Project / Public

LCT 7074 Dry Dock & Steel Canopy

A display area fit for a war hero

LCT 7074 is the only surviving Landing Craft Tank from D-Day. 59 metres long and 10 metres wide, the craft is now displayed at the D-Day Story museum in Portsmouth. After being used during World War Two to carry 10 tanks to Normandy on D-Day, the craft was turned into a nightclub in the docks of Liverpool. Decades later, it fell into disrepair and sank, prompting the National Museum of the Royal Navy to start an extensive restoration project and save LCT 7074.

Once restored, the craft sailed from HM Naval Base Portsmouth to a specially prepared beachhead at Southsea Beach. It was then tracked along Clarence Esplanade before being pushed into its display position on a new dry dock by four hydraulic rams attached to a rail system.

Ahead of its arrival, we were involved in the creation of the dry dock display area for this impressive craft.

Project Lead

Peter Blankley

Project Team

Iasonas Bakas

David Barnard

Henry Pinder

Location Hampshire
Client National Museum of the Royal Navy & Portsmouth City Council
Completion 2020
Value £6.2m

Complex work

The works required carefully detailed civil and structural design to support the 300-tonne craft and form the steel-framed canopy, installed immediately adjacent to the listed boundary wall of the D-Day Story museum.

The design and erection of the steel canopy were particularly challenging. Featuring approximately 14m-long free-standing cantilevers and located in an exposed marine environment, the canopy required careful consideration during all stages of design. The proximity to a busy road and a historic, listed masonry wall added complexity to the construction methodology and logistics.

Successful collaboration

After exploring a variety of solutions, involving different materials, structural systems and sequences of construction, the design was conceived in close cooperation with Pritchard Architecture, Hillcrest Structural and Ascia Construction.

Comprising 12 bespoke, individually made columns and rafters, and a lightweight tensile fabric finish, the canopy has become a feature of the promenade and draws attention to the veteran ship through its light and inspired shape.