Top Photo: Tracked landing vehicles (LVTs) approach Iwo Jima. Department of Defense Photo via Wikimedia Commons

During the interwar years, the US Marine Corps was the only military organization seriously studying the problem of modern-day amphibious assault. The horrors of Gallipoli during World War I were still fresh in the minds of military planners. However, shortly after the war’s conclusion in late 1918, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General John A. Lejeune, determined that the Marines needed to address the challenges of amphibious assault. By 1934, the Marines published the Tentative Landing Manual regarding amphibious operations that laid the groundwork for such operations seen in World War II. Part of this document addressed the requirement of ship-to-shore movement. One solution for getting men and material ashore was solved with the development of the Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP), a shallow-draft, flat-bottom watercraft that eventually became known as the Higgins boat. However, the Corps would soon develop another novel innovation in support of amphibious assaults.

The 1930s saw a series of devastating hurricanes make landfall in Florida. Rescuing victims and recovering property was often a problem given the flood-prone areas of southern Florida. To address this need, Donald Roebling designed and built an amphibious vehicle intended to support recovery efforts. While somewhat a misfit, Roebling was a brilliant tinkerer and mechanic, and with financial backing from his father, he eventually built what became known as the Roebling Alligator—an amphibious tractor with an aluminum hull powered by a 92-horsepower engine. The vehicle was propelled by two rows of tracks that included cleats that gripped soft sand and mud while also serving as paddles to propel the vehicle forward in the water. It could travel 25 miles per hour on land and 2 when afloat. Roebling refined and improved the basic design and in 1937 put the tracked vehicle through its paces while publishing pictures of the craft in Life magazine.

U.S. Marine Corps LVT(1) amphibian tractors move toward the beach on Guadalcanal Island. This view was probably taken during the 7-9 August 1942 initial landings on Guadalcanal. The troopship USS President Hayes (AP-39) is in the background. Official U.S. Navy photo NH 97749

With the Marine Corps preparing for a possible war in the Pacific, officers at Quantico, Virginia, took notice of the Alligator and its unique capabilities. While the prototype lacked military armament and armor, the promise of such a vehicle was obvious given the envisioned missions of the Marines. In February 1941, Roebling received a contract from the US Navy to produce 200 examples of the updated version for military use. Taking input from the naval services, the newly modified design could carry over 2 tons of cargo and travel 29 mph on land and 9 in the water. 

With the outbreak of war just 10 months after the contract was awarded, Roebling’s updated amphibious tractor entered service with the Fleet Marine Force as the Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT-1). Food Machinery Company built the first 200 LVTs in Dunedin, Florida, with the first one rolling off the assembly line in July 1941. Production of the LVT-1 would eventually exceed 1,200 vehicles. It could carry up to 18 troops or 4,500lbs of equipment. While unarmored, these early versions were first introduced at Guadalcanal in late 1942 and served as logistics vehicles, moving supplies from ship-to-shore and further inland then returning to hospital ships offshore with wounded Marines. 

LVT-1 exhibited by manufacturer (FMC) in 1941 parade, Lakeland, FL. 1941. U.S. Government Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The initial LVT-1 design was eventually updated with an improved suspension for a smoother ride on land and a streamlined hull for better handling in the water. Designated the LVT-2 Water Buffalo, the new tractor utilized the powertrain of the M3 Stuart tank that increased both its power and reliability. In addition, the new version had updated tracks the include a W-shaped track that gave it better propulsion both ashore and afloat. The design could carry almost 6,000 lbs of cargo or 18 to 24 troops along with with two .30-caliber (aft) and .50-caliber (forward) machine guns. Entering production in 1942, the LVT-2 did not see combat until November 1943. 

While both the LVT-1 and -2 were about to be pressed into combat service with add-on armor and defensive machine gun armament, the position of the engine at the rear of the vehicle was still its biggest drawback. This forced Marines carried to shore to exit the vehicle over the sides, exposing themselves to enemy fire as they egressed. 

On November 20, 1943, the 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion launched 75 up-armored LVT-1s and 50 LVT-2s from Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs) off the Tarawa Atoll. This was the first combat assault by amphibian tractors and set the standard for every amphibious assault that followed. The LVTs were critical in breaching the coral reefs hundreds of yards from the shore and getting Marines safely to the beach. During the planning phase, Colonel David Shoup, who would earn the Medal of Honor on Tarawa, made the need plain, stating that “without LVTs, there is no operation.” The LVTs proved their value as the only platform capable of breaching the coral reefs and getting Marines to shore in numbers. By the end of the three-day battle, only 35 amphibious tractors remained, but the advantage their presence gave the amphibious assault commander was unquestionable. 

Drawing from combat experiences with the LVT-1 and LVT-2, the next evolutionary leap forward saw its combat debut on Saipan in June 1944. The LVT-4 was similar in layout but larger than the LVT-2, and the engine was relocated to immediately behind the crew cabin, allowing for a rear ramp to be installed. With the LVT-4, Marines could now board and egress the vehicle without having to go over the sides and needlessly expose themselves to enemy fire. The LVT-4 was ultimately the most produced variant of WWII landing vehicles, with nearly 8,500 produced by war’s end.

LVTs were used in the subsequent Pacific assaults in the Marshall, Marianna, Philippine, and Ryukyu Island chains, with over 18,000 of all variants built during the war. Some versions were also employed in the European theater and were especially useful during the Rhine River crossings in March 1945. The LVT series of amphibious tractors became a mainstay for amphibious forces in World War II and the Korean War. The US Marines still use similarly designed tracked vehicles for ship-to-shore movements and amphibious assaults.   

The National WWII Museum’s LTV-4 on display in the John E. Kushner Restoration Pavilion is a testament to American innovation and a reminder of the sacrifices made by servicemembers in defense of freedom.