LCPV (Landing Craft Vehicle Personel)

LCVP (Landing Craft Vechicle Personnel)

The special kind of war ship that is used to deploy personnel or Vechicles whilst an amphibious attack, is called Landing Craft or Ship (depending on the scale). These kind of crafts begun to be constructed during the operations of the Second world war and especially after the occupation of France by the Germans. There were many different types of landing crafts that were used against the Axis powers, during the Normandy invation by the allies and on the Pacific front. There are several dimensions that the crafts would be made, depending on the type of the operations and the needs of the force that was utilizing them. The LCVP that we visited, with the contribution of Nikolas Giannoulakis, owner of Chania Diving Center on the 3rd of December 2022, was laying at Souda bay’s seabed, at a depth of 32 meters.

The wreck

The wreck of the craft is very close to the minefield that was deployed at the entrance of Souda bay, during the Second world war, even if we don’t have any proof that was destroyed by a mine and in general there were no obvious signs to help us determinate the reasons of its loss. The length was somewhat between 15-20 meters and the width just 3. It made an impression to us, the fact that the deck was constructed by wood, which of course, most of it was torn out. These crafts could carry teams of fully armed soldiers, or small vechicles, that could deploy swiftly on the beach, after the ramp opened and touched the sand. It could manouvre autonomously with small diesel engines and a small helm for the craft’s operator. At this LCVP the steering wheel was missing along with some of the gauges, on the other hand the pedals and the front ramp was in place.

Text: John Liardakis