Landing Craft Mechanized

The Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) or Landing Craft Mechanical is 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.

The British Motor Landing Craft was conceived and tested in the 1920s and was used from 1924 in exercises. It was the first purpose built tank landing craft. It was the progenitor of all subsequent LCM designs.

LCM (1)

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

LCM

LCM may refer to:

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LCM2000-class landing craft mechanised

The LCM2000 was a class of Landing Craft Mechanised (LCM) built for the Australian Army by Australian Defence Industries (ADI) (now Thales Australia). The LCMs were ordered in 2001 and the first craft was originally scheduled to enter service with the Army in 2003. The craft proved too large for their intended purpose, however, and were only used for training and minor exercises before the project was cancelled in February 2011.

Design

In 1997 the Australian Government approved a project to build six amphibious watercraft to operate from the Royal Australian Navy's two Kanimbla class landing platform amphibious (LPA). These craft were to be operated by the Australian Army and would replace its LCM-8s. In October 2001 ADI was selected as the preferred tenderer to build the six watercraft; at this time it was intended that the first of the class would enter service in 2003. A contract for the craft was signed in July 2002 and construction work began at ADI's facilities at Carrington, New South Wales in February 2003. The sixth LCM2000 was completed in August 2005, though at the time there were plans to order further craft. The six LCMs were named AB 2000, AB 2001, AB 2002, AB 2003, AB 2004 and AB 2005.

LCM 1

The Landing Craft, Mechanised Mark 1 or LCM (1) was a landing craft used extensively in the Second World War. Its primary purpose was to ferry tanks from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. Ferrying troops, other vehicles, and supplies were secondary tasks. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. of Woolston, Hampshire, UK. During the war it was manufactured in the United Kingdom in boatyards and steel works. Constructed of steel and selectively clad with armour plate, this shallow-draft, barge-like boat with a crew of 6, could ferry a tank of 16 long tons to shore at 7 knots (13 km/h). Depending on the weight of the tank to be transported the craft might be lowered into the water by its davits already loaded or could have the tank placed in it after being lowered into the water.

Narvik and Dunkirk claimed almost all of the 1920s Motor Landing Craft and, therefore, the LCM(1) was the common British and Commonwealth vehicle and stores landing craft until US manufactured types became available. Early in the war LCM(1) were referred to commonly as Landing Barges by both the military and the press. Prior to July 1942, these craft were officially referred to as "Mechanised Landing Craft" (MLC), but "Landing Craft; Mechanised" (LCM) was used thereafter to conform with the joint US-UK nomenclature system. This being the earliest design in use at the time, it was more specifically called “Landing Craft, Mechanised Mark 1” or LCM(1).