King & Country · WWII U.S. Marines · USMC023
USMC023 is the armored LVT(A)-1, with a turret-mounted 37mm gun and two Marine-manned .30-caliber machine guns behind it. The blue-gray finish, white stars, yellow markings and long tracked hull distinguish it sharply from the olive and brown vehicles elsewhere in the collection. Four reference views show the same vehicle.
The turret changes the job
The familiar “Alligator” name can obscure an important difference. Early cargo-carrying LVTs moved men and supplies across water and reefs; the armored amphibian added protected firepower. Marine Corps University’s account of crewman George Germain places his 37mm-armed LVT(A)-1 at Roi-Namur in early 1944. It should not be mistaken for an unarmed troop carrier or casually substituted for the LVT-1s photographed approaching Tarawa in 1943.
The two exposed gunners are central to the model’s appearance. Behind the small turret, their open positions reveal how the vehicle combined different weapons and different degrees of protection. The broad tracks also explain why an amphibian could be useful where a conventional wheeled landing vehicle could not go.
Review
The turret and rear gun positions give USMC023 considerably more visual information than a generic landing craft. Its main collecting distinction is functional: this is fire support carried across the water. The factory multi-angle photograph is useful for understanding that arrangement, but it represents a single vehicle release.
References: King & Country USMC023 release description and photographs; historical background. Review observations are based on the product reference photographs.
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