The Shohatsu (小発) or 10m landing craft was a small

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

used by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was used for landing personnel and stores. It was designated the "Type B" landing craft by the United States.

Design

The Shohatsu class were long, wide, and had a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . The class had a maximum speed of , and a range of , assuming they were travelling at top speed. The ship could hold 35 men, or 3.5 tons of cargo. It was built of steel, and had a single bow with no landing ramp.

Service history

It was carried by destroyers and smaller vessels as a cargo boat. Japan ordered 20 of the Shohatsu class land crafts, but it is not known how many of them were actually finished and delivered.

Design

Service history

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