Landing Craft Assault
LCA (Landing Craft Assault) form line ahead as they move off from the landing ship Llangby Castle, carrying troops of the Winnipeg Rifles to Juno Beach, Normandy – June 6, 1944
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| Class overview | |
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| Name: | Landing Craft Assault |
| Builders: | John I. Thornycroft Ltd. and others |
| Operators: | |
| Preceded by: | Various ship's boats and cutters |
| Succeeded by: | LCA (Large), Westland Whirlwind (helicopter) |
| Built: | 1939–1945 |
| 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 ft (12.6 m) |
| Beam: | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Draught: |
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| Ramps: | 1 |
| Propulsion: | 2 × 65 hp Ford V-8 petrol |
| Speed: |
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| Range: | 50–80 miles |
| Troops: | 36 troops or 800 lb (363 kg) cargo |
| Crew: | Four: coxswain, two seamen and a stoker plus one officer per group of three boats |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: |
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Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a 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 John I. Thornycroft Ltd. of Woolston, Hampshire, UK. During the war it was manufactured throughout the United Kingdom in places as various as small boatyards and furniture manufacturers.
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, with space to spare for five 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 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 World War II, 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 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. 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 British Commandos, United States Army Rangers, and other Special Forces.
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