Remains of the LCT ramp photographed near the pile of chain
PHOTO : BM
Lowered ramp on LCT 7074 in Portsmouth water about 2.5 hours after the dive started .
I recall a feeling of disappointment when we surfaced , because we hadn ’ t found our prime target , but also some excitement that we had come across something unusual . At first , none of us could work out what it was : two smallish propellers , box sections , riveted construction but thin plate , with much of it gone or collapsed .
There were diesel engines , some ladders , a gun mount and a pile of chain at what we assumed to be the bow ... or was it ? The structure was approximately 50m long but had no obvious pointed end , and the positions of the propellers on the high side of the wreck debris meant the vessel was upside down , adding confusion to our view of the wreck .
Dom suggested there might have been a ramp at the bow and so developed our first suspicions that this might have been some type of landing craft . Chris had used Atlantic Diver ’ s navigation tech and estimated its length at 60m , confirming our estimate .
Gasperados founder Steve Mortimer thought , based on its size , it was likely to be a tank carrier , or more correctly a Landing Craft Tank or LCT . But why would there be an LCT out in the middle of the Celtic Sea ?
All wrecks have a reason why they lie on the seabed . The previous day ’ s steamship had no clues as to its identity , but we had a bit more to go on with this landing craft tank .
Landing Craft at 60 metres ?
With the trip over , Steve contacted Dr Harry Bennett , Associate Professor of History at Plymouth University , who was most interested in our discovery . His input revealed that after D-Day there were a number of landing craft that had no further use . A plan was devised to refurbish them for onward transport to the Far East , where they could be used for seaborne assaults in the Pacific theatre .
The 9th LCT Flotilla was born as part of a larger convoy transporting goods and equipment to the Far East via the Mediterranean . The LCTs would be towed by
One of the Diesel engines
Gun and mount from the preserved 7074
Inverted remains of a gun mount
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