Dragon DRA60522 US LVT-(A)1 Amtank Amphibious Vehicle - "Shark's Mouth", Unidentified Unit, Pacific Theatre of Operations, 1945 (1:72 Scale)
"I have always considered Saipan the decisive battle of the Pacific offensive (it was) the naval and military heart and brain of the Japanese defense strategy."
- Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith, Commander of the US Fleet Marine Force in the Pacific, July 1944
The Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT) was a class of amphibious vehicles introduced by the United States Navy, Marine Corps and Army during World War II. Originally intended solely as cargo carriers for ship to shore operations, they rapidly evolved into assault troop and fire support vehicles as well. The types were all widely known as amphtrack, amtrak, amtrac etc., a portmanteau of amphibious tractor.
After much deliberation, it was determined that amphibious tracked vehicles were the only solution to this problem. Both the amtrac and the amtank were developed, designed to be able to climb onto a reef from the sea then advance across the rough coral to the beach without exposing the troops inside to small arms fire. The amtracs were responsible for transporting troops ashore where they could continue the assault. The amtanks, on the hand, led the way, firing at the enemy positions the moment naval gunfire and air strikes lifted.
Based on the LVT-2, the LVT(A)-1 fire support version had an armored (6 to 12 mm) hull. It was fitted with a turret nearly identical to that of the Light Tank M3, with a 37 mm Gun M6 in an M44 mount, and also carried two rear-mounted machine guns. 510 units produced.
Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a US LVT(A)-1 Amtank Amphibious Vehicle that was attached to an unidentified unit then serving in the Pacific Theatre of Operations during early 1945. Now in stock!
Length: 4-1/4 inches
Width: 1-3/4 inches
Release Date: November 2011
Historical Account: "Across the Blue Horizon" - The Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period. (The other areas of the Pacific War -- the China Burma India Theater, the South-East Asian Theatre, and Manchurian Theatre -- had their own respective command structures, independent of PTO.)
The Pacific Theater of Operations was one of two areas in which the United States initiated offensive ground combat operations against the Axis powers in late 1942. This included operations by the 32nd and the 41st Infantry Divisions on New Guinea, and the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal. The other area was the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, beginning with Operation Torch in November.
From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, there were two operational commands in the PTO: Pacific Ocean Areas (POA; divided into Central Pacific Area, North Pacific Area and South Pacific Area), commanded by Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief Pacific Ocean Areas, and the South West Pacific Area (SWPA), commanded by General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific Area.In addition, during 1945, General Carl Spaatz commanded the separate U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific.
Because of the complementary roles of the US Army and the Navy in conducting war in the Pacific theater, there was no single Allied or U.S. commander (comparable to Eisenhower in the ETO) for the PTO. Indeed, the organizational structure was rather complex, requiring the frequent involvement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Army and Navy commanders each reporting to both the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy. (The consolidation of their respective cabinet departments into the Department of Defense in 1947 addressed subsequent needs for control of joint operations on such large scales.)
The Pacific Ocean theater was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, that pitted forces of the Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France.
The theater included most of the Pacific Ocean and its islands, excluding the Philippines, Australia, the Netherlands East Indies, the Territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago) and the Solomon Islands (which were part of the Southwest Pacific area.) The Pacific Ocean theater also excluded China and mainland Southeast Asia. It takes its name from 30 March 1942 when it became the major Allied command in the theater, known simply as "Pacific Ocean Areas".