LANDING CRAFT INFANTRY (LARGE)

[aukepalmhof]

The 38p shows us two landings craft of which one carries the No (?)26, the first number is partly obscured behind the gangway.
John de S. Winser in his book of the D-Day Ships gives three landing craft with the two last numbers 26,
LCI (L) 126, she is at that time(D-Day) under British flag, the no 326 and 526 are under USA flag .
A Landing Craft Infantry (Large). All three were built on yards in the USA.

Wikipedia has on this type of craft the following:

The Landing craft, Infantry or LCI were several classes of sea-going amphibious assault ships of the Second World War used to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches. They were developed in response to a British request for a vessel capable of carrying and landing substantially more troops than their smaller Landing Craft Assault (LCA). The result was a small steel ship that could land 200 troops, traveling from rear bases on its own bottom at a speed of up to 15 knots.
Some 923 were built starting in 1943, serving in both the Pacific and European theaters, including a number that were converted into heavily armed beach assault support ships. Commonly called "Elsie Items," the LCI(L) suplemented the small LCAs/LCVPs as a way to get many troops ashore before a dock could be captured or built. As such, they were the largest dedicated beachable infantry landing craft (the larger Landing Ship Infantry (LSI) was a transporter for troops and small craft such as the British LCA) in the allied inventory.
The LCI(L) was designed to carry 200 troops at up to 15 knots and be as capable at landing as the LCA. Since a steel hull would be needed and steel was already earmarked for building destroyers at home the U.S was approached. There the plans were developed into the LCI(L) - Landing Craft Infantry (Large). The original British design was envisioned as being a "one time use" vessel which would simply ferry the troops across the English Channel, and were considered an expendable vessel. As such, no troop sleeping accommodations were placed in the original design. The troops were provided benches (similar to a ferry) upon which to sit while they were transported across the channel. This was changed shortly after initial use of these ships, when it was discovered that many missions would require overnight accommodations. The US was able to come up with an easily-built and mass produced design by using non-traditional shipbuilding facilities and equipment. The US established LCI building yards at ten different locations.
There were 3 major types of LCI(L) which differed mostly by the location of the ramps and by the shape of the conning tower. All of these ships had similar hulls. The hull of all LCI(L) were 158 ft (48 m) long with a 23 foot beam, making them relatively long and narrow. All LCI(L) were similarly powered with two Detroit Diesel 6-71 "Quad" Diesel Engines. These engines were a wartime expedient design that utilized existing and readily available engines (GM 6-71) adapted to create a propulsion source. Each propeller shaft was powered by 4 engines joined together using individual drive clutches hence the name "Quad Diesel". If a single engine were to fail, the broken engine could be disconnected from the unit via its clutch and repaired while still operating the other 3 engines. Each of the two propellers was a reversible pitch propeller, which allowed the propeller shaft to spin only in one direction for either ahead or astern operation. This, coupled with the use of a stern anchor which was dropped as the ship approached the beach, was used to pull the ship off the beach after the troops had disembarked.
The 3 major LCI(L) types are normally referred to as: a) Square Conning tower, Side Ramp (the original style) b) Round Conn, Side Ramp c) Round Conn, Bow Ramp
On LCI(L)1-349 class, (Square Conn, Side Ramps) the deck was wider than the prow and two gangways on either side of the bow led onto a pair of ramps that were lowered, and down which troops would disembark. The LCI 350 class had a single enclosed bow ramp with 2 bow doors that swung open. The reason for moving the ramp to the inside was to provide some protection for the troops as they disembarked to the beach, if only by concealing them from enemy sight. Also, the low, squared-off conning tower was upgraded on later models (LCI(L)350 and higher) with a taller, round conning tower which afforded slightly more visibility from the bridge.
The steepness and narrowness of either type of bow ramps made the LCI impractical for landing troops as part of an initial assault against a defended beach, and they were sometimes reserved for the follow-up waves, after the LCA or LCPL boats had landed. However, they were included in the first waves at numerous invasions such as Anzio, Normandy, Southern France, Elba, Saipan, the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Guam, and Okinawa.
LCI(L) were armed originally with four to five 20mm Oerlikon automatic cannons. Each gun was mounted inside of a round gun tub with an integral splinter shield. As the war progressed, several LCI(L) were modified into LCI Gunboats. These gunboats, called LCI(G) had three of their forward mounted 20mm Oerlikon cannons removed and replaced with heavier single barrel 40mm Bofors cannons. Also, several LCI(L) had various types of Rocket Launcher racks added in place of their side ramps and inside their well decks. These ships were sometimes designated as LCI(R) for Rocket Ships. Still other LCI(L) were modified to carry three 4.2 inch Heavy Mortars. These were disgnated as LCI(M).
The first LCI(L)s entered service in 1943 chiefly with the Royal Navy (RN) and United States Navy. Early models were capable of carrying 180 troops, this was increased to 210 later. Craft in service with the two navies had some variation according to national preferences. Some 923 LCI were built in ten American shipyards and 211 provided under lend-lease to the Royal Navy. In Royal Navy service they were known as "HM LCI(L)-(pennant number)". In 1945, 25 were provided by the United States to the Soviet Union.
In use, the LCI fleet was used for numerous missions. One important use was for smoke laying to obscure the invading fleet from enemy artillery or aircraft. Still others were used to provide close-in gunfire support to the troops who had just landed on the beach. In one such episode, eight LCI(G) were used two days prior to the invasion of Iwo Jima to protect Underwater Demolition Team insertion and beach mapping teams. They were mistaken by the Japanese defenders as the main invasion, and were fired upon by numerous previously hidden large caliber coastal defense artillery, (up to 8 inch). Three of these LCI(G) were sunk and all were damaged. Lt.(j.g) Rufus G. Herring (CO LCI Force) received the Medal of Honor for this action.
In another instance, Lt. Alec Guinness RNVR made numerous trips as the Commanding Officer of HMS LCI(L)-124 delivering troops to the beach near Cape Passero lighthouse on 9 July 1943 during the Allied invasion of Sicily. He missed the call from his commander to delay the landing and went on to land 25 minutes ahead of the rest of the LCI Flotilla. As he was returning from the beach empty, he was rebuked by his Flotilla Commander, who thought he was deserting from the fight, when he informed the Commander he was on his way back to get more troops after having already landed once.
Most LCI(L)s were struck from service by both the RN and the USN in 1946, and were put into reserve, sold, scrapped, or used as target ships. The United States also transferred LCI(L)s to Argentina (15), Chile (6), Republic of China (13), France (14), Indonesia (7), Israel (2), Korea (1), Thailand (2), Dominican Republic (3), and the Philippines (3).
In February 1949, the U.S. reclassified the remaining LCIs as "Landing Ship Infantry" (LSI). Landing Ship Infantry was a term that had been used during the war since around 1941 by the British for various vessels such as converted ferries and passenger ships that could carry 800–1,800 troops close to shore, the final transfer being by smaller boats.
As with the Landing craft tank, the LCI(L) was used as the basis of a number of conversions into specialist vessels.
Gibraltar 2004 38p sg?, scott?
Wikipedia