OKINAWA, Japan (May 2, 2011) Marines assigned to the 4th Marine Regiment embark an amphibious assault vehicle aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) in preparation for Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT). CARAT is a series of bilateral exercises conducted with the naval and armed forces of participating southeastern Asian countries designed to enhance engagement and cooperation. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Aaron Hostutler)
OKINAWA, Japan (May 2, 2011) Marines assigned to the 4th Marine Regiment embark an amphibious assault vehicle aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) in preparation for Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT). CARAT is a series of bilateral exercises conducted with the naval and armed forces of participating southeastern Asian countries designed to enhance engagement and cooperation. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Aaron Hostutler)
6 Comments
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© Original Content 2003-2011 John Donovan
All rights reserved. © other material retained by owners and used by permission or excerpted under "Fair Use"
All rights reserved. © other material retained by owners and used by permission or excerpted under "Fair Use"
I can not look at one of them things, even to this day, without the feeling of beeing arsehole to bellybutton, shoulder to shoulder, crammed in like sardines. The weight of the gear bearing down on shoulders and arse numb from the hard bench. Darkness, constant motion and sickness.
Lots and lots of sickness. Sickness sloshing across the deck, from bulkhead to bulkhead, sliding, sloshing with the constant dipping, rocking and swaying of the damn boat in the water.
For hours.
THAT is how they separate the Marines from the Army pukes...
AAVR-7A1 (Recovery): This vehicle also does not have a turret. The R7 is considered the "wrecker", as it has a crane as well as most tools and equipment needed for field repairs. It is by far the heaviest of the three, and sits considerably lower in the water. Crew of three, not including the repairmen.
Launching and recovery of "Tracs" [Amphibous Tractors or AMTRAKS] on an LSD are real neat capabilities and can be done stopped or while underway at slow speeds. For recovery it is necessary to ballast down sufficiently that the ramp and the aft part of the well deck are sufficiently submerged so the tracs can "swim" in using power from the water jet units and the moving tracks until the tracks touch the ramp or well deck and gain traction. Then they use track power to maneuver up into the far end of the well deck.
Not very hard when loaded with just Tracs, but when carrying a mixed load (LCAC, LCM-8, or other boats) in the well deck it can be tricky to allow the water deep enough for the tracks to swim aboard while not getting it deep enough to float the other craft and then have everything sloshing around in the well deck, especially in heavy weather operations.
Launching is easy- just line them up with the ramp partially submerged, and on command they drive down the well deck and ramp as fast as they can, and plunge into the water. The AAV-7 (LCTP-7) series made from aluminum were pretty good about only doing a bit of porpoising before moving along pretty well. The pre- 1970s LVTP-5s made of steel were not as bouyant and sometimes drove off the ramp and failed to surface.....