Abstract: An improved landing craft includes a hull that supports bow and stern ramps for enabling vehicles to drive through during loading and unloading. The drive-through arrangement also enables the crew to load and unload the craft much faster and more easily than existing vessels. A ballasting arrangement can be used to trim the hull when it is to be beached or to be extracted and/or during loading/unloading.

Abstract: The propeller shaft fairing is U-shaped in vertical section, and is partitioned to provide two separate sea chests from which water may be drawn for engine cooling purposes. The wall of the fairing in the region of the foremost sea chest is slot-wise apertured parallel to the propeller shaft and adjacent to the uprising side of the shaft when it is rotating to propel the craft forwardly, whereupon water is both rammed and pumped into the forward sea chest. The wall of the fairing in the region of the rearmost sea chest is apertured so that when the craft is moving in reverse water is rammed thereinto. Thus, under all conditions an adequate source of cooling water is available via at least one of the sea chests. The cooling water pump intake conduit includes separate branches drawing from the sea chests, and these branches are valve controlled automatically by means of the craft's operating control system.

Abstract: There is disclosed an improved air cushion seal system of the inflatable lobe type such as for operating between the sidehulls of a surface effect ship (SES), wherein in accordance with the invention at least the lowermost lobe of the system is partially closed at each of its opposite ends by a fabric sheet which is inset from the ship sidehulls. These substantially impervious to air passage sheets are affixed to the side edges of the lower loop of the lobe and up and around its aft end, and optionally to the upper loop of the lobe, to minimize scooping and water filling of the lobe, and to operationally stabilize the lobe.