The landing craft mechanized (LCM) is a

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...

designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when they were used to land troops or

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

s during

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

amphibious assaults.

Variants

There was no single design of LCM used, unlike the

landing craft, vehicle, personnel The landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively by the Allied forces in amphibious landings in World War II. Typically constructed from plywood, this shallow-draft, barge-like boat could ferry ...

(LCVP) or

Landing Craft Assault 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 ...

(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. Nine were in service at the start of the war. 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 LCM Mark I was used during the Allied landings in Norway (one alongside the MLCs), and at Dieppe and some 600 were built. *Displacement: 35 tonnes *Length: *Width: *Draught: *Machinery: two Chrysler 100 hp petrol engines *Speed: 7 knots *Crew: 6 men *Armament: two .303 in. Lewis guns *Capacity: one medium tank, or 26.8 tons of cargo or 60 troops **100 men ** with of freeboard

LCM (2)

*Displacement: 29 tons *Length: 45 ft (14 m) *Beam: 14 ft 1 in (4.3 m) *Draft: 3 ft (0.91 m) *Speed: 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h) *Armament: two .50-cal

M2 Browning machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...

s *Crew: 4 *Capacity; 100 troops, or one 13.5 ton tank, or 15 tons of cargo The first American LCM design, from the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

Bureau of Construction and Repair The Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) was the part of the United States Navy which from 1862 to 1940 was responsible for supervising the design, construction, conversion, procurement, maintenance, and repair of ships and other craft for the ...

. Approximately 150 were built by

American Car & Foundry ACF Industries, originally the American Car and Foundry Company (abbreviated as ACF), is an American manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once (1925–54) a manufacturer of motor coaches and trolley coaches und ...

and

Higgins Industries Higgins Industries was the company owned by Andrew Higgins based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Higgins Industries is most famous for the design and production of the Higgins boat, an amphibious landing craft referred to as LCVP (land ...

LCM (3)

There were two designs: *Bureau Capable of carrying of cargo *Higgins In appearance very similar to the LCVP which

also constructed, with a wide load area at the front and a small armoured (1/4 inch steel) wheelhouse on the aft decking over the engine room. A Higgins LCM-3 is on display at the Battleship Cove

maritime museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the militar ...

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

. Another Higgins LCM-3 is displayed at the Museo Storico Piana delle Orme in

Province of Latina The Province of Latina ( it, Provincia di Latina) is an area of local government at the level of province in the Republic of Italy. It is one of five provinces that form the region of Lazio. The provincial capital is the city of Latina. It is bor ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, 18 miles East of

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a Port, fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine I ...

. *Displacement: 52 tons (loaded); 23 tons (empty) *Length: *Beam: *Draft: (forward); (aft) *Speed: (loaded); (empty) *Armament: two .50-cal

s *Crew: 4 *Capacity: One 30-ton tank (e.g.

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the Military history of the United States during World War II, United States and Allies of World War II, Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman prove ...

), 60 troops, or of cargo

LCM (4)

In the years 1943 and 1944, seventy-seven LCM(4)s were built. Outwardly, the LCM(4) was almost completely identical to a late model LCM(1) – the difference lay inside the pontoon. Here special bilge pumps and special ballast tanks allowed the LCM(4) to alter trim to increase stability when partially loaded.

LCM (5)

British model of LCM

LCM (6)

An LCM (3) extended by amidships. Many were later adapted as armoured troop carriers (ATCs or "

Tangos Tangos may refer to: * "Tangos" (song), a song popularized in Spain * Tangos (district), a district or barangay in Navotas, Philippines * ''Tangos'' (album), a 1973 album by Buenos Aires 8 * ''Tangos'' (Rubén Blades album), a 2014 album by Ru ...

") for the

Mobile Riverine Force In the Vietnam War, the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) (after May 1967), initially designated Mekong Delta Mobile Afloat Force, and later the Riverines, were a joint US Army and US Navy force that comprised a substantial part of the brown-water n ...

in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

; others became "

Monitors Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...

