Landing craft tank

thumb|350px|A [[Crusader tank|Crusader Mk I cruiser tank driving off the tank landing craft TLC-124 during tests of a portable concrete roadway 26 April 1942]]

The Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) (or tank landing craft, TLC) was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of versions. Initially known as the "tank landing craft" (TLC) by the British, they later adopted the U.S. nomenclature "landing craft, tank" (LCT). The United States continued to build LCTs post-war, and used them under different designations in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Development

In 1926, the first motor landing craft (MLC1) was built by the Royal Navy. It weighed 16 tons, with a draught of , and was capable of about . It was later developed into the Landing Craft, Mechanised.