Mark 8 Landing Craft Tank
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HMAV Abbeville beached in Village Bay, St Kilda, Scotland.
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Mark 8 Landing Craft Tank |
| Builders: | See Construction |
| Operators: | |
| Planned: | 187 |
| Completed: | 30 for military service |
| Cancelled: | 151 (6 completed and sold into civilian service) |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Landing craft tank |
| Displacement: | 1,017 tons maximum |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 38 ft (12 m) |
| Draught: | 4 feet 8 inches (1.42 m) forward, 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m) aft at 880 tons displacement |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Range: |
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| Capacity: | 8 x 30-ton tanks, 13 x 3-ton trucks, or 350 tons of cargo |
| Troops: | 42 (vehicle crews) |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: | 4 x 20 mm Oerlikons |
The Mark 8 Landing Craft Tank (also referred to as the LCT (8) or LCT Mark VIII) were landing craft tank ships operated by the British Armed Forces. The vessels were based on an American design, but improved into ocean-going vessels capable of transiting to and operating in the Far East.
Although 187 vessels were ordered, the end of the Second World War meant that only 30 were completed for service in the Royal Navy, while another 6 were sold to civilian parties. 12 of the Royal Navy vessels were, from 1957, transferred to the British Army; these were initially operated by the Royal Army Service Corps, then by the Royal Corps of Transport. Between 1958 and 1966, the other 18 Royal Navy ships were transferred or sold to foreign navies or civilian companies, converted for other uses, or otherwise disposed of. Several Army Mark 8s were also sold to foreign powers, with the design operated by the Royal Malaysian Navy, the French Navy, the Singaporean Navy, and the Military of Comoros.
During their service life, vessels of the class operated during the Suez Crisis and Indonesian Confrontation, and were involved in the setup and supply to guided weapons bases in the Hebrides as part of Operation Hardrock.
Eventually, they were replaced by Round Table class ships.
In October 1943, the Director of Naval Construction was instructed to prepare plans for a class of Landing Craft Tank vessels suitable for travelling to and operating in the Far East. They had to be capable of ocean operations and able to keep up with Landing Ship, Infantry convoys. Greater ranges and more lengthy periods of sustained operation than in the European or Mediterranean theatres would require a larger vessel with better seakeeping ability. Design and capabilities were heavily influenced by the United States' Mark 7 LCT (which was later re-categorised as Landing Ship Medium), which was capable of transporting multiple tanks over large distances. The Mark 8 was a synthesis of the best qualities of previous amphibious warfare vessels: the design was based on an enlarged version of the Mark 4 LCT, incorporating its light construction and suitability for mass-production, while including the robustness of the Mark 3 design, and adopting the bow layout and other elements from the Mark 2 Landing Ship Tank.
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Wikipedia