The Landing Craft, Infantry (Large) had a ship-type bow, similar to that of a more conventional warship. While this made it a fast and seaworthy vessel, able to cross oceans, the design meant that the troops had to land via a pair of thirty-six-foot ramps lowered on either side of the bow. These ramps could be easily damaged or lost, in which case the troops had to disembark using scrambling nets along the side of the craft.
Above: LCI(L) 135 carrying troops of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and the Highland Light Infantry of Canada on D-Day. Many of the roughly 200 troops on board have been brought onto the craft’s upper decks because the vessel is approaching the shore. During the Channel crossing, most would have been below decks. One of the two bow ramps used for disembarking can be seen in the left foreground. This craft was part of 262 LCI(L) Flotilla, Royal Canadian Navy. (Photo: Gilbert Alexander Milne/Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA)
The LCI(L) could carry 200 men and had originated with the concept of a craft for making long-distance raids rather than assault landings. While its smaller cousin the LCI(S) was made of wood, a steel hull was essential to ensure that the LCI(L) had a shallow enough draught to land troops on a beach.
Those used at Normandy were all built in the USA, as only that country had the capacity to build these craft in steel. They were operated by the US Navy, US Coast Guard, Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy. To the Americans they were simply known as the LCI, as the British-built LCI(S) was not used by US forces and was only present in small numbers.
Some craft Landing Craft, Infantry (Large) were modified as an LCH (Landing Craft, Headquarters), with space for headquarters staff from an army battalion or brigade group/regimental combat team.
Sources for more information:
Adcock, Al, WWII US Landing Craft in Action. Warships No.17. (Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal, 2003).
Rottman, Gordon L., Landing Craft, Infantry and Fire Support. New Vanguard, 157. (Oxford: Osprey, 2009)
USS LCI National Association, USS LCI. Volume I. (Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing, 1993) [other volumes available]