LCT 7074 Project - Tanks Conservation & Relocation

On behalf of The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) you are invited to submit a Tender, in accordance with the following Conditions, for the execution of the works detailed in this Tender document. "LCT 7074, also known as 'Landfall,' is the last Second World War Landing Craft (Tank) in the United Kingdom, and one of the last in the world. More than 800 LCTs took part in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, each capable of carrying ten tanks or other heavy armoured vehicles into battle. As far as can be established, 7074 is the last of these vital workhorses known to have actually participated in D-Day. After a chequered post-war career involving conversion into a floating clubhouse and nightclub, and then an ill-fated attempt to conserve her by the now-defunct Warships Preservation Trust, the ship was semi-derelict and sunk at her moorings at East Float Dock, Birkenhead. With the help of the National Heritage Memorial Fund she was recovered from Birkenhead and moved to Portsmouth Royal Naval Base where she is now within the BAE ship hall resting on dock blocks. In September 2018 the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) granted NMRN a Grant to plan for the conservation of the vessel and move her to Southsea where she will be displayed and open to the public as part of the D-Day Story within a specially designed canopy. Two D-Day tanks will be displayed on board 7074. Drawings of the canopy are included within 'Part 6 - Supporting Informa...ocuments, describes the proposals for relocation and conservation works for two WW2-era Sherman and Churchill tanks. Both tanks are in poor condition, having been displayed outside for decades, suffering from weather damage and public intrusions. Paint surfaces are lifting and breaking up, and there is corrosion. Tanks like these played an integral part in D-Day and the Battle for Normandy and will allow us to tell the stories of the crews who operated them. The tanks are presently stored at Fort Cumberland in Portsmouth with very limited public access. As part of this package of work, the tanks are to be collected from Fort Cumberland, transported to the contractor's site for conservation works, stored until required,returned to D-Day Story at Southsea Portsmouth and loaded on to LCT7074 before the ship is moved into place under the new canopy. Displaying the tanks in this context will provide scope to enlarge on the stories of tank crews in Normandy. Drawings of the proposed location for the tanks are included within 'Part 6 - Supporting Information'. - Churchill Crocodile. The Churchill was the most important British-designed tank of the Second World War. The Crocodile was a flame-thrower variant, specially developed for dealing with German fortifications in Normandy. - Sherman Grizzly. The American-designed Sherman was one of the most numerous Allied tanks of WW2, and was used by all the Allied armies in Normandy. The Grizzly was a Canadian-built version.