I have read that in the Algerian landings, a few early British LSTs were used. LSTs, Landing Ships, Tank, were typically 4-5,000 ton ocean going vessels with front ramps for unloading heavy vehicles directly onto a beach.
The Western task force apparently didn't have any LSTs. But accounts I have read mention tank battles fought before the French surrender. How did the U.S. navy get those tanks ashore? Were they all landed at piers or what?
I am particularly interested in the Port Lyautey landings. The tank skirmish in this area seems to have only involved Stuart light tanks, not Shermans. Did the navy have a landing craft that could carry a Stuart but not the heavier Sherman?
My main source for what I know about Torch is Atkinson's An Army at Dawn, but it was a library book I read maybe a year ago, and don't have in front of me now.
While the Western Task Force had no LSTs, it could still unload tanks over the beaches. The Allies had developed a number of types of landing craft that could carry tanks. Only one of these made a significant contribution to the Operation Torch landings. This was the LCM, or Landing Craft Mechanised. It could carry a light tank, 30,000 pounds of cargo or 100 soldiers, and was small enough to be carried by troopships. This let the Western Task Force land Stuart tanks over the beaches immediately. Larger tanks had to wait until the assault forces had captured ports so the tanks could be offloaded directly onto piers.
Each landing was supported by armoured units. The 60th Infantry Regiment around Port Lyautey was supported by the 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment. This unit was equipped with 37 Stuart tanks, and was carried in the transports John Penn and Electra. The day after the landing, they helped to fight off a counterattack by French light tanks. The landings at Casablanca were backed by the 1st Bn, 67th Armored, again with Stuarts. The last major landing took place at the port of Safi. Here, the 2nd Battalion of the 67th took part, landing with the first waves and helping the troops secure the port. Once the port was secure, at about 2pm, the transport Lakehurst entered it. She was carrying Sherman tanks of the 3rd/67th, which were craned ashore shortly after 4pm. The day after the initial landings, the port of Fédala, near Casablanca, was also opened. That morