harneyn Posted 20 April , 2005 Share Posted 20 April , 2005 Transporting British troops at Suvla Bay... Thanks! Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooloo Posted 20 April , 2005 Share Posted 20 April , 2005 If a lighter is a large flat-bottom barge... I'd say yes that appears to be one. zoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSMMo Posted 20 April , 2005 Share Posted 20 April , 2005 Isn't that what they referred to as a "Beetle"? (Notice the loading ramps in the front.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harneyn Posted 20 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 20 April , 2005 I think they are one and the same... in searching - googling - if I search on Lighter I get a ga-zillion returns with Zippo, and a search on Beetle returns a ga-zillion returns with Volkwagen - even when I except the product names!! Thanks, Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 21 April , 2005 Share Posted 21 April , 2005 I think that CSMMo is correct and that this is a ‘Beetle’ It is similar to but not exactly the same as a lighter Fisher had them specially built for a naval attack on Germany’s Baltic coast This plan never came to anything but when Hamilton asked Kitchener for them earlier in 1915 he was refused. They were eventually released to Gallipoli in time for the Suvla landings [the e-address for the photograph confirms Suvla] They differed from lighters in being armoured or at least bullet proof, they could carry 500 men and they had the ramp at the bow for the ease of disembarkation. They were in fact the first form of what we would later call ‘Landing craft’ As Rhodes James put it, they ‘removed the nightmare of April 25th; this time there would be no pathetic gaggles of rowing-boats toiling ashore under fire, but fast armoured landing-craft, capable of landing a division in a few hours.’ They arrived at Mudros in July 1915 and were named Beetles by the sailors on account of their black paint and the projecting arm of the bow ramp Regards Michael D.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harneyn Posted 21 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 21 April , 2005 Thanks a bunch... Ann >They arrived at Mudros in July 1915 and were named Beetles by the sailors on account of their black paint and the projecting arm of the bow ramp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest missioner Posted 22 April , 2005 Share Posted 22 April , 2005 Anne There are a couple of pictures of these Beetles in the on-line collection of the Australian War Museum. There is also a segment where the British are embarking onto them for the Suvla Landings in the AWM film which is supposed to be the only surviving 'movie' of the whole campaign. For some reason the letter K comes to mind in relation to these craft. Dont know if they were designated K 'class' or it may have been painted on one in the pictures. As Michael states, and despite the pictures at the AWM, they were not used by the ANZACs. The Rhodes-James quotation is interesting, as many historians seem to believe that the April Landings were made almost un-opposed, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest missioner Posted 26 April , 2005 Share Posted 26 April , 2005 The 'film' is the one referred to as Ashmead - Bartlets film in another thread. They do have K painted on them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harneyn Posted 29 April , 2005 Author Share Posted 29 April , 2005 Great thanks! That is a great website! Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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