The Maracaibo-class conversions could carry roughly twenty 25-ton tanks or eighteen Churchills, together with two LCMs, and HMS Bachaquero served in Operation Ironclad. These early ships lacked the multiple vehicle-stowage levels used in later LSTs. Their ten-knot maximum meant a convoy would probably run closer to nine knots for economy, while the blunt bow and tanker hull consumed large quantities of fuel. A repair bay in the middle of the forward vehicle route could restore tanks during passage but obstructed the direct path to the bow doors. Even with those compromises, the conversions proved that an ocean-going tank transport could deliver vehicles through the bow.
Chapter · 8:02-11:49
Maracaibo tanker conversions prove the LST concept
Converted tankers demonstrated bow-door vehicle delivery, but their ten-knot maximum, heavy fuel use, and internal compromises constrained a convoy.