The later Mark II was built in more than a thousand examples, so its huge production run obscures the six Mark I vessels. Three were tanker conversions and three were purpose-built ships. Their small batch let amphibious planners learn which capabilities a landing fleet needed and which could be discarded. From 1943 onward, concentrations of the mass-produced Mark IIs appeared wherever the next major Allied amphibious operation was developing.
Chapter · 5:53-9:08
Six Mark I ships before the mass-produced LST
The six British Mark I vessels, three tanker conversions and three purpose-built ships, served as experiments before the mass-produced Mark II.