his craft, allowing it to be run onto riverbanks and then to back off with ease. His boats proved to be record-beaters; and within a decade he had improved the design to attain high speed in shallow water and turn nearly in its own length."

The Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair was also working on craft to meet Marine Corps requirements, but their designs were inadequate. They tested the Eureka boat in 1938 and it ended up being adopted as the LCP(L) in 1939 (Landing Craft Personnel-Large). The boats were excellent, the one short coming was having to disembark over the bow or sides. The boat was 36' 8" in length and 10' 10" in beam. This is an important measurement because all the P boats standardized on this length. It was a huge deal when the Navy and Marine Corps amphibious gurus went to the Navy stating they needed this size boat, they were nearly shot down because the hierarchy felt the cost of moving ships davits to accommodate that size would be cost prohibitive. The original boats were limited to 32 feet length to fit standard ships davits. Britain, at war, having the need for a similar type boat placed an order for 136, which Higgins had already built on spec because he felt it was the optimal size, The gurus won out.

LCP(L)


Marine Corps observers in China, particularly Victor Krulak, noted bow ramps on Japanese Daihatsu landing barges and brought the concept back to the US.
"While stationed as an observer in Shanghai during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Krulak took photographs with a telephoto lens of a ramp-bowed landing boat that the Japanese had been using. Recognizing the potential use of such a craft by the U.S. armed forces, Krulak sent details and photographs back to Washington, but discovered years later that they had been filed away as having come from "some nut out in China". Krulak built a model of the Japanese boat design and discussed the retractable ramp approach with boat builder Andrew Higgins who incorporated elements of Krulak's input into the Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) or "Higgins boat", which played critical roles in the Normandy Landings and amphibious assaults in the Pacific.[7]"

This led to the LCP(R) (Landing Craft Personnel-Ramped) an LCP(L) modified with a narrow bow ramp (6'3" wide), 35'11.75" long, 10' 9.5" beam. The boat was further modified with a full width ramp to become the LCV (Landing Craft Vehicle), 36' 4" x 10' 11". This can be differentiated from the follow on LCVP by its raised coxswain position. Then came the most famous boat, the LCVP (Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel) a refinement of the LCV. 36' length, 11' beam. It had a coxswain position down in the boat.
LCV



LCVP



Next you have the heavy equipment landing craft, starting with the US Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair produced several designs of a tank lighter capable of landing small tanks and vehicles over the 1 1/2 ton limit for the LCV. The unsatisfactory Bureau design was procured as the 45' LCM(2), (Landing Craft Mechanized) Andrew Higgins was asked to provide a competing design which was procured as the 50' LCM(3). The LCM(4), (5) and (7) were British built models or built in the US for the British, not used by the US. The LCM(6) was an LCM(3) with an additional 6" section added to the middle to accommodate larger tanks.

When the LCP(L) was superseded by the LCV/LCVP the Navy continued to ship them and used them as Landing Control boats and recovery boats for stranded, stuck, and broached boats because they had better surf handling characteristics.

The proceeding types were normally carried on larger ships. As Carronade noted, the numbers usually indicating which ship they belonged to, mainly AKA's (Attack Cargo) or APA's (Attack Transport). An example, the number four boat, LCVP, from USS Heywood APA-6, would be PA-6-4. The LCV in the upper photo is from APA-14, USS Hunter Liggett, boat #9. The LCVP pictured above is of APA-159 USS Darke's, boat number 18.

The next size up was the LCI(L) Landing Craft Infantry-Large. Used primarily by the US Army and Allied troops, this was a seagoing vessel not needing to be transported on a larger ship. The LCI(L) was operated by the US Army and Navy, with large numbers also given to the British.



There were two types of LCI, one with two side ramps and another with doors in the bow like an LST.

Then there is the LCT (Landing Craft, Tank). This was a British design and Mk.'s 1,2,3, and 4 were produced in and used by the British. The US produced their own version, based on the British design in the Mk. 5 and 6. They were used by the US and provided to Britain, the Polish and Russian navies. The LCT-7 was a US built design that had grown so large that it was redesignated as an LSM (Landing Ship, Medium). Up until they developed ocean going tank carrying types, such as the LCT, LST, LSD, etc. only light tanks could be landed amphibiously. This is because the lighter, carried on an APA or AKA would be lowered into the water via a cargo boom, and then the tank loaded into the lighter via a cargo boom. At the time ships booms were limited to 30 tons capacity, the M4 Sherman weighed 33.4 to 42 tons so couldn't be loaded by booms.
In the Pacific the first use of medium tanks was at Tarawa in November, 1943, carried there by the USS Ashland LSD-1 (Landing Ship, Dock). She could carry 14 pre-loaded LCM's in her well deck.
Dunkirk made the British realize they needed to be able to embark/disembark tanks and heavy vehicles across a beach where port facilities with heavy cranes were not available. First, they converted three shallow draft tankers, adding bow doors and an unloading ramp. Then they built three purpose-built ships of the HMS Boxer/Type 1 class. Lacking a shallow enough draft to easily unload across a beach they were of only limited utility.
The British wanted the US to build them additional LST's, as their shipyards needed to concentrate on building escort vessels. The British, Ireland and Canada did produce a number of a British type, modified Boxer.
While meeting with the Admiralty the US Navy decided that the Bureau of Construction should should/would produce their own design to meet American needs. John Niedermair was assigned the task and developed the LST-2 class (Type 2), with a floodable well deck and the ability to be readily beached, 1052 of the type were produced.

