Rhino ferry on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
A rhino ferry is a Chapter II: Utilization Of Naval Facilities In U. K. For Assembly And Outfitting Of Equipment For Installation On Invasion Beaches, And Selection And Training Of Seabee Crews For The Invasion
/ref>
US Navy footage of Rhino barges in action, Normandy, June 11, 1944.
Buoyancy devices Coastal construction Operation Overlord {{ship-type-stub
A rhino ferry is a barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
constructed from several pontoons which are connected and equipped with outboard engines, used to transport heavy equipment and people. Rhino ferries were used extensively during the Normandy landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
and other theaters (Attu, Africa, Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, 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 ...
); their low draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
was well-suited for shallow beaches, and they could also be used as piers when filled with water. An alternative to tank landing craft
The Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) (or Tank Landing Craft TLC) 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 ver ...
, they were operated by United States Navy Construction Battalions. They ferried their cargo from the outlying Landing Ships, Tank to the shore.
For the Normandy invasion, components were shipped from the US. Initial construction in the UK was by the USN Construction battalions. Rhinos (and causeways, which used the same components) were also assembled by British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
./ref>
See also
*Mexeflote
The Mexeflote is a landing raft used by the United Kingdom's Royal Logistic Corps and the Royal Australian Navy to move goods and vehicles between ship and shore. It was first used by British military in the 1960s. It was used during the Falkla ...
, similar device, 1960s to present day
* Floating battery
A floating battery is a kind of armed watercraft, often improvised or experimental, which carries heavy armament but has few other qualities as a warship.
History
Use of timber rafts loaded with cannon by Danish defenders of Copenhagen a ...
* Barracks ship
A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...
* Type B ship
The Type B ship is a United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for World War II barges. Barges are very low cost to build, operate and move. Barges were needed to move large bulky cargo. A tug boat, some classed as Type V ships, cou ...
* Navy lighterage pontoons
The Navy Lighterage pontoon (NLP) was a type of pontoon developed in World War II by Capt. John N. Laycock Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) and used by United States Navy Construction Battalions(Seabees) on invasion beaches and shallow harbors or harbo ...
References
External links
US Navy footage of Rhino barges in action, Normandy, June 11, 1944.
Buoyancy devices Coastal construction Operation Overlord {{ship-type-stub