Air-cushion vehicles could have changed several amphibious problems of the Second World War. Unlike conventional landing craft, a hovercraft could pass over sandbars, ride onto a beach without digging in, unload, and withdraw across the same difficult shoreline. Potential uses included U.S. Marine Corps island campaigns, D-Day, Norway, and Southeast Asia. DUKWs and Landing Vehicle Tracked amphibious vehicles already showed the value of mobility across water and land in the Pacific. German cross-Channel raids were technically possible, though they might have been unwise.
Notable Point · 30:36-32:15
Hovercraft in Second World War amphibious operations
Wartime hovercraft might have bypassed beaches and sandbars during D-Day, Pacific island fighting, operations in Norway and Southeast Asia, or cross-Channel raids.