LCM 1
Two examples of the LCM(1) during the 1942 Dieppe Raid. On the right is an earlier model without the later fully armoured steering shelter. This craft also has been given additional armour around the tank well and a ramp extension. | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Landing Craft Mechanised Mark 1 |
| Builders | John I. Thornycroft Ltd. and others |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Motor Landing Craft |
| Succeeded by | LCM (3), LCM (4), LCM (7) |
| Built | 1938–1944 |
| Completed | ~500 |
| Active | 0 |
| Lost |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Landing craft |
| Displacement | 21 long tons (21,337 kg) |
| Length | 48.5 ft (14.8 m) |
| Beam | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Draught |
|
| Ramps | 1 |
| Propulsion | 2 × 60 bhp Thornycroft petrol engines (later Chrysler) |
| Speed | 10 kt (light), 6 kt (loaded) |
| Range | 50–80 miles |
| Crew | Six: coxswain, stoker, and four seamen, plus one officer per group of three boats |
| Armament | 2 × Lewis Guns |
| Armour |
|
| Notes |
|
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).