Good book at a good price if you desire further reading: I have this book and it is a great resource. US Landing Craft of World War II, Vol. 1: The LCP(L), LCP(R), LCV, LCVP, LCS(L), LCM, and LCI (Legends of Warfare: Naval): Doyle, David: 9780764358616: Amazon.com: Books

There is a movie on YouTube about a US Navy WWII, APA, "Away all boats" it gives a good familiarization. It's also a good flick: Away All Boats [1956] Full War movie in english - YouTube

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Wow that is a lot of information. On doing research I found that some of the LCP operators where at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima.

 

There was always a shortage of landing boats, so generally the boats continued in service until they were so worn out or damaged as to become unserviceable. Once a newer more efficient option became available some types were utilized for different purposes, such as control or training boats.
The actual LCP was the 32' initial Eureka/Higgins boat. The LCP(L) was the larger 36" (36' 8") version of the same boat. The LCP(L) is likely the boat you are referring to as being at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima. The LCP(L), even after it had been superseded by the ramped versions (LCP(R), LCV, LCVP) as the primary landing boat, it was still retained as a control, and recovery boat due to its being a better surf boat. This was largely due to its bow shape, not having the blunt bow ramp providing resistance when moving through the water. The UDT's (Under Water Demolition Teams) also preferred to use the LCP(L) and LCP(R) for the job of inserting and extracting their teams.

The best sources for info are the US Navy itself! Here's an official training video on the LCVP, the most numerous and famous type. LCVP HIGGINS BOAT 1944 U.S. NAVY LANDING CRAFT TRAINING FILM 29784 - YouTube
They do a good job of training, and you'll know all you want about the basics. At the 3:30 mark of the film they give an overview of the hull of the boat, spoon shaped bow, scuff boards, skeg, tunnel shaped aft hull, rudders. All the Higgins designed boats from the Eureka/LCP on had these same features and were the reason they were so well suited for their tasks.

Here's a US Navy video on Amphibious salvage operations:
AMPHIBIOUS BEACH LANDING SALVAGE BOAT OPERATIONS U.S. NAVY WWII FILM ASSAULT LANDING BOATS 65324 - YouTube
The film focusses on an LCP(L) used as a salvage boat. You'll see some interesting information on boat handling and recovery. Plus you get to see multiple views of several types so you can easily identify the type by sight. Note the boats are from a training unit so don't have the mothership ID numbers (such as PA or KA for APA/AKA and the ships number instead they have boat type and boat number for boats assigned to the unit. The LCP(L) is L-15, the first boat it rescues is an LCVP numbered P-32, At 9:34 they show the rescue of an LCM-3 (FYI LCM's are universally referred to as "Mike" boats). At the 13:14 mark they have a second LCP(L) show up to aid in the Mike boats tow, its number is L-1. While most P-boats (LCV, LCVP's) were carried on ships davits, the Mike boats normally were stowed on the deck/cargo hatches and lowered into the water with the ships booms.

 

How did the men who operated the LCP end up in so many different locations throughout the world?

 

Operation Dragoon, the landing in southern France in August 1944, was the last major amphibious operation in the European theater. The war against Japan was ongoing and would clearly require amphibious assaults, so forces began to be transferred. I don’t know much about landing craft specifically, but for example our four oldest battleships - Arkansas, Texas, New York, Nevada - which had supported landings from North Africa to France, were redeployed to the Pacific for Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

 

If you want to know things about ships (and the boats they carried) first thing I'd do is bookmark NavSource.
Here: NavSource Naval History - Photo Archive Main Index

For your particular quest, click on Amphibious ships, which will take you here: NavSource Online: Amphibious Ships Photo Archive

If you have the name of the ship the guys were on you can look it up and see all the data on it. From the time it was laid down until the time it was scrapped or transferred. It lists campaigns they were involved in, ship specs, etc.

If you have a picture of a landing boat or its number and know how the number works (I've explained in previous posts) you can track down the ship that the boat was assigned to and where the ship went and what it did during its career.

An example. Here is an LCVP on display at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans (Nawluns to the locals).



From the number it was assigned to APA-33 and was the number 21 boat.
Go to NavSource, under Amphibious-APA/LPA-APA-33 was USS Bayfield-Laid down on 14 November, 1942 as a C3-S-A2 hull at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Francisco,CA. She served in both the Atlantic and Pacific, participating in the Normandy Landings, Southern France, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Attack Transport APA-33 Bayfield (navsource.org)

Part of your original question had to do with the crewing of the landing craft. Here is a good article on Coast Guard crews during WWII.
Coast Guard-Manned Naval Vessels in World War II :: The Patriot Files :: Dedicated to the preservation of military history
For instance, during the Guadalcanal landings, the first offensive operation launched by the US, the USS Hunter Liggett, AP-27/APA-14 was a Coast Guard crewed ship. Further, 18 of the 22 Navy transports involved had one or more Coast Guard boat crews.

 

Douglas Albert Munro - Wikipedia
The Only (so far) Coast Guard MOH recipient.

 

Thank you for the compliment Lou. Means a lot coming from you!

 

Thanks for posting the link. I knew the Munro story, and had read about it in numerous books, but I read the Wiki link you provided and learned something I did not know (also discovered what I believe to be two errors, one in the Wiki article another in the USMC 1991 Commemorative account of Guadalcanal by Henry I. Shaw, hosted on Hyperwar.). Learning something new is always a good thing, and in this case a serendipitous fact. I wasn't aware, or didn't recall having read, that Samuel B. Roberts was killed in the same operation that Munro was killed in. We're all familiar with the first ship named after him, the DE-413 Samuel B. Roberts that fought so bravely off Samar, protecting Taffy 3. I also found it interesting that we'd discussed USS Hunter Liggett as being a Coast Guard crewed ship earlier in this thread and Munro had been assigned to it until he and Evans were transferred to Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner's staff on the USS McCawley.
I love art and had seen the Munro painting many times.


Great action and color in the painting and like most military commissioned pieces the artist really did his homework.
--First the sailors/Coast Guardsmen firing in the foreground boat. It's an LCP/L and they appear to be firing Lewis guns. The boat is numbered P10 21, which would be correct, the AP-10 (note P and not PA) was at Guadalcanal, it was Admiral Turner's flagship, Munro had been assigned to it. It was an AP at the time, a transport, being converted into an APA (attack Transport) and being reclassified as APA-4 on 1 Feb, 1943. The Lewis gun was an American designed light machinegun used extensively by the British in WWI and WWII. The Marine Corps had adopted the Lewis gun, as its automatic weapon prior to being involved in the war. Though invented by a US Army Officer in 1911, internal politics prevented the US Army from adopting it. When the Marines arrived in France, the US Army took away their Lewis guns and replaced them with the French Chauchat light machinegun, a much inferior weapon. In WWII, the US Navy used it on armed merchant and small auxiliary ships, but the Coast Guard made widespread use of them! If he hadn't done his research, he would likely have depicted the ubiquitous .30 cal Browning machinegun instead of the Lewis gun.

--The next boats back are an LCM(2), K23-? on the beach and an LCP/L, P10-5 behind it (note the crewmen are not manning the Lewis guns). K23 would indicate a cargo ship (AK), AK-23 was the USS Alchiba (later AKA-6) and participated in the Guadalcanal landings. The LCM(2) is depicted correctly. Only 147 LCM(2)'s were ever built being superseded by the much more capable LCM(3). 48 LCM-2's (almost the entire US Navy inventory at the time), and 116 of the new ramped LCV, were used at Guadalcanal, the balance/majority of boats used were the LCP/L or LCP/R.
The second boat, P10-5, is another AP-10 boat. After watching the salvage video I linked to in an earlier post, and based upon the Wiki article ColHessler linked to, I think they are attempting to approach and pass a towing line to the LCM while Munro in the P-boat provides cover. That would explain why the crewmen aren't manning the Lewis guns.
..."Munro used a .30 caliber machine gun aboard his landing craft to direct suppressing fire against the enemy positions as the other boats recovered the Marines. With Japanese troops moving against the beach, Munro piloted his boat closer to shore to act as a shield. Though the initial extraction was successful, one of the LCTs became grounded on a sandbar. Munro directed the other LCT to help extricate the grounded vessel as he maneuvered his own boat to shield the Marines from Japanese fire from the shore."
--This is what I think is an error. The boats were LCM's and not LCT's (a many times larger vessel). Of the first 14 US LCT's produced, 12 were shipped to Britain, which would indicate they had priority. LCT-1 (built in Wisconsin) was delivered to the US Navy on 29 June 1942, the second LCT-3 (LCT-2 went to Britain) was delivered on 22 August 1942. LCT-15 the next (third) US LCT wasn't delivered until 24 Sept 1942. Both were too late to have participated in the Guadalcanal landings (7 Aug 1942). I checked Morrison, and several USMC sources to verify but didn't discover anything definitive but found a second error.



This is a photo of an LCM(2) being loaded with a light tank at Guadalcanal. Note its number K23-1 is another, or possibly the boat depicted from the USS Alchiba, AK-23.
....continued
Edit...didn't think to add the three boats on right side of the picture are LCV's, they look a lot like LCVP's but can be identified by the raised coxswain position on the rear deck.