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The Landing Craft Tank (Rocket) or LCT(R) was developed from the British Mk.2 and Mk.3 Landing Craft Tank (LCT) during the Second World War. It was designed to saturate beaches with either 972 or 1,044 [1] rockets prior to the landing of troops. Used by both British and U.S. forces, the craft saw service in the Normandy landings, the Mediterranean and the Far East.
The front loading door was welded shut and an additional deck installed above the tank storage bay to provide a mounting for the rocket launching racks. The resulting storage space below the deck (formerly the tank deck) was informally subdivided with canvas sheets to provide additional crew space. These were later updated with wooden partitions. The craft was also fitted with a Type 970 radar set whose primary use was for rangefinding, but was also successfully used for navigation. Generally propulsion was provided by Paxman diesel engines, however, others were used due to availability. Some U.S. craft were fitted with petrol (gasoline) engines.
The batteries of 5-inch (130 mm) rocket projectors carried by each LCT(R) fired salvoes of rockets in rapid succession, triggered electronically by an officer located in the bridge wheelhouse. The remainder of the seventeen man crew took shelter, at the point of firing, in the below-deck space described above. The projectors were cordite-filled tubes, firing 7-pound (3.2 kg) high explosive heads. As the individual LCT(R) moved towards the beach or other target area the approximately twenty-four salvoes could in theory blanket an area of up to 1,000 yards (910 m) in depth.
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft where it was the only item funded for development. The first (STS-1) of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights (STS-5) beginning in 1982. Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. They launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Operational missions launched numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), conducted science experiments in orbit, participated in the Shuttle-Mir program with Russia, and participated in construction and servicing of the International Space Station (ISS). The Space Shuttle fleet's total mission time was 1,323 days.
Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Production of landing craft peaked during World War II, with a significant number of different designs produced in large quantities by the United Kingdom and United States.
The Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of versions. Initially known as the "tank landing craft" (TLC) by the British, they later adopted the U.S. nomenclature "landing craft, tank" (LCT). The United States continued to build LCTs post-war, and used them under different designations in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with no docks or piers. This enabled amphibious assaults on almost any beach.
A Landing Craft Utility (LCU) is a type of boat used by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore. They are capable of transporting tracked or wheeled vehicles and troops from amphibious assault ships to beachheads or piers.
The RP-3 was a British air to ground rocket projectile introduced during the Second World War. The "3 inch" designation referred to the nominal diameter of the rocket motor tube. The use of a 60-pound (27 kg) warhead gave rise to the alternative name of the "60-pound rocket". Though primarily an air-to-ground weapon, it saw limited use in other roles. They were generally used by British fighter-bomber aircraft against targets such as tanks, trains, motor transport and buildings, as well as by Coastal Command and Royal Navy aircraft against U-boats and ships.
The Unrotated Projectile (UP) was a British anti-aircraft and ground-bombardment rocket of the Second World War. A 7-inch version was developed for the Royal Navy by Alwyn Crow of the Projectile Development Establishment of the Ministry of Supply at Fort Halstead. It proved unreliable and ineffective and was withdrawn from use in 1941. Development of the concept led to the UP-2 and UP-3, which had diameters of 2-inch and 3-inch respectively but were longer. The latter was used as the basis of the Z Battery anti-aircraft weapons and later developed in air-to-ground form as the RP-3, used against ground forces and shipping by aircraft like the Hawker Typhoon and the Bristol Beaufighter. In 1944–1945 several adaptations for general bombardment were produced, including Sea Mattress, Land Mattress, LILO and Tulip.
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.
The Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) were several classes of landing craft used by the Allies to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches during World War II. They were developed in response to a British request for seagoing amphibious assault ships capable of carrying and landing substantially more troops than their smaller Landing Craft Assault (LCA). The result was a small steel ship that could land 200 men, traveling from rear bases on its own bottom at a speed of up to 15 knots.
Mattress was the term applied to ground-based British-devised multiple rocket launchers during World War II. Compared with the German and Soviet counterparts, the western Allies deployed these weapons late in the war. Nevertheless, they did see useful service as artillery support during the crossings of the Rhine and the Scheldt rivers.
USS LST-494 was a United States Navy amphibious tank landing ship that saw combat during World War II in both the European and Pacific Theaters of War. LST stands for Landing Ship, Tank.
USS Benzie County (LST-266) was an LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Benzie County, Michigan, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS Boone County (LST-389) was an LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for counties in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and West Virginia, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
The Mark 8 Landing Craft Tank 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 sailing to and operating in the Far East.
An amphibious warfare ship is an amphibious vehicle warship employed to land and support ground forces, such as marines, on enemy territory during an amphibious assault.
HMS Misoa was a Maracaibo-class LST Mk.I tank landing ship of the British Royal Navy during World War II. A converted Lake Maracaibo oil tanker, she took part in the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and Normandy.
The Landing Barge, Kitchen or LBK was a landing craft used to support amphibious landings in North Western Europe during and after the Normandy invasion in the Second World War. Its primary purpose was to provide hot meals to the crews of the many minor landing craft not fitted with galley facilities. Constructed of steel, this shallow-draft lighter had storage and serving space to feed 900 men for one week. The kitchen capacity was able to provide 1,600 hot meals and 800 cold meals a day.
Landing Craft, Gun (LCG) is an umbrella term referring to two major types of British-built landing craft used extensively in World War II, present for the Normandy landings, the Allied invasion of Sicily, Operation Infatuate, and more. Their primary purpose was to provide direct fire against beach positions and surface attack for first-echelon landing waves. Secondary roles included engaging light surface vessels and escorting other landing craft.
HMS Bachaquero(F110) was a Maracaibo-class Mark I landing ship, tank of the Royal Navy during World War II. A converted Lake Maracaibo oil tanker.
LCT 147 is an amphibious assault ship for landing tanks, other vehicles and troops on beachheads. Built in 1941 by Stockton Construction, Thornaby-on-Tees, the Mark 2 LCT 147 took part in the Invasion of North Africa in June 1943. The ship was converted to a Landing Craft Rocket at Portsmouth Dockyard from March through May 1943 and renamed LCT(2)(R) 147.