US Marines Practice at Sea

 

 

Off the coast of Dunedin, Florida, autumn 1941. Marines of the Amphibian Tractor Detachment practice formation driving at sea. Semaphore flags were used to communicate since most early amphibian tractors lacked radios. The LVT-1 alligator (seen here) revolutionized ship to shore movement of troops and equipment. First intended strictly as a cargo carrier, the tractors were soon adapted and improved. FMC built about 1,200 LVT-1s, some of which saw combat service through the end of the war. Life Magazine Photo by Dmitri Kessel

LVT-1 Alligators maneuver off the western coast of Florida in the autumn of 1941. Designed by Donald Roebling, the Alligator revolutionized amphibious warfare and was the first true amphibian vehicle. The LVT-1 was the first in an evolutionary line of amtracs and is the forerunner of the AAV-7 tractor still used by Marines.

 

Autumn 1941, near Dunedin, Florida. Marines of the Amphibian Tractor Detachment practice formation driving at sea. Amtrackers used several basic formation during ship-to-shore movement: column, line and wedge. Most early amtracs did not have radios, so semaphore flags and hand signals were used to signal formation changes.

Autumn 1941, near Dunedin, Florida. Marines of the Amphibian Tractor Detachment practice water movement in a brand-new LVT-1 amphibian tractor. The detachment was formed in May 1941 near the Food Machinery Corporation plant in Dunedin, on Florida's western coast. The new tractors were delivered from the factory straight to the detachment. Such was the need that many of the initial batch of tractors were clad only in the red anti-rust coating. The Amphibian Tractor Detachment was assigned to the 1st Marine Division in December 1941, becoming the nucleus for Co A, 1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/Fixbayonets1985/photos/a.114279460312369/232247321848915