The assault landing craft described as a late-1939 development was already the product of several design generations extending back into the 1930s. That maturity matters because a landing ship had to be designed around the craft it would carry and launch. Glengyle was requisitioned in October 1939 and completed as an LSI by April 1940, before a supposedly new 1940 program could plausibly have moved through design and conversion. The timing indicates that the formal wartime label came after substantial technical preparation. The official chronology records when the program was organized, rather than when British amphibious development truly began.
Notable Point · 12:18-14:37
Landing-craft development predates the official 1940 story
Mature landing-craft designs and rapid Glen-class conversions indicate that substantial amphibious planning existed before 1940.