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[Becky9]

Can anyone help?

The last few days I've been diving on the Landing Craft wreck on the breakwater in Portland Harbour.

I've been looking for photographic references to try and identify this unappreciated wreck. Despite the many people that dive on it, very few seem to have any idea to its identity.

I've scoured the net looking for photos, there is a school of thought that says its a world war 2 wreck, but I'm not convinced of that - there are plenty of photographs of world war 2 ones and nothing matches that I can see. People also suggests its a Mk9 LCU, its clearly not, but others have said its a Mk8.  My biggest question is this - did pre Mk9 LCU/LCM exist? Where can I find photo references for these? Just a bit of info about the wreck itself.... Its upright, mostly intact, wheelhouse roof is missing, its around 27m long, 6m wide. It has two engine bays (2 x diesels?) behind the wheelhouse, both the covers for these engine bays sit in the cargo area. The cargo area itself seems to extend under the wheelhouse a small way with no apparant doors or bulkheads.

[Becky9]

Responding to my own post.  I'm 99.9% certain the wreck is of one of the Mk9 Prototypes. Two were made which have different pennant numbers to the production variant (pennants L700-L711) . These two prototypes were L3507 and L3508.  L3507 is sitting mostly intact at the bottom of Portland Harbour.

[colinj]

Becky, I hope you may still be lurking on this forum even after so long? I came across your post whilst researching the LCT at Portland for my dive blog and turned up a film in the imperial war museum,  www.iwmcollections.org.uk I hope you enjoy it as it shows the LC you were interested in:

Film Number BFM 537

  The film is sea trials for LCM (9) Prototype Trials at Instow 1963-1964 

[Becky9]

Very much belated reply.

Thanks Colin, I found that the IWM had that particular film in the achives and paid to have it converted to video. They did have some others showing the prototypes during testing but as they werent the sole focus of the films, I chose just to have this one converted.

x

[Capt Pugwash]

Hi there Becky 9 & colinj etc.
I also have dived this wreck & wondered what it was..........
It seems that there were more than two of these vessels made.
Vospers made L3507 & L3508 as shown in the war museum videos,
But there may have been more
L713.....L715 were apparently built by Mc  Tay  Maritime  Ltd up in Merseyside in1986
And possibly L 700.....L711 were built by other yards ( according to the Paxmanhistory web page).
Paxman made most of the naval diesel motors for landing craft & other vessels .

Does anyone know any details of these other LCM / LCU. Mk9 vessels ?
RSVP.
Capt Pugwash