The Landing Ship, Tank arose from a need for a ship that could both cross and ocean and also land vehicles directly onto a beach. The first production LST was the LST(1), but none of this type were used at Normandy as they were unsuitable for the gently-sloping French beaches. An improved version of the LST was designed at the request of the British by John C. Niedermair of the US Navy’s Bureau of Ships: this became the LST(2).
Above: LST 325 of the US Navy, dried out on a Normandy beach on 12 June 1944. This ship was part of the follow-up force, Force B, and landed its cargo of vehicles on Omaha Beach on 7 June. This presumably shows a later trip. Note the sand ramp that has been built up to facilitate offloading of vehicles, and the LST’s flat bottom. LST 324 is now a museum ship at Evansville, Indiana, USA. (Photo: US Naval History & Heritage Command, US Navy photos at US National Archives)
The LST(2) had a flat bottom so it could beach in just over three feet of water at the bow, but when the ship’s ballast system was flooded it gave it stability at sea. Vehicles were landed using a ramp which extended from behind bow doors that gave better sea-keeping abilities than an LCT. The US-built LCT(5) was designed at the same time, so it could be transported across the Atlantic on the upper deck of an LST(2); the same was true of the later LCT(6).
The design had an internal tank deck which could be used for carrying tanks and other heavy vehicles. An upper deck which was open to the elements and could take vehicles up to ten tons in weight, and was reached via a lift (or a ramp on later LSTs). US-built LST(2)s were operated at Normandy by the US Navy, the US Coast Guard and the Royal Navy.
Above: A DUKW unloads from the US Navy’s LST 543 at Mulberry A, Omaha Beach. On D-Day LST 543 was part of the follow-up force for the Anglo-Canadian beaches, Force L. This shows a subsequent Channel crossing. Mulberry A was abandoned after damage caused in the storm of 19-21 June 1944, and for the remainder of the campaign only a single Mulberry Harbour – Mulberry B at Gold Beach – was operated by the Allies. (Photo: Conseil Régional de Basse-Normandie / US National Archives)
An Landing Ship, Tank could carry twenty Sherman tanks (or the equivalent in other heavy vehicles) on its main deck, and in total an average of fifty-five vehicles, or forty for US LSTs whose capacity was reduced due to extra davits and anti-aircraft guns on the upper deck. Some LSTs were ‘medically-equipped’, with additional medical staff and facilities for transporting over 450 wounded.
The LST(3) was under production in 1944 in the United Kingdom and Canada for use in the Far East, but was not used in the Normandy campaign.
Three prototypes of the first LST – HMS Misoa, HMS Bachaquero and HMS Tasajera – had too great a draught for landing vehicles on a beach, but did arrive at Normandy as part of Force L carrying a cargo of vehicles. They then remained off the French coast to act as depot ships for Rhino ferries.
Three LST(2)s – 13, 216 and 217 – had been converted into FDTs (Fighter Direction Tenders), retaining the same number in their new capacity. They did not carry troops but were used for controlling fighter aircraft in support of the landings.
Several LSEs (Landing Ship, Emergency Repair) took part in the operation: a type known to the US Navy as an ARL. This was a converted LST(2) with workshop facilities on board for repairing landing craft.
Sources for more information:
Adcock, Al, WWII US Landing Craft in Action. Warships No.17. (Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal, 2003)
Doyle, David, US Landing Craft of WWII, Vol.2. The LCT, LSM, LCS(L)(3) and LST. (Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2020)
Macdermott, Brian, Ships without Names: The Story of the Royal Navy’s Tank Landing Ships of World War Two. (London: Arms & Armour, 1992)
Rottman, Gordon L., Landing Ship, Tank (LST) 1942-2002). New Vanguard, 115. (Oxford: Osprey, 2005)