Boxer, Bruiser, and Thruster could carry thirteen Churchill infantry tanks, twenty-seven other vehicles, and about 200 men, or substitute twenty medium tanks for the Churchills. Their ocean-going hulls could reach 18 knots when light, 16.5 knots at deep load, and 9,000 nautical miles at 14 knots. The design's parentage remains open to interpretation: they can be read as scaled-down versions of Churchill's proposal or as ships close to ideas the Royal Navy was already considering. That seakeeping came with a deep beaching draft and an exceptionally long unloading ramp. Harland and Wolff received the order in March 1941, and the ships were completed in 1943. The machinery and requirements produced a complex design just as the United States, with Royal Navy advice, moved to the slower and shallower Mark II. The Mark I showed that impressive range and speed mattered less than simplicity and mass beach supply.
Chapter · 21:14-26:11
The fast, elaborate Boxer-class Mark I design
The purpose-built Boxer class emphasized speed and ocean passage, but its deep draft, long ramp, and engineering complexity pointed toward a simpler successor.