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The Mark 8 Landing Craft Tank (also referred to as the LCT (8) or LCT Mark VIII) were landing craft tank ships operated by the British Armed Forces. The vessels were based on an American design, but improved into ocean-going vessels capable of transiting to and operating in the Far East. Although 187 vessels were ordered, the end of the Second World War meant that only 30 were completed for service in the Royal Navy, while another 6 were sold to civilian parties. 12 of the Royal Navy vessels were, from 1957, transferred to the British Army; these were initially operated by the Royal Army Service Corps, then by the Royal Corps of Transport. Between 1958 and 1966, the other 18 Royal Navy ships were transferred or sold to foreign navies or civilian companies, converted for other uses, or otherwise disposed of. Several Army Mark 8s were also sold to foreign powers, with the design operated by the Royal Malaysian Navy, the French Navy, the Singaporean Navy, and the Military of Comoros. During their service life, vessels of the class operated during the Suez Crisis and Indonesian Confrontation, and were involved in the setup and supply to guided weapons bases in the Hebrides as part of Operation Hardrock. ==Design== In October 1943, the Director of Naval Construction was instructed to prepare plans for a class of Landing Craft Tank vessels suitable for travelling to and operating in the Far East.〔Brown (ed.), ''The Design and Construction of British Warships'', p. 51〕 They had to be capable of ocean operations and able to keep up with Landing Ship, Infantry convoys.〔US Division of Naval Intelligence, ''Allied Landing Craft of World War II'', Supplement No. 1, p. 37〕〔Lenton, ''British and Empire Warships of the Second World War'', p. 458〕 Greater ranges and more lengthy periods of sustained operation than in the European or Mediterranean theatres would require a larger vessel with better seakeeping ability.〔 Design and capabilities were heavily influenced by the United States' Mark 7 LCT (which was later re-categorised as Landing Ship Medium), which was capable of transporting multiple tanks over large distances.〔Bishop, ''The Encyclopaedia of Weapons of WWII'', p. 536〕 The Mark 8 was a synthesis of the best qualities of previous amphibious warfare vessels: the design was based on an enlarged version of the Mark 4 LCT, incorporating its light construction and suitability for mass-production, while including the robustness of the Mark 3 design, and adopting the bow layout and other elements from the Mark 2 Landing Ship Tank.〔〔 The vessels were long between perpendiculars and long overall, with a beam of .〔Blackman (ed.), ''Jane's Fighting Ships, 1968–69'', p. 320〕 Although retaining the open tank deck of previous LCT designs, the Mark 8 was protected by a taller bow section, which was fitted with powered doors and ramp.〔 The capacity was eight 30-ton tanks, up to 13 fully loaded 3-ton trucks, or 350 tons of cargo.〔〔Lenton, ''British and Empire Warships of the Second World War'', p. 460〕 Maximum displacement and draught varied depending on the loadout: trucks would result in a 650-ton displacement, draught at the bow, and draught at the stern; for tanks, it was 780 tons, forward, and aft; while a full load of cargo resulted in a displacement of 880 tons, and draughts of and .〔 Maximum displacement was 1,017 tons.〔 The deeper draughts compared to previous vessels helped improve seakeeping.〔 An enlarged engine room compared to previous designs allowed the installation of four , 12-cylinder Davey Paxman 12TPM diesel engines, coupled in two tandem sets to drive the two propeller shafts.〔〔〔Carr, ''Paxman and the Royal Navy''〕 These had a maximum combined output of (roughly doubling that of previous LCTs), although output was capped at .〔〔 Cruising speed was , with a maximum speed of .〔〔 The landing craft could travel at cruising speed, or at .〔〔 The expanded engine room required a lengthening of the poop deck, which allowed for improved accommodation spaces and an enlarged superstructure.〔〔 During design, the vessel's complement was pegged at 25 (including three officers), but by the late 1960s, this had expanded to between 33 and 37.〔〔〔 Additional accommodation was provided for up to 42 personnel (including six officers): typically the crews of any vehicles being transported.〔 For defence, the vessels were fitted with four single 20 mm Oerlikon guns.〔 There were also plans to fit some of the vessels with a Hedgerow:〔 a modified Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar which would be fired to clear mines and obstructions from beaches prior to the landing of troops. The bridge, wireless telegraphy office, and gun platforms were armoured with , D1 HT plating.〔〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mark 8 Landing Craft Tank」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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