Landing Craft Utility

Landing Craft Utility (LCU) are large landing craft which, as opposed to most other such craft, are not simply ship-to-shore shuttles but can operate for up to 10 days at sea. They are commanded by senior petty officers.

LCUs are carried about Landing Platform Dock ships, or may serve as independent utility boats in a port or in a coastal area. Their range, at 8 knots, is 1200 miles.

The U.S. Navy has several classes of LCU, displacing 200 tons empty and 375 tons at full load. They have a crew of 14, but can carry combinations of 400 passengers, three M1 Abrams tanks or ten Light Armored Vehicles. They are 135 feet long and have a beam of 29 feet, and have bow and stern loading ramps.

Typically, they would not be used in the first waves of an amphibious attack, but would bring up heavy equipment after a beach had been secured by Marines landed by helicopter, tilt-rotor aircraft, or landing craft air cushion.