Mk. III LCU

Mk III LCU class vessels were follow on class of Mk II LCU operated by the Indian Navy and were meant to augment the Indian Navy's amphibious capability. The ships were deployed for maritime roles like maritime security, beaching, un-beaching, humanitarian relief operations and evacuation from distant islands, search and rescue operations and peace-keeping missions. The landing craft were meant for use by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore. They were capable of transporting tracked or wheeled vehicles and troops from amphibious assault ships to beachheads or piers. The landing craft were carried on board amphibious assault ships to the objective area. Built and delivered between 1986-87 the mission of the LCU was to land/retrieve personnel and equipment (tanks, artillery, equipment, motor vehicles) during amphibious operations.[6] LCU's help land personnel and equipment after the initial assault waves of an amphibious operation.[4][7]

L39 LCU during shore operations
Class overview
Name: LCU MK III class
Builders: Goa Shipyard Limited [1][2]
Operators:  Indian Navy
Preceded by: LCU Mk II
Succeeded by: LCU MK IV
Built: 1986-87
Planned: 4
Completed: 4
Retired: 4
General characteristics
Displacement: 560 tons[3][4][5]
Length: 57.5 m [4]
Beam: 8.2 m
Draft: 1.57 m
Depth: 4 m
Propulsion: 3 Kirloskar-MAN V8V 17.5/22 AMAL diesel engines x 562 bhp driving 3 shafts.[6]
Speed: 11.5 kn
Range: 1,000 nmi at 8 kn
Troops: 120
Complement: 207
Crew: 87
Sensors and
processing systems:		 1 Racal Decca 1629 radar at I-band frequency.
Armament: 2 x Bofors 40mm/60 guns (aft) & mines

History

Goa Shipyard Limited built and delivered these 4 LCU Mk III ships between 1978 and 1987 alongside the now decommissioned 2 LCU Mk I and 3 LCU Mk II ships. However, as the design was not suitable so no more ships were ordered of this design from Goa Shipyard.[8][6][9]

Service

The LCU Mark-III ships were developed in-house by Goa Shipyard and are designed for multipurpose amphibious operations to be carried out by Indian Navy. In Dec 2016, LCU L38 was part of the operation to rescue 800 tourists stranded in Havelock Islands [10] In 1988, Lt Cdr KR Nair; the Commanding Officer of LCU 36 was awarded Nau Sena Medal for conducting Operation Pawan Patrol, an anti militant patrol operation in uncharted waters. LCU 36 was also involved in providing cyclone relief service in 1990 at Rangat Island part of Andaman islands [11][12][13]

Ships of the class
Yard No Pennant Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Home-port
L 36 18 July 1986 [4] 9 February 2018[14] Port Blair
L 37 18 October 1986 9 February 2018[14][13]
L 38 10 December 1986 30 March 2019[15][16]
L 39 25 March 1987

See also

References
  1. Hiranandani, G. M. (2005). Transition to Eminence: The Indian Navy 1976-1990. ISBN 9788170622666.
  2. "Mark 3 Landing Craft".
  3. "Transition to Guardianship, The Indian Navy 1991–2000" (PDF). Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  4. "Mk.2 & Mk.3 Landing Craft Class".
  5. The Evolution Of the Landing Craft Tank Archived 1 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Mark 3 Landing Craft".
  7. "Kumbhir Class, LCU (MK-3) Class". Archived from the original on 31 July 2017.
  8. Hiranandani, G. M. (2005). Transition to Eminence: The Indian Navy 1976-1990. ISBN 9788170622666.
  9. "Transition-to-Eminence-07Apr16.pdf" (PDF).
  10. "Navy Ships to Rescue 800 Tourists From Andaman After Heavy Rains".
  11. Hiranandani, G. M. (2005). Transition to Eminence: The Indian Navy 1976-1990. ISBN 9788170622666.
  12. "Transition-to-Eminence-07Apr16.pdf" (PDF).
  13. "Port Blair | INLCU-36, INLCU-37 decommissioned after 30 glorious years of service to nation | The Echo of India". The Echo of India. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  14. SpokespersonNavy (9 February 2018). "Indian Naval Landing Craft Utility, IN LCU 36 & IN LCU 37 were decommissioned this evening at Port Blair after completing more than 30 years of glorious service to the nation. LCU 36 was 1st of LCU MK-III class landing craft utility vessels built at GSL followed by LCU 37, 38 &39pic.twitter.com/othoW7XP6x". @indiannavy. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  15. "Indian Navy, Official Facebook Page". 30 March 2019.
  16. "Naval Landing Craft Decommissioned". 30 March 2019.
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