Landing ship engineering and forward repair

Landing craft were numerous and still valuable. Damage accumulated quickly, and replacement hulls alone could not preserve the force needed for repeated landings. American Achelous-class repair ships and British Landing Ship Engineering conversions carried workshops closer to the fighting, allowing damaged craft to return to service. The ships mattered most in the Pacific, where sending a craft back to an industrial base meant an oceanic journey. The Royal Navy's acquisition of two vessels was practical preparation for a larger British role in the Pacific, including a possible invasion of Japan. Adding two hulls to an American production line consumed fewer resources than opening a small British line for the same purpose. Their return in May 1946 followed the end of the immediate Pacific requirement and Britain's easier access to domestic repair facilities in European waters.