The 'HMS LCT (R) 457' was a specialized variant of the Landing Craft Tank, developed during World War II. Designed to bombard enemy beaches with thousands of rockets just before the infantry arrived, it served as a floating artillery platform.
Traditional gunfire from distant battleships and cruisers often proved insufficiently accurate. This led to the development of rocket-armed landing craft that could operate in just 90-120 cm of water while remaining seaworthy. However, the ship began as an American Landing Craft Tank (LCT) vessel.

US LCT 457 D Day
The ship was deployed during Operation Neptune (June 6, 1944, D-Day). On board was B Battery, 29th Field Artillery Battalion. The B Battery's mission was to provide support fire for the 8th Infantry Regiment assault troops on Utah Beach during the invasion of Normandy. Four M7 howitzers were positioned on the tank deck, manned to provide supporting artillery fire during the landing operation. When the LCT 457 approached Utah Beach at 9:00 A.M., she struck a mine:

Survivor Irving Smolens:
" I was a gun crew member of B Battery 29th Field Artillery Battalion, Fourth Infantry (Ivy) Division. My entire gun battery was destroyed when the LCT carrying it into Utah Beach hit a mine. There were 60 men on board. 37 of them were killed. Twenty three of the killed were never identified or recovered and their names are engraved forever on the granite wall of the Garden of the Missing in the cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach."¹

Horace Stephens and William Bernard Keller waren 2 van de 23 vermiste soldaten. Their remains were never recovered. memorialized at Normandy American Cemetery. ²

LCT (Rocket) 457 in British service 
After Normandy, USS LCT 457 was transferred to the Royal Navy, converted, and became a HMS vessel.

On November 5, 1944, it was deployed during Operation Infatuate, the attack and landings on Walcheren. hm lct (r) 457 did not get very far, but struck a mine in the Akkaert area. According to survivor James Frederick Turner, the captain then ordered the ship to be abandoned, but a second, heavier explosion followed. After this, the Lct sank with a large part of the crew. The mine originated from a minefield laid by 3 German Schnellboote of the 3rd S-Flottille on November 1. The payload was not of the usual kind. The R in the name hm lct (r) 457 indicates a converted Landing Craft whose tank deck was cleared for a payload of rockets. The wreck of hm lct (r) 457 is historically important because no other ship of this type has sunk.

 LCT rocket spec
There were only a few dozen LCTs of types 2, 3, and 5 that were converted for that function and retained the same numbering. On the LCT type 3, a deck was installed above the tank deck, carrying 1,064 rockets (180 rows of 6 rockets) of the 5-inch caliber. These were fired electrically in 24 salvos with a preset range of up to 3.5 km. The rockets landed in groups in an area of 750 by 160 m, resulting in a density of 1 rocket per 100 m². In addition to rockets, the fuses could be fitted with explosive warheads, smoke-spreading rockets, or incendiary warheads. hm LCT (r) 457 was of the LCT type 3 and belonged to the 300-499 series. The remaining armament, consisting of two 20 mm guns, was positioned next to the bridge on the stern. The bridge deck was almost completely open, with only a screen in front of it to protect the sailors from the recoil of the fired salvos. The bridge containing the rudder system was located in a small armored room with 6 cm thick steel plate at the front. Where present, the protection on the bridge flanks was made of wood, a consequence of the material shortage the shipyards were facing.

Fate of Crew
Not much is known about the fate of the crew of HM LCT (R) 457. Only the grave of Lieutenant L.G.E. McMillan, rnvr, was found at the military cemetery in Bergen op Zoom. McMillan was presumably the commander or first officer of hm lct (r) 457. It is known, however, that the majority of the crew, a total of 23 men, lost their lives in the sinking of hm lct (r) 457. One of the casualties was Ordnance Artificer 4th Class Terry, David.

archaeological remains

The maximum bottom depth is 24 m. The wreck lies upright and essentially has no real recognizable features as a ship. The site has a length of 64 m, a width of 10 m, and an average height of 2.5 m. Viewed from above, it resembles a rectangular pontoon with a steel deck and high sides. On the former bow, we find a folded-down door with reinforcements and remnants of the chains from which the loading bridge was suspended. Nearby is a winch that likely served to lower and raise the loading bridge. It is also possible that this winch was used for anchoring, as a stowed anchor protrudes from the sand nearby.

The midship section is largely unrecognizable and filled with fallen sheet iron and tubular iron objects. Both sides of the wreck are intact and easy to follow. The sides are subdivided into 2 m wide compartments that served as watertight bulkheads in case the ship were to spring a leak. Those compartments were filled with all kinds of supplies for the crossing, such as reserve fuel, food, and fresh water. Towards the stern, we encounter an intact steel deck. Nothing remains of the bridge and the former stern.

• Dirk en Tomas Termote (2009)
  Schatten en Scheepswrakken. Boeiende onderwaterarcheologie in de Noordzee
  Davidsfonds Leuven