Freelance historian and archaeologist Stephen Fisher gave us a fascinating talk on the history, recovery, restoration and display of Landing Craft Tank LCT7074 for our D-Day Story and LCT7074 visit. As a historian he was deeply involved in uncovering its past, as an archaeologist he was a key player in documenting its condition on arrival at Portsmouth, planning and supervising its restoration. Inevitably some compromises had to be made, both to assure the craft’s long-term survival and to assure its safety as a visitor attraction – and thus its viability.
Following the talk Stephen gave us a guided walk around the interior and exterior of the craft, pointing out many features that a casual visitor would not notice. Bringing the historian’s perspective to bear he encouraged us to consider the underrated contribution and sacrifice of the maritime element in the Normandy landings.
LCT7074 is believed to be the last surviving LCT used in the Normandy Landings. As a Mk 3 she may have been used to launch DD (swimming) tanks on D-Day and certainly carried out beach deliveries from 7 June. The later Mk 4 LCT (wider and slightly shorter) was designed to cope with Normandy’s gently shelving beaches and would have been used for the D-Day assault itself.
After the tour several of us took lunch at the excellent D-Day Story café, and we were at liberty to return to the LCT and/or explore the museum at our leisure. Day tickets can also be upgraded to an annual pass at very reasonable cost.
This concludes our summer programme – please see the Events page for our exciting autumn offering!