Landing Craft Assault
The Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a British landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores.
The craft derived from a prototype designed by Thornycroft Ltd. of Woolston, Hampshire but featured many key elements from a competitor, the Fleming design. During the war it was manufactured throughout the UK in places as various as small boatyards and furniture manufacturers.
Typically constructed of hardwood planking and selectively clad with armour plate (clearly visible above), this shallow-draught, barge-like boat with a crew of four could ferry an infantry platoon of 31, with space to spare for five additional specialist troops, to shore at seven knots. 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. When loaded, the LCA was lowered into the water. Soldiers exited by the boat's bow ramp.
The LCA was the most common British and Commonwealth landing craft of WWII, and the humblest vessel admitted to the books of the Royal Navy on D-Day. 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 design's sturdy hull, load capacity, low silhouette, shallow draught, 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 troops looked favourably upon the luxury of seating in the well for the transported troops.
This particular example, L1264, is seen on a beach in the Far East (almost certainly Malaya) in the early 1950s. A member of 3 Cdo Bde at the time, my father was the coxswain and took the photo. The map location is entirely arbitrary on my part. Scanned from a B&W print.
Landing Craft Assault
The Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a British landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores.
The craft derived from a prototype designed by Thornycroft Ltd. of Woolston, Hampshire but featured many key elements from a competitor, the Fleming design. During the war it was manufactured throughout the UK in places as various as small boatyards and furniture manufacturers.
Typically constructed of hardwood planking and selectively clad with armour plate (clearly visible above), this shallow-draught, barge-like boat with a crew of four could ferry an infantry platoon of 31, with space to spare for five additional specialist troops, to shore at seven knots. 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. When loaded, the LCA was lowered into the water. Soldiers exited by the boat's bow ramp.
The LCA was the most common British and Commonwealth landing craft of WWII, and the humblest vessel admitted to the books of the Royal Navy on D-Day. 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 design's sturdy hull, load capacity, low silhouette, shallow draught, 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 troops looked favourably upon the luxury of seating in the well for the transported troops.
This particular example, L1264, is seen on a beach in the Far East (almost certainly Malaya) in the early 1950s. A member of 3 Cdo Bde at the time, my father was the coxswain and took the photo. The map location is entirely arbitrary on my part. Scanned from a B&W print.