GERMAN NAVY LANDING CRAFT

[Grope McBastard]

Hey all

dunno if this is the correct topic to place this but i'll place it here.

I was wondering if anyone knew where i could find several images of German landing craft, i.e. the type that would have been used if Englanad was invaded.

cheers

mike
aka Grope McBastard

[Brian Von Stauffenberg]

I believe the Germans only available craft for invading Britain were Captured Barges converted into troop carriers or landing craft, i know they worked on many but not sure if they completed the task, i think this was one of their problems for invading aswell.

[Marcus]

"In 1936, Rheinmetall Borsig AG was approached by the German army general staff to build a special amphibious tracked vehicle for landing operations. The tractor would be able to two behind it a floating trailer capable of accommodating vehicles or other cargo weighing up to 18,000kg (39,683lb). On water the tractor would function as a tug for the floating cargo trailer. After landing the tractor would still have to move the trailer to a safe place to unload the cargo.
Rheinmetall tackled the project and the product became known as the Land-Wasser-Schlepper (land-water tractor) or LWS. The LWS was actually and simply a motor tug built with tracks. It was a large and strange machine that nonetheless turned out to be a rugged vehicle (or boat?). There were two long sets of tracks, one on the flat bottom on each side of the LWS. There were four pairs of roadwheels suspended from leaf-spring suspensions on each side. The boat part of the LWS had a clean, pronounced bow, and on top there was a compartment for the crew of three and extra room for another 20. The funnel-like structure on top of the cabin was actually the engine's air intake. Two large propellers were installed at the rear, or stern, for propulsion in water. To make the LWS more boat-like there were portholes on both sides of the crew cabin.
On land the floating trailer looked like a large slab-sided vehicle, and was supported by wheels on one forward axle and two rear ones. On the back side a ramp could be opened for unloading. A typical load was an SdKfz 9 18-tonne halftrack, and the crew would be housed in the LWS for the aqueous leg of the journey.
The LWS and trailer idea was tried and tested quite slowly and leisurely until "Seelöwe" (Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of Great Britain) was to become reality after the fall of France. The LWS and trailer could certainly be used in such an amphibious operation, but they were more suited for calmer waters of inland water bodies, not the tempestuous English Channel. The LWS program was for a while carried out with more urgency, but was never materialized. By 1941 the project was dropped, when the prospect of Seelöwe was overshadowed by the much more serious Operation Barbarossa.
One disadvantage of the LWS was the lack of armor, and armor was deemed necessary for any amphibious operations. The floating trailer was also thought to be too cumbersome and clumsy so a new scheme was devised. The overall structure of the LWS was kept, but the new vehicle had the trackwork and suspension of the ubiquitous PzKpfw IV to support a lightly armored superstructure. Two new vehicles, called Panzerfähre or PzF, were built and designed to take a large pontoon between them to transport a tank or other cargo. Thus the PzF would act as a ferry rather than a tractor. However, the program was canceled in 1942 after the two prototypes were built and tried. A pre-production of seven LWS's were built and they served on the Eastern front. After the war the LWS was taken by the British and to England for technical assessment."

http://www.geocities.com/pentagon/2833/ ... s/lws.html

/Marcus

[Antonio Pena]

The Germans have one Landing Craft type ready for Sealion: the pioneerlandungsboot type 39, but only two of the were ready in time. After that they built the Type 41 and one of them is now in exhibition at Oberschleissheim as a memorial to German amphibious forces.

[Ljunggren]

I´ve been told that and old German landing craft was used as a ferry/bridge in the post-war years over the stream that runs through my hometown Ängelholm in Sweden. Anyone know something about this?

[Antti V]

Bit offtopic(?)
German artillery craft on Lake Ladoga:

[admfisher]

Germany had many different vessels to use but one of the main ones was the shallow draft barges used on the inland water ways. When the Operation Sealion was being assembled the Germans put a serious kink in the local area's by taking the barges. After the invasion was called they were returned to there owners on the most part.
Basically Germany's plans stopped most of the inland trade that depended on these barges.

The Panzerfahre was an amazing piece of work. Two together could carry a floating bridge between them with a Mark IV on it.

[Y Ddraig Goch]

Try http://www.german-navy.de/marine.htm

I know there aren't any photos but I found it interesting.