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Landing Craft, Mechanized, MK-1:
This is the wreck of a small amphibious landing craft from WWII located in a small bay near the village of Fuka, Egypt. The LCM MK-1 was the first of six LCM models which were put into production during WWII by British and American manufacturers. There were other, experimental LCM's as well which were never put into production. Designed by Thornycroft Industries, the LCM MK-1 was designed to carry and land a single tank, such as a Valentine, or other miscellaneous vehicles ashore. The LCM was also used to carry supplies, cargo, troops, and other personnel. The LCM was typically carried onboard and lauched from Landing Ships and were lowered into the water via booms, davits, cranes, or launched from flooded well decks. Approximately 500 of these vessels were built between 1939 and 1942, of which the loss or disposition of 468 of these vessels is known. This particular LCM MK-1 is not listed on available lists. Landing Craft, Mechanized MK-1's. The LCM on the right has been modified with addtional armor plating above the gunwales.
This leaves the date of sinking, casualties, etc., unknown. However, one may surmise that it was in this location in support of the British, Australian, and New Zealand troops stationed in the "Baqqush Box" sometime between August-September 1940 and the first and second Battles of EL Alamein (1-27 July 1942 and 23 October-05 November 1942) since Fuka is located forward of the EL Alamein battle lines.
The LCM MK-1 was constructed as basically a barge with side walls mounted at deck level with a wheelhouse at the aft end and a bow ramp and the forward end. The bow ramp was raised and lowered through a system of cables connected to a winch located just forward of the wheelhouse. By virtue of the the vessels cargo being carried on this "barge" type hull, the MK-1's tended to be top heavy and a bit unstable in rough seas. Later LCM's were designed with the vessel's center of balance located below the waterline instead of above it.
Technical Specifications:
Length: 44-feet 8-inches Beam: 14-feet 0-inches Draft: 1-foot 4-inches fwd., 2-feet 9-inches aft (light loaded at 21 tons displacement) 1-foot 6-inches fwd., 4-feet aft (fully loaded at 35 tons displacement) Armament: Two each, .303 Lewis Guns Armor: 5mm armor plate Propulsion: Twin Thornycroft or Chrysler 60-hp gasoline engines (this particular wreck has Chryslers) Fuel Capacity: 100 gallons (gasoline) Range: 56 miles @ 7.5 knots (loaded) Crew: Typically 1 Officer per 3 landing craft. Landing craft manned by 6 crew. Loss of the LCM MK-1:
The exact cause of the loss of the landing craft is not known. It may have been lost due to foundering during heavy weather, flooding due to the loss of a rudder, of which both appear to be missing, due to battle damage (there is a hole located on the forward port side which may be the result of a bomb penetration), or a combination of all of the above. For Divers:
The wreck is sitting upright in 9-meters of water approximately 150 meters offshore from the beach resort of Caesar's Bay at position 31.05.45N / 28.00.74E. Lying fairly parallel to the beach oriented Northwest-Southeast (Stern-to-bow), the wreck is fairly complete, missing only the helm wheel and rudders. Signs of salvage are present with the bulwarks in the deck area having been cut off and lying on the sandy bottom on each side of the vessel. Since the vessel is nearly complete, these may indicate salvage efforts shortly after the sinking of the vessel. The helm (notice the intact gauges)
Wheelhouse of the LCM
Engine Covers and Ramp cables
The engine covers have been removed and are lying on the main deck, as is the cable used for raising and lowering of the bow ramp which is in the lowered position. The winch and winch controller are also still in place. On the forward starboard part of the main deck there is a British MK-II "Tommy" helmet corroded to the main deck. The landing craft's propellers are still in place, with starboard propeller shown signs of having struck bottom at some point.
One of the two propellers (port)
One of the two Chrysler engines
Lying in the area around the vessel one can find archaeological finds in the form of amphorae which probably date back to between 1800 and 2200 years, which makes for a nice contrast in history during the dive.
Deck Winch for the Ramp
Controller for the Deck Winch
All-in-all, a nice easy little shore entry wreck dive to have fun on!
MK II "Tommy" Helmut corroded to the forward starboard main deck
Diving this wreck takes permission from the local Coast Guard station and one must be accompanied by a local tour guide (usually from Alexandria). The best time to dive this wreck is early morning between April and October where visibility can be as good as 20+ meters. Visibility drops signicantly with an incoming tide which stirs up the local sand and sea grasses.
References:
http://www.naval-history.net/WW1oMSLosses1918.htm http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-11142004-230531/unrestricted/Keith.pdf. http//freespace.virgin.net/gordon.smith/ww2BritishLossesbyDate.htm Allied Landing Craft of World War Two (Naval Institute Press ISBN:0-87021-064-5) U.S. amphibious ships and craft: an illustrated design history, Volume 895 (By Norman Friedman) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/lc.htm Personal dive experience |
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