US Marines Disembark from LVT-1 Amtrac at Guam Landing Training

Image size: 1600 x 1267 pixel. 377 KB
Date: Friday, 12 May 1944
Place: Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
Photographer: Unknown

US 3rd Marine Division leathernecks disembark on the beach from an LVT-1 of the 3rd Amphibious Tractor Battalion during training for the invasion of Guam on Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal during the week of May 12, 1944. The "alligator" was developed as a disaster rescue vehicle after a number hurricanes caused severe damage to Florida in the late 1930s. Developed and, in part, financed by its inventor, Donald Roebling, grandson of the Brooklyn Bridge builder, it came to the attention of the US Navy when it was featured in the October 4, 1937, issue of LIFE Magazine. After refinements paid out of his own pocket, and the refusal of the US Navy to purchase the available version, the US Marine Corps took over the project. A combat version was designed in 1940 and tested and accepted by the Marine Corps. This LVT-1 had welded steel instead of aluminum, a more powerful engine, and provisions for one or two .30 caliber Browning machine guns. The first of the production LVTs would roll off the Food Machinery Corporation's (FMC) assembly line in July 1941. LVT-1 Alligator Amtracs (Amphibious Tractors) were first used at Guadalcanal in August 1942 and made a combat landing under heavy fire during the invasion of Tarawa on November 21, 1943. Their last combat operation was the invasion of Cape Gloucester, New Guinea in December 1943. The 3rd Amphibious Tractor Battalion upgraded to the LVT-2, which had improved armor and could carry more cargo. The unit had 180 LVT-2 Amtrac when it landed the 3rd Marine Division on July 21, 1944 on the beaches of Asan Point, Guam. 

Source:

https://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/World%20War%20II/Forms/DispForm.aspx?ID=1130

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1083

Coast Guard LST Follows LCIs to Cape Sansapor

Image size: 1600 x 1253 pixel. 774 KB
Date: Saturday, 29 July 1944
Place: Cape Sansapor, Vogelkop Peninsula, New Guinea
Photographer: Photographer's Mate First Class Harry R. Watson

At the end of July 1944, US Army General Douglas MacArthur sent an amphibious expeditionary force to Cape Sansapor, New Guinea. By doing so he made a 200-mile jump from his previous most advanced position. The Coast Guard-manned LSTs 18, 22, 26, 66, 67, 68, 170, 202, 204 and 206 all took part in the landings and the follow-up activity. The Coast Guard-manned frigates Bisbee, Coronado, Eugene, Gallup, Glendale, Long Beach, San Pedro and Van Buren performed offshore patrols during the landings. MacArthur's planners sped up the operations in New Guinea, bypassing Japanese strongholds. Cape Sansapor was selected because of its ability to support Tank Landing Ships (LSTs). Here elements of the US Army's 6th Infantry Division, their anti-aircraft guns manned in case of air attack, follow in the wake of Infantry Landing Craft (LCIs) to the Vogelkop Peninsula. 

Source:

NARA (National Archives) Record Group 26: Records of the U.S. Coast Guard, 1785 - 2005 (ARC identifier: 355). Series: Activities, Facilities, and Personalities, compiled 1886 - 1967 (ARC identifier: 513164). NAIL Control Number: NWDNS-26-G-2839

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Columns_of_troop-packed_LCIs_trail_in_the_wake_of_a_Coast_Guard-manned_LST_en_route_for_the_invasion_of_Cape..._-_NARA_-_513184.tif

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1049

Panzerkampfwagen III Negotiating a River Crossing

Image size: 1600 x 1328 pixel. 543 KB
Date: June 1941
Place: River Bug, Patulin, Polesie Voivodeship, Poland
Photographer: Unknown

Panzerbefehlswagen (Command Tank) III Ausf H(U) Tauchfahrig (Submersible Motor Vehicle), also known as Tauchpanzer or U-Panzer (Submersible Diving Tank, Underwater Tank), negotiating a river crossing in central Europe during World War II. This tank has main armament of a 50mm L/42 main gun. The tank belongs to 18. Panzer-Division and the photograph was probably taken during the crossing of the River Bug at Patulin in June 1941. During the preparation for invasion of England, Operation Seelöwe (Sealion), Panzer IIIs and IVs were converted into submersible tanks. All openings were sealed, commander's cupola, gun mantlet and machine gun mount covered with rubber sheeting, turret ring protected by inflatable rubber ring. Exhausts were fitted with valves that let the exhaust leave but kept water out. Air was supplied via a flexible 60-foot (18-meter) hose held on the surface by a buoy. Maximum safe depth was about 50 feet (15 meters), maximum underwater speed about 3 miles per hour (4.8 kilometers per hour). From June to October of 1940, 160 Panzer III Ausf F/G/H and 8 Panzerbefehlswagen III Ausf E along with 42 Panzer IV Ausf Ds were converted into Tauchpanzers. Since Operation Sealion was cancelled, Tauchpanzer IIIs and IVs were used during Operation Barbarossa, in service with Panzer-Regiment 6/3.Panzer-Division, and Panzer-Regiment 18/18.Panzer-Division (which crossed river Bug at Patulin). These vehicles used a rigid air supply hose and could ford water up to 13 feet (4 meters). This photo is probably staged, taken before the invasion of Russia.

Source:

Book "A Photo History of Tanks in Two World Wars" by George Forty, page 80

http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/044596

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii119