The Landing Craft Tank (LCT) (or tank landing craft) was a purpose-designed, effectively flat-bottomed, sea-going assault craft, capable, via its front mounted ramp of landing tanks and other mechanised equipment, directly onto beaches.
For Operation Neptune these craft would carry the vanguard of the invasion forces, equipment and subsequent reinforcements.
LCTs went through a number of “type-developments” in the course of WW2, the most commonly used being Marks 3 and 4.
Here is a drawing showing some of the evolution of LCTs (PDF)
The prefix LCT, was also used on a series of highly modified vessels, each designed for particular support roles.
Just one example of the LCT “specials” is the LCT (R) Rocket.
Modified from a Mk 2 and 3 craft this vessel was capable of launching approx 1100, 3″ rockets in salvoes from an off-shore position, often over the tops of advancing troop-carrying craft, to saturate the landing beaches and neutralise the defending gun emplacements and destroying mine fields and beach obstacles.
Here is a picture of LCT (R) 440, at berthing anchorage in The Solent on the 3rd June 1944. She supported the 69th Brigade of the 50th Northumbrian Division in the attack on King Sector of GOLD beach”.
© IWM B5263 (Non-Commercial Licence)
Our particular interest, is on the activities, including loading events, that took place over the hardened beach area and piers at Stanswood Bay.
The remains of the beach hardening blocks at both Q2 and Q hards and loading facilities, mooring bollards and our possibly unique and iconic “Dolphins” are still visible today.
We proudly feature the 2 “Dolphins” in our Group’s logo.
Dolphins provided a mooring point for the larger vessels, with walkways between each other and the beach.
This enabled troops to embark (with dry feet) onto the larger transport craft.
All of these remains in the Lepe Country Park, feature in the D-Day accompanied tour and audio tour.
In an operation of this scale a structured chain of command and reporting, brought together under the “Combined Operations” banner, meticulous planning and an efficient communication network, were keys to the successes achieved on D-Day.
The scale of the task facing those responsible for the D-Day logistics, should never be underestimated.
All this was achieved without the aid of a computer!
Due to sheer size of the operation, a unique numbering system was developed, within which each landing craft and each vessel and the loads they were due to carry, were identified.
These numbers recorded on “Loading Tables” and “Landing Tables” informed all relevant personnel, the precise location and date where a particular craft was to be loaded, full details of the various items of mechanised equipment, it was due to carry, the berth number/area at which the fully loaded craft would await final departure instructions, plus an additional Flotilla number identifying the formation to which they belonged for the cross-channel voyage.
Each and every piece of mechanised equipment, tanks, Self-Propelled guns etc, were similarly identified to their respective landing craft and thereby their designated beach landing area.
An example of Loading and Landing Tables is shown below. (if you click on the individual image you will see a larger version)
121158. From Study Report of Operation Overlord (Author unknown)
Courtesy of The Green Howards Museum.
This is a Landing table for 2 sectors within Gold beach, the 2 images below show Loading tables.
121051. © The National Archives
All the original numbers on the sheet are Landing Table Index Numbers.
The numbers added in Red, are the result of detailed research by a colleague in France, and these are the Actual, bow-painted, craft numbers of the LCT’s which loaded out at Stanswood with specialised, mechanised equipment eg. Duplex-drive Tanks, Self-propelled artillery and AVRE’s
121026. © The National Archives
This is a Pre-loading table that includes craft loaded at Stanswood.
Back then records were functional for reporting purposes, but almost certainly never written in anticipation of interrogation by historians, archivists, armed forces families and the general public 75 + years after the event.
Most of the history we can access today is available due to the meticulously maintained records of events from over 75 years ago.
We are very fortunate to have the support of regimental museums, 4th/7th Dragoon Guards, Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry and others that have helped with the provision of Regimental and personal diaries.
With further detailed interrogation on the activities of the regiments that were camped and embarked here from Stanswood, we have been able in some cases, to establish an end-end information trail down to a level not thought to be achievable. ie Tank number, Squadron number, Names Ranks and Army payroll number of each tank crew member, the number of the LCT carrying each tank and the Landing beach and section ie GOLD & King onto which they were disembarked.
LCT 7074, the last of her kind
The craft to be designated LCT 7074, is a Mark 3 type (Landing Craft Tank), built in Hebburn on the Tyne from where she was launched in March 1944. The Mark 3 was able to accommodate 10 tanks.
On handover to the Royal Navy, she sailed to Felixstowe, where she was to be loaded with tanks of the British 7th Armoured Division.
With other LCTs she formed “H” Squadron of the 17th LCT Flotilla in “Operation Neptune”.
She survived the following months of the war during which she continued to ferry vehicles, Allied troops and supplies across the Channel in support of the increasingly successful Operation Overlord.
Having heroically survived all that WW2 could throw at her, LCT 7074 has had to endure being turned into a floating nightclub, falling into disrepair, sinking at her berth at a Birkenhead dockside and then having to be reclaimed as a partial wreck.
Now, following a multi-million pound restoration, Project, led by the National Museum of the Royal Navy. https://www.nmrn.org.uk LCT 7074 has been restored to its former glory.
As the last surviving Mark 3 LCT and one of only 4 LCTs, of any Mark, surviving throughout the world she stands proudly outside The D-Day Story Portsmouth, to further tell the stories of those involved in D-Day, and to keep alive their heroic acts In more normal times, visitors will be able to visit, step-aboard and walk around 7074.
As a result of hours of painstaking research by Stephen Fisher, it has been established, beyond all reasonable doubt that:-
On one instance of her many cross-channel ferrying duties on the 18 June 1944 at 7.40pm, LCT 7074 embarked units of #382 Service Squadron, a ground service unit of #84 Service Group USAAF, at Q2 Hard at Lepe/Stanswood Bay.
This conclusion is supported by “build-up lists in Administrative Area B (New Forest)” and “US priority build-up tables” that all lead to the New Forest, and the fact that Q2 hard was the only New Forest hard loading LCTs in June 1944.
For more details of LCT 7074 and her story, please use the link to The D-Day Story that you will find on our Supporters and Links page.
The D-Day Lepe Heritage Group continues with its aim to identify and promote Lepe/Stanswood’s involvement and contribution to D-Day.
We are proud to have an association with LCT 7074, as she is surely destined to become a world-renowned visitor attraction.
