 USS LCI(L)-326 during training for D-Day
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | |
| Operators | |
| In commission | 1943–1946 |
| Completed | 923 |
| Preserved | LCI(L)-713 and LCI(L)-1091 |
| General characteristics – LCI(L) | |
| Type | Landing craft |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 158 ft 6 in (48.31 m) |
| Beam | 23 ft 3 in (7.09 m) |
| Draft |
|
| Propulsion | 2 banks Detroit diesel 6051 quad-71, 2 shafts (4 engines per shaft), 1,600 bhp (1,193 kW) |
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Range | 500 nmi (900 km) at 15 knots. 4,000 nmi (7,400 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h) carrying extra fuel in place of troops and cargo. |
| Troops | 180, later 210 |
| Complement | 3 officers and 21 enlisted men |
| Armament | 4 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon (one forward, one amidships, two aft) |
| Armor | 2 in Plastic armour splinter protection for gunners, pilot house |
The Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) were several classes of landing craft used by the Allies to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches during World War II. They were developed in response to a British request for seagoing amphibious assault ships capable of carrying and landing substantially more troops than their smaller assault landing craft (LCA). The result was a small steel ship that could land 200 men, traveling from rear bases on its own bottom at a speed of up to 15 knots.
Some 923 were built starting in 1943, serving in both the Pacific and European theaters, including a number that were converted into heavily armed beach assault support ships. The LCI(L) supplemented the small LCAs/LCVPs as a way to get many troops ashore before a dock could be captured or built. As such, they were the largest dedicated beachable infantry landing craft (the larger infantry landing ship (LSI) was a transporter for men and small craft such as the British LCA) in the Allied inventory.