Tanks practice landing from an invasion barge, "LCT(6) 501," probably at Point Beach north of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, on June 18, 1943. Some records indicate that practice landings were also made on the Lake Michigan beach at Silver Creek Park on the south side of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. "LCT" stands for "Landing Craft Tank." In 1942 under an urgent "Triple-A-Priority" Navy program the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company had built 36 similar LCT(5) barges to ferry tanks and other heavy equipment ashore for a planned invasion of North Africa and other operations. Following the successful completion of that project, Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company served as the lead yard to furnish plans and materials for over 1,300 advanced design LCT(6) invasion barges that were constructed at other plants throughout the Midwest. The LCT(6) had both bow and stern ramps, as opposed to the LCT(5) which had a bow ramp only. Only one LCT(6) barge was actually built in Manitowoc - the "501" shown in this photograph. "LCT(6) 501" was laid down April 14, 1943, launched June 10, 1943, tested, and delivered to the Navy August 12, 1943. It participated in the landings at Normandy on D-Day in June, 1944, specifically at Gold Beach.