LVTs were developed as amphibious rescue vehicles that could operate in the swamps of the Florida Everglades. The US Marine Corps adapted them because, unlike boat-based landing craft, they could swim, cross coastal reefs, and operate ashore. They were used in the Pacific, north-west Europe and in Italy, where the British called them ‘Fantails.’
“So anyway, we then went and trained on the Meuse. It was quite amusing to start with, because the river was flowing at a reasonable speed, and you had to approach the bank at an angle, and get the inside track on the bank and get the thing up before it spun round and round and round and went down the river – which it did when we were novices with the thing.”
John Howell, 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry
The Tank Museum’s LVT-4
This is one of the 8,348 LVT-4s. Unlike the earlier LVT-1 and LVT-2 it has a rear ramp that made loading easier and allowed more troops to be carried. Its serial number is P346467. It came to The Tank Museum in 1949.
