The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia

ONI 226

LCT Mark 5

Tonnage

133 tons light displacement

Dimensions

114'2" by 32'8" by 3'
34.8m by 10.0m by 0.9m

Maximum speed

10 knots

Complement
13

Armament

2 0.50 machine guns
2 20mm Oerlikon AA guns

Protection
2.5" (64mm) plastic on wheelhouse sides and gun positions
0.25" (6mm) STS ramp plate

Machinery
3-shaft Gray diesel (675 shp)

Bunkerage
11.12 tons

Range
700 miles at 7 knots

Capacity

150 tons = 9 trucks or 5 light or 3 heavy tanks or 150 troops

Variants
Marks 1 to 4 were British designs that were considerable larger than Mark 5 (226 to 350 light tons displacement) but were rejected for mass production in the U.S.

Mark 6 was slightly larger but did not vary significantly in seakeeping.

Armament varied considerably within Marks 5 and 6. The British modified some in Europe for fire support, but this does not appear to have been done by U.S. forces in the Pacific.

Landing Craft, Tank, or LCTs, were small seagoing landing craft that were similar to LCIs , but were specialized for landing vehicles. They had a single large bow ramp and could carry up to four tanks or several trucks. Total cargo capacity was about 150 tons. They were very slow at 10 knots, and short-ranged, which reduced their strategic flexibility considerably.

LCTs were constructed in three welded sections for shipment overseas. These could be bolted together in the water.

Because of their short range, they were not designed to house their crews for more than a few days at a time. However, in the Southwest Pacific, these craft operated almost continuously for months at a time. This could not have been pleasant for their crews.

The British modified some LCTs as fire support craft,but this was not done by U.S. forces. However, a number of LCTs were used as gunboats at Biak by loading tanksonto the LCTs to fire directly into Japanese positions along the coastal escarpment that could not otherwise be reached.

As with all landing craft built in the United States, a large fraction went to Britain as Lend-Lease.

Total Production

The following table gives total production. About 30% of this was allocated to the Pacific until the final year of the war, when most of the amphibious fleet began to be shifted to the Pacific.

1942-6
1

1942-7
1

1942-8
45

1942-9

156

1942-10

152

1942-11

101

1942-12
9

1943-1
5

1943-2
0