Landing Vehicle Tracked

Amphibious Vehicle, Tracked
LVT-4 unloading a Jeep
TypeAmphibious vehicle
Place of originUnited States
Production history
ManufacturerBorg-Warner
Food Machinery Corporation
Graham-Paige
Roebling
St. Louis Car Company
ProducedJuly 1941 – August 1945
No. built18,616 of all variants
LVT-1.......7,225
LVT-2.......2,960
LVT(A)-2..450
LVT-3.......2,962
LVT-4.......8,348
LVT-4(A)-1..509
LVT(A)-4..1,890
LVT(A)-5..269
Specifications (LVT-4)
Mass36,400 lb (16,500 kg)
Length26 ft 1 in (7.95 m)[1]
Width10 ft 8 in (3.25 m)
Height8 ft 2 in (2.49 m)
Crew2–3
PassengersUp to 24

Armor14 to 12 inch (6.4 to 12.7 mm) if added
Main
armament
2 × pintle-mounted 0.50 in Browning M2HB machine guns
Secondary
armament
2 × pintle-mounted .30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine guns
Various small infantry arms (when carrying assault troops)
EngineContinental W-670-9A; 7 cylinder, 4 stroke, air-cooled gasoline radial aircraft engine
250 hp (190 kW)
Power/weight15.2 hp/t
Payload capacity9,000 lb (4,100 kg) if unarmored[2]
TransmissionSpicer manual transmission, 5 forward and 1 reverse gears[1]
SuspensionRubber torsilastic
Fuel capacity140 US gallons (530 L)
Operational
range
150 mi (240 km) on road, 75 mi (121 km) in water
Maximum speed 20 mph (32 km/h) on land, 7.5 mph (12.1 km/h) in water
LVT(A)-4
LVT(A)-4 amtank at Iwo Jima beach, c. February/March 1945.
Specifications
Mass40,000 lb (18,000 kg)
Length26 ft 1 in (7.95 m)
Width10 ft 8 in (3.25 m)
Height10 ft 2.5 in (3.112 m)
Crew6 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, assistant driver, AA machine gunner)

Armor14 to 1+12 in (6.4 to 38.1 mm)
Main
armament
1 × 75 mm M2/M3 Howitzer
Secondary
armament
3 × .30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine gun
EngineContinental W-670-9A; 7 cylinder, 4 cycle, radial gasoline
250 hp (190 kW)
Power/weight13.9 hp/t
TransmissionSpicer manual transmission, 5 forward and 1 reverse gears
SuspensionRubber torsilastic
Fuel capacity106 US gallons (400 L)
Operational
range
200 km (road), 120 km (water)
Maximum speed 40 km/h (25 mph), in water 11 km/h (6.8 mph)
LVT-4 approaches Iwo Jima
LVT-1 exhibited by manufacturer (FMC) in 1941 parade in Lakeland, Florida
A prototype during testing, 1940

The Amphibious Vehicle, Tracked (LVT) is an amphibious warfare vehicle and amphibious landing craft, introduced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. (The USN and USMC use "L" to designate Amphibious vessels, also called "L class".) The United States Army, Canadian Army and British Army used several LVT models during World War II, and referred to those vehicles as "Landing Vehicle, Tracked."

Originally intended solely as cargo carriers for ship to shore operations, they evolved into assault troop and fire support vehicles. The types were known as amphtrack, "amtrak", "amtrac", etc. (portmanteaus of "amphibious tractor"), and "alligator" or "gator".

  1. ^ a b Icks 1970, p. 16
  2. ^ Olive Drab: Amphibious Vehicle, Tracked (Armored) LVT(A) in World War II olive-drab.com, accessed 11 November 2021

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