Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT)
—Jason
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Military forces have always needed a way to convey their soldiers to a hostile shore. Modified merchant ships and warships served as reasonably effective means of conveyance but as shore defenses became more and more complex, the need for specifically designed amphibious vehicles were needed. The Battle of Gallipoli, fought during the First World War, provided a bitter example of why such specific craft were needed.
The Battle of Gallipoli was an eleven-month long stalemate that pitted the ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Corps) against the Turkish and German defenders of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the British Admiralty, envisioned opening a second front that would weaken German resistance on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. A combined operation between the Royal Navy and ANZAC Corps would see amphibious landings take place along the Aegean Sea coastline of Ottoman-controlled Europe. The infantry would be supported by squadrons of Royal Navy battleships as they marched up the peninsula towards Constantinople.
The British lacked specifically built amphibious assault ships to land troops onto the hostile beaches. Several merchant ships were heavily modified to help get the infantry onto the shore: this included holes cut into the hulls, nets and ladders attached to the sides of the ships, as well as the use of smaller craft. The ships were also intended to be run aground ensuring that munitions and extra troops would flood the Turkish positions. None of these modifications provided an easy route for the infantry to leave the ships while under fire. As the first hours of the battle unfolded, casualties increased as Turkish gunners targeted the limited areas of the British ships from which soldiers could disembark. Ultimately the Battle of Gallipoli ended in failure and the ANZAC were withdrawn after eleven brutal months.
The decades between World War I and World War II saw the development of dedicated amphibious assault craft. The United States Navy and Marine Corps designed a combined combat doctrine to fight in the Pacific Theaters. The Imperial Japanese had built a powerful series of bases throughout the Central Pacific. These Japanese possessions were perfectly positioned to be launching sites for future conquest. The United States Navy crafted War Plan Orange as its master scheme for fighting across the Pacific Ocean: The United States Navy and Marine Corps would battle their way across the Japanese possessions until a decisive battle could be fought off the US-controlled Philippine Islands.
Capturing the Japanese island fortresses required that the US Marines to land forces on the beaches and overwhelm the defenses. This need for dedicated amphibious assault craft brought forth several new types of ships: ocean-going assault transports that carried the Marines, their vehicles, and smaller landing craft. The larger ships came in a variety of designs and capabilities: some could beach themselves to disgorge tanks and trucks, others were designed to sit further out at sea and unloaded waves of Marines. By the end of World War II, the United States Navy possessed the largest amphibious warfare fleet the world had ever seen.
The smaller ships also came in several varieties depending on their availability and the demands of the theater of operation. The flat-bottomed Higgins Boats had a drop gate at the front to allow infantry to storm the beach before returning to the water and gathering more troops. The most sought-after assault carrier in every theater was the Landing Vehicle Tracked, or LVT. The LVTs were designed to specifically have treads that could allow the vehicle to traverse different types of terrain to deliver troops onto the beach and continue to carry them further inland. The LVT was always in short supply and the US Army and Marine Corps struggled against each other for a larger supply of the venerable amphibious tank.
The LVT derived from a civilian design developed by Donald Roebling in 1935. Roebling had created his Alligator as a rescue vehicle that could be used in swampy areas. Over the next few years, Roebling redesigned the Alligator for increased speed. The United States Marine Corps became interested and approached Roebling to construct a much sturdier, seaworthy version. It was not until 1940 that both the US Navy and Roebling decided to adapt the Alligator for amphibious warfare. The Navy had argued that conventional landing craft were the key to successful beach landings. The Marines desired a vehicle that could both deliver assault troops and provide much needed fire support once on the beach.
By July 1941, 300 of the vehicles, now classified as LVT-1 had rolled off the production line. This small number of LVTs became the source of a bitter dispute between the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The Army argued that the Europe-first war plan meant that should receive them, while the Navy and Marine Corps responded that these vehicles were needed in the Pacific. Eventually 128 LVTs were attached to the 1st Marine Division for the operation to seize Guadalcanal beginning in February 1942. The Navy and Marines were highly impressed with its large carrying capacity and firepower: more LVTs were ordered to help the drive across the Central Pacific.
The LVT-1 variant was loaded with soldiers onboard the larger assault ships before forming up in waves and making their runs towards and enemy beach. Despite its operational title as an amphibious tank, the LVT-1 was not armored beyond the steel skin they were assembled with. Between February 1942 and November 1943, the LVT-2 variant slowly trickled into the Pacific Theater of Operations. It had an improved design that had additional machine guns and extra armor bolted to the vehicle. Later versions of the LVTs included other variants, such as flamethrowers, tank turrets, and small artillery pieces.
The heavy losses suffered by the 2nd Marine Division while capturing Tarawa in late November 1943 forced the US War Department to shift more of the LVTs to the Pacific. The Marines did not have enough LVTs to land all their forces and had to rely on many Higgins Boats to make up the difference. Unbeknownst to the Navy and Marines, an uncharted reef projected much further into the lagoon than previously known. When the Higgins Boats hit the reef, they became grounded and the Marines inside had to wade hundreds of yards in chest-high water under heavy fire. After just three days of intense fighting, the Marines had lost 1,009 killed and another 2,101 wounded: nearly a third of the assault force.
The lessons so bitterly learned at Tarawa saved many lives as amphibious tactics and weapons were improved. The US Marines insisted that the minimum of LVTs per division be tripled from 100 to 300 vehicles. Armor kits were provided for all LVTs in combat zones. Machine gun shields were installed to protect the men manning them. Mechanical difficulties were rampant with the LVTs and so they were replaced by new vehicles after each amphibious attack. LVT(A)-1 and LVT(A)-4 variants were designed as “amtanks” which had either a 75-mm howitzer or Sherman tank turret mounted on the hull to provide fire support.
While the largest number of LVTs were used throughout the Pacific Theater of Operations, there were numerous operations in Europe which utilized them. As production of this perpetually demanded vehicle increased, the LVT began showing up in force on the Continent. A very limited number of LVTs took part in Operation Overlord, the Allied landing in Normandy, in June 1944. However, they were used for the unloading of supplies and not direct amphibious assault. The British and Canadians used LVTs to help them conduct assaults across large rivers or in swampy terrain. LVTs fought in Italy, the Netherlands, and along the Rhine in the closing parts of 1945. By war’s end, Allied soldiers and sailors came to appreciate the LVT as a design that helped them survive and thrive in dangerous operations.
Today the United States Marine Corps still operate amphibious tracked vehicles. The Marines use the Assault Amphibious Vehicle, or AAVP-7A1, to land troops on beaches via waterborne assault. The AAV is a successor design of the LVT created in 1972. They have machine gun armament to help lay down suppressing fire to support the up to 21 Marines it can transport. The need to put boots on hostile shores still is a vital necessity for the armed forces of the world and amphibious assault tanks lead the way.