Landing Craft (Gun) Tower, abbreviated as LC(G)T, also known as the Normandy Bombardment Tower, was a unique catamaran built in 1943. It was designed to act as a semi-mobile gun tower which could be used to out-gun any German beach defences during the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944. It is described in some sources as a "semi-submersible austerity inshore monitor".[1]
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Landing Craft (Gun) Tower |
| Builders | Derman Long & Sir Alexander Gibb |
| Operators | Royal Navy |
| Planned | Several |
| Completed | One, LC(G)T1 |
| Active | None |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Landing Craft (Gun) Tower |
| Length | 130 ft (40 m) |
| Beam | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
| Height |
|
| Draught | Variable |
| Installed power | circa 300 bhp (220 kW) |
| Propulsion | 2 x shaft diesel engines, one to each hull, Leyland bus pattern |
| Complement | 12 |
| Armament |
|
| Notes | [1] |
Several were originally planned, but only one was built as the design had been superseded by the various other support craft in production, such as the Landing Craft Tank (Rocket).[1]
HMS LC(G)T 1 was never used, and was sold post-war to a company in Hong Kong, who used it as a lifting craft.[1]