Osprey - Landing Craft, Infantry and Fire Support

By Gordon L. Rottman

G Rottman details the developmental and operational history of this vital tool of American amphibious military strategy that spanned three wars.

Termed by one soldier as a metal box designed by a sadist to move soldiers across the water, the Landing Craft, Infantry was a large beaching craft intended to deliver an infantry company to a hostile shore, once the beachhead was secured. The LCI and its vehicle-delivery counterpart, the Landing Ship, Medium were extensively used by the allies during World War II. The Landing ships were mostly phased out after the Korean War. Some, however, were still in use during the Vietnam War.