''LCT 147'' is an

amphibious assault ship An amphibious assault ship is a type of warship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory during an armed conflict. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (which, as a result, ar ...

for landing

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s, other vehicles and troops on

beachhead A beachhead is a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a landing beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. Th ...

s. Built in 1941 by Stockton Construction,

Thornaby-on-Tees Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north of York and south-east of Middlesbrough. On the south bank of the River Tees, Thornaby falls within th ...

, the Mark 2 ''LCT 147'' took part in the Invasion of North Africa in June 1943. The ship was converted to a Landing Craft Rocket at

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is loc ...

from March through May 1943 and renamed ''LCT(2)(R) 147''. ''LCT 147'' was decommissioned in 1946, and transferred to the Italian Navy but was sold to commercial service later that year until being acquired by the Mossad LeAliyah Bet. The ship was absorbed into the Israeli navy and became a museum ship in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Design

The LCT Mark 2 was longer and wider than the Mark 1, with three Paxman diesel or

Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 engine, W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept ...

petrol engines replacing the Hall-Scotts. At , it had three times the range of its predecessor. Seventy-three Mk.2s were built.

Construction and career

The ship was built by Stockton Construction in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and was designed to carry and land tanks. She was launched on 23 September 1941 and commissioned on 26 December 1941. In May 1943, she was converted to a Landing Craft Rocket at

from March through May 1943 and renamed ''LCT(2)(R) 147''. In June 1942, she was transferred to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

where she took part in the Invasion of North Africa. She was decommissioned from British service in May 1945. After the war offered For sale as war surplus and bought by an Italian shipping company in 1946. The ship was renamed ''Michael Parma'' by the Italian shipping company to carry agriculture products.

''Af Al Pi Chen''

In 1946, the ship was acquired by the

Mossad LeAliyah Bet The Mossad LeAliyah Bet (, ) was a branch of the paramilitary organization Haganah in British Mandatory Palestine, and later the State of Israel, that operated to facilitate Jewish immigration to British Palestine. During the Mandate period, it ...

, one of the primary forces resisting the strict British immigration quotas from 1934 to 1948. During this era of clandestine immigration, 122,419 people were brought to Israel by 116 ships (the vast majority between 1945 and 1948). ''Af Al Pi Chen'' sailed just weeks after the famous '' Exodus 1947'' episode. She was named after this event, ''Af Al Pi Chen'' means nonetheless or in spite of it all. On 17 September 1947, ''Af Al Pi Chen'' departed

Formia Formia (ancient Formiae) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean , Italy. It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way. Mythology According to the mythology the city was f ...

, Italy with 434

holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors crowded on board. She was heading toward the southern part of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

when she was detected by a British aircraft and 4

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

destroyers were dispatched. ''Af Al Pi Chen'' rammed one of the destroyers and eventually the British boarding teams took over ''Af Al Pi Chen'' and was towed to

Haifa Bay The Bay of Haifa or Haifa Bay (, ''Mifratz Heifa''), formerly Bay of Acre, is a bay along the Mediterranean coast of Northern Israel. Haifa Bay is Israel's only natural harbor on the Mediterranean. ''Haifa Bay'' also refers one of Haifa's ni ...

. The immigrants were taken to

internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

but most eventually made their way to Israel in 1948. In June 1948, the British mandate expired and the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the Israel Defense Forces#Arms, naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea th ...

was formed. The navy scrounged for any available ship in junkyards and ''Af Al Pi Chen'' was one of the ships they found and commissioned into the navy. She participated in the

1948 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...

as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

. During the 1956 Operation Musketeer, she took on her final role as a tank landing craft despite having her engines inoperable, it was planned to push her with a

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

to land tanks near

Gaza strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. The

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

took over the area before ''Af Al Pi Chen'' arrived so the landing was canceled. ''Af Al Pi Chen'' was decommissioned in 1958 and in 1968, she was moved ashore and became the centerpiece of the

Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum The Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum () is a technical history museum located in Haifa, Israel. The museum covers the maritime history of Israel – from clandestine immigration during the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Pale ...

Gallery

File:אוניית המעפילים אף על פי כן - על גשר הפיקוד.jpg, Command bridge of ''Af Al Pi Chen'' File:אוניית המעפילים אף על פי כן - מעפילים מועברים לגירוש.jpg, Illegal immigrants being detained from ''Af Al Pi Chen'' File:Hn-Af-Al-Pi-Chen-11.jpg, ''Af Al Pi Chen'' on display in 2019 File:Hn-Af-Al-Pi-Chen-25.jpg, ''Af Al Pi Chen'''s propellers File:Hn-Af-Al-Pi-Chen-13.jpg, ''Af Al Pi Chen'''s bow ramp

References

External links

HMS LCT 147 (LCT 147) of the Royal Navy - British Landing Craft Tank of the LCT (Mk 2) class - Allied Warships of WWII
at uboat.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Landing Craft Tank LCT Ships built in England Museum ships in Israel 1941 ships Ships preserved in museums