Swiss Army Boat

http://thebeginningfarmer.com/the-global-food-crisis-and-small-farms/?relatedposts=1 An artist’s depiction of a proposed folding landing craft utiltiy—dubbed LCU-F—approaching shore. In the background, aft of an LHD, can be seen another LCU-F in the process of unfolding to its full length.

Okay, this illustration never saw print. Indeed, it is making its publication debute today, and thus retains my copyright.

http://vbrisket.com/groups/legal-representative-advice-that-can-help-you-acquire-a-great-one/members/ Ladies and Gentlemen… I give you… the United States Navy’s…  newest landing craft!

. . .  or not.

Opportunities such as this are rare, but when they happen, they are a lot of fun.

In June 2013, Paul Merzlak, then editor in chief of Proceedings, asked if I could illustrate a boat that was only in conceptual stages. Why not? Who was going to call me out on it if I was “wrong”?

The Navy has a class of small utility craft called, very unsurprisingly light craft, utility, better known as LCUs. These things have been around in various incarnations since at least pre-World War II. Current LCUs, despite being built rather recently, were designed, I believe, in the late ’50s or early ’60s.  These are the descendents (through use only) to the famous Higgins LCV(P) and LCVs  landing craft, the little boats with square-bow drop ramps that littered beaches from Guadalcanal to Normandy to Inchon to Cam Rahn.

It’s time someone took a closer look.  One designer did, but he passed on before he could present his work. In his stead, however, his wife pushed forward to show designs of this little gem to the government. She approached Proceedings because she knew we were open to getting new, even unconventional ideas—as this surely is—on the table. I cannot provide the article because of the USNI copyright, however, this is the link to it: https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2013-07/landing-craft-21st-century.

The new boat was to be larger, faster, heavily armed, and helicopter capable.

Basically, it would provide a boat twice as long — and capable — in the same cubic space as current LCUs. They called it LCU-F. F for folding.

This is my straight-forward illustration of one. Obviously, my humorous approach wouldn’t go very far so it stayed in the file drawer.