By Brett Gillin
Are you looking for a new boat? Or perhaps you’re an aficionado of all things military-related. Perhaps you’re even competing with a friend or neighbor as to who can find the most interesting military memorabilia. If any of these describe you, it may just be time to get your credit card ready, because there’s an auction happening until 5:00 pm on August 1st that you’re certain to be interested in.
According to this story on WTKR.com, The US Department of Defense is putting up for auction a Landing Craft Mechanized boat (LCM-8). This boat has been used exclusively by the U.S. Military, and has never been available to the public before this auction. The auction itself is being hosted here, on GovernmentLiquidation.com.
So what do you get if you win the auction? You get a landing craft that, according to WTKR, was used by various amphibious forces in the U.S. military. The craft regularly transported cargo, vehicles, and troops between larger ships and the shore.
This LCM-8, or as it’s perhaps better known, Mike Boat, measures out at just over 73 feet long and 21 feet wide. It has a capacity to store and transport over 80 tons, meaning that tank that you purchased a few years back would fit nicely inside it.
These boats are actually still in operation today, and have been since 1959. They were regularly used during the Vietnam War, and as WTKR points out, have also been used during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Bidding, which at the time of this writing remained at the opening bid of $25, will continue, and no matter the end cost, the bidder will end up with an LCM-8 Mike Boat! But you won’t exactly be able to hop on the boat and sail it back to your own personal dock. Unfortunately for the buyer, the engines have been removed from the boat, along with the propeller shafts, screws, radar and radios.