The Toku Daihatsu Class or 17m landing craft was a type of

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 ...

, used by the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

during

World War II 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 ...

. It was designated the "Super Type A" landing craft by the United States.

History

It was a larger design of the

Daihatsu Class The was a type of landing craft used by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1937 to 1945, in the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. It was designated the "Type A" landing craft by the United States. History Daihatsu-class Landing Craft (大� ...

landing craft, with a bow ramp that was lowered to disembark cargo upon riding up onto the beach. It was constructed of a metal hull and powered by a diesel engine. Designed to carry a medium-sized tank or two eight ton tanks. The landing craft was used extensively to run troops and supplies to isolated garrisons, referred to as ''ant runs'' by the Japanese. The

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 ...

air forces and

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the wa ...

s undertook increasingly successful raids at intercepting and destroying these craft towards the end of World War II.

References

*Jentschura, Hansgeorg; Jung, Dieter; and Mickel, Peter. Translated by Brown, J.D. 1977. Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press. . *Military Monograph Series - Japanese Landing Craft of World War II. Merriam Press. {{ISBN, 1-57638-049-1
Landing craft Amphibious warfare vessels of Japan