Landing Vehicle, Tracked

Landing Vehicle, Tracked
LVT-4 unloading a Jeep
TypeAmphibious vehicle
Place of originUnited States
Production history
Manufacturer
ProducedJuly 1941 – August 1945
No. built
  • 18,616 of all variants
  • LVT-1.......1,225
  • LVT-2.......2,960
  • LVT(A)-2..450
  • LVT-3.......2,962
  • LVT-4.......8,348
  • LVT-4(A)-1..509
  • LVT(A)-4..1,890
  • LVT(A)-5..269
Specifications (LVT-4)
Mass36,400 lb (16,500 kg)
Length26 ft 1 in (7.95 m)
Width10 ft 8 in (3.25 m)
Height8 ft 2 in (2.49 m)
Crew2–3
PassengersUp to 24

Armor14 to 12 inch (6.4 to 12.7 mm) if added
Main
armament
2 × pintle-mounted 0.50 in Browning M2HB machine guns
Secondary
armament
2 × pintle-mounted .30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine guns
Various small infantry arms (when carrying assault troops)
EngineContinental W-670-9A; 7 cylinder, 4 stroke, air-cooled gasoline radial aircraft engine
250 hp (190 kW)
Power/weight15.2 hp/t
Payload capacity9,000 lb (4,100 kg) if unarmored
TransmissionSpicer manual transmission, 5 forward and 1 reverse gears
SuspensionRubber torsilastic
Fuel capacity140 US gallons (530 L)
Operational
range
150 mi (240 km) on road, 75 mi (121 km) in water
Maximum speed20 mph (32 km/h) on land, 7.5 mph (12.1 km/h) in water
LVT(A)-4
LVT(A)-4 amtank at Iwo Jima beach, c. February/March 1945
Specifications
Mass40,000 lb (18,000 kg)
Length26 ft 1 in (7.95 m)
Width10 ft 8 in (3.25 m)
Height10 ft 2.5 in (3.112 m)
Crew6 (commander, gunner, loader, driver, assistant driver, AA machine gunner)

Armor14 to 1+12 in (6.4 to 38.1 mm)
Main
armament
75 mm M2/M3 Howitzer
Secondary
armament
.30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine gun
EngineContinental W-670-9A; 7 cylinder, 4 cycle, radial gasoline
250 hp (190 kW)
Power/weight13.9 hp/t
TransmissionSpicer manual transmission, 5 forward and 1 reverse gears
SuspensionRubber torsilastic
Fuel capacity106 US gallons (400 L)
Operational
range
200 km (road), 120 km (water)
Maximum speed40 km/h (25 mph), in water 11 km/h (6.8 mph)

The Landing Vehicle, Tracked (LVT) is an amphibious warfare vehicle and amphibious landing craft, introduced by the United States Navy. The United States Marine Corps, United States Army, and Canadian and British armies used several LVT models during World War II.

Originally intended solely as cargo carriers for ship to shore operations, they evolved into assault troop and fire support vehicles. The types were known as amphtrack, amtrak, amtrac, etc. (portmanteaus of amphibious tractor), alligator and gator.