![]() ![]() ![]() The costly failure of the Gallipoli campaign during World War I coupled with the emerging potential of airpower satisfied many in naval and military circles that the age of amphibious operations had come to a close. During the inter-war period, however, a combination of recent experience and economic stringency contributed to the delay in producing a modern infantry assault landing craft. Throughout the war in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean, the LCA was the most likely sea assault transport of British Commandos, United States Army Rangers, and other special forces.įor centuries the Royal Navy had been landing soldiers on hostile shores, prominent examples being Quebec 1759, Peking 1900, during the Dardanelles campaign 1915-16 and the Zeebrugge Raid 1918. Also, soldiers were able to sit, unlike other landing craft which required them to stand. The extent of its light armour, proof against rifle bullets and shell splinters with similar ballistic power recommended the LCA. The Landing Craft Assault's design's sturdy hull, load capacity, low silhouette, shallow draft, little bow wave, and silenced engines were all assets that benefited the occupants. Prior to July 1942, these craft were referred to as "Assault Landing Craft" (ALC), but "Landing Craft Assault" (LCA) was used thereafter to conform with the joint US-UK nomenclature system. The LCA was the most common British and Commonwealth landing craft of World War II. When loaded, the LCA was lowered into the water. Men generally entered the boat by walking over a gangplank from the boat deck of a troop transport as the LCA hung from its davits. Typically constructed of hardwood planking and selectively clad with armour plate, this shallow-draft, barge-like boat with a crew of four could ferry an infantry platoon of 31 and five additional specialist troops, to shore at 7 knots (13 km/h). During the war it was manufactured throughout the United Kingdom in places as various as small boatyards and furniture manufacturers. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. ![]() Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a landing craft used extensively in World War II. DIHT (.25 in (6.4 mm)) on decks above the troop well and engine space. DIHT (.75 in (19 mm)) on bulkheads and sides 2 × 2-inch mortar fitted aft (later models).Loaded: 1 ft 9 in (0.53 m) fwd, 2 ft 3 in (0.69 m) aftįour: coxswain, two seamen and a stoker plus one officer per group of three boats.LCA (Large), Westland Whirlwind (helicopter) LCA (Landing Craft Assault) form line ahead as they move off from the landing ship Llangibby Castle, carrying troops of the Winnipeg Rifles to Juno Beach, Normandy, June 6, 1944 ![]()
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