" with 105mm guns, "Zippos" with flamethrowers or "Charlie" command variants. * Power plant: ** 2 Detroit 6-71 diesel engines; sustained; twin shaft; or ** 2 Detroit 8V-71 diesel engines; sustained; twin shaft * Length: 56.2 feet (17.1 m) * Beam: 14 feet (4.3 m) * Displacement: 64 tons (65 metric tons) full load * Speed: 9 knots (10.3 mph, 16.6 km/h) * Range: 130 miles (240 km) at * Military lift: 34 tons (34.6 metric tons) or 80 troops * Crew: 5

LCM (7)

British model of LCM

LCM (8)

General characteristics, LCM 8 Type * Power plant: four 6-71 six-cylinder diesels, two hydraulic transmissions, two propeller shafts. (Lighterage Division, NSA Danang 1969-1970) crew of 3: coxswain, bowhook, and engineer (aka "snipe") * Power plant: 2 Detroit 12V-71 diesel engines; sustained; twin shafts * Length: 73.7 feet (22.5 m) * Beam: 21 feet (6.4 m) * Displacement: 105 tons (106.7 metric tons) full load * Speed: 12 kt (13.8 mph, 22.2 km/h) * Range: 190 nm (350 km) at full load * Capacity: 53.5 tons (54.4 metric tons) * Military lift: one M48 or one M60 tank or 200 troops * Crew: 5

Operators

* –

Turkish Naval Forces The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

* –

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, U.S. Army 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary * –

Royal Thai Navy The Royal Thai Navy ( Abrv: RTN, ทร.; th, กองทัพเรือไทย, ) is the naval warfare force of Thailand. Established in 1906, it was modernised by the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880–1923) who is known as ...

* –

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

* –

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

* –

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

* –

Navy of El Salvador The Navy of El Salvador ( es, Fuerza Naval de El Salvador) is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of El Salvador. The navy was founded on 12 October 1951. Built around craft and duties absorbed from the Salvadoran Coast Guard, the navy is primarily ...

* –

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

* –

Egyptian Navy The Egyptian Navy ( ar, القوات البحرية المصرية, El-Quwwāt el-Bahareya el-Miṣriyya, Egyptian Navy Forces), also known as the Egyptian Naval Force, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy ...

* –

Royal Saudi Navy The Royal Saudi Navy ( ar, البَحْريَّة الْمَلكيَّة السُّعُودِيَّة, Al-Quwwat al-Bahriyah al-Arabiyah as-Su'udiyah) or Royal Saudi Naval Forces ( ar, القُوَّات البَحْريَّة الْمَلك� ...

* -

Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...

* -

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

* -

Vietnam People's Navy The Vietnam People's Navy (VPN; vi, Hải quân nhân dân Việt Nam), or the Naval Service (), also known as the Vietnamese People's Navy or simply Vietnam/Vietnamese Navy (), is the naval branch of the Vietnam People's Army and is responsi ...

Former operators

* –

Khmer National Navy The Khmer National Navy ( km, កងទ័ពជើងទឹកជាតិខ្មែរ; french: Marine nationale khmère, MNK) was the naval component of the Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), the official military of the Khmer Republic dur ...

* –

Republic of Vietnam Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; ; ''HQVNCH'') was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats fro ...

Notes

References

*Gordon L. Rottman & Tony Bryan, ''Landing Ship, Tank (LST) 1942–2002'', New Vanguard series 115, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2005. *Gordon L. Rottman & Hugh Johnson, ''Vietnam Riverine Craft 1962–75'', New Vanguard series 128, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2006. *Gordon L. Rottman & Peter Bull, ''Landing Craft, Infantry and Fire Support'', New Vanguard series 157, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2009. *Maund, LEH ''Assault From the Sea'', Methuen & Co. Ltd., London 1949.

External links

Skill in the Surf: A Landing Boat ManualHistory of "Logistics over The Shore" operationsLCM & LCU fact fileLCM-6 surface textures required for Xj3D/VRML model
{{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries Landing craft Ship types