SE73515 US NAVY TYPE 2 LSTS LST-1 CLASS

LST-1 (short for: Landing Ship, Tank) is an American class of landing craft from World War II. The first units of this type entered service in 1942, and a total of about 1,000 ships of this type were created during the war. The length of a single LST-1 ship was 99.9 m, width 15 m, and the full displacement reached 3,880 tons. The maximum speed of the vessel did not exceed 12 knots. The deck armament most often consisted of a single 76 mm cannon, 6 40 mm anti-aircraft cannons, 6 AA cannons. 20mm caliber and 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine guns. The American LST-1 landing ships were developed under the very strong influence of the British Maracaibo-class and - especially - the Boxer. The main task of the new units was to transport tanks and other motor vehicles used during amphibious operations. From the beginning, it was assumed that the LST-1 ships would be able to cross the Atlantic on their own, which in turn had an impact on their relatively high seaworthiness. In order to speed up the production, the goal was to simplify the structure of ships as much as possible, which was largely successful. The LST-1 ships were used extensively in the landing operations in Sicily in 1943 and in Normandy in 1944, but also in many operations in the Pacific, especially in the period 1944-1945. During World War II, in addition to the US Navy, they were operated by the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy.