Landing Craft Mechanized

The Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) or Landing Craft Mechanical was a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults.

Variants

There was no single design of LCM used, unlike the Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) or Landing Craft Assault (LCA) landing craft made by the US and UK respectively. There were several different designs built by the UK and US and by different manufacturers.

LCM (1)

The Landing Craft Mechanical Mark I was an early British model, it was able to be slung under the davits of a liner or on a cargo ship boom with the result that it was limited to a 16 ton tank. The British LCM was conceived and tested in 1920 and was used from 1924 in exercises.William F Buckingham. D-Day the First 72 hours Tempus Publishing, Stroud. 2004

The Landing Craft Mechanical Mark I was used during the Allied landings in Norway, and at Dieppe and some 600 were built.

• Displacement: 35 tonnes
• Length : 13.6 m
• Width : 4.27 m
• Draught : 1.22 m
• Machinery : two Chrysler 100 hp petrol engines
• Speed : 7 knots
• Crew : 6 men
• Armament : two .303 mm Lewis guns
• capacity: one medium tank, or 26.8 tons of cargo or 60 troops
• 100 men
• 54,500 lbs with 9 inches of freeboardNorman Friedman U.S. Amphibious Ships...... ...
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