Long-range LCTs and heavy gun craft for the Far East

Later LCT designs combined earlier features in a 900-ton vessel able to carry eight Shermans over longer ranges. Accommodation covered three naval officers and nineteen other naval personnel, plus six Army officers and thirty-six soldiers travelling with the tanks. The Far East drove the requirement for these longer passages and for keeping Army personnel with their vehicles. The Landing Craft Gun Medium was designed from the keel up as an armoured fire-support craft. Its 17-pounder or twin 25-pounder armament brought powerful anti-armour and general fire support directly into the landing area. The type arrived after D-Day despite having been intended for it, so the Royal Navy added fuel capacity and redirected the craft towards the Far East. Near the end of the war, the Mark VII became the final LCT type discussed as entering service, again with Far Eastern operations in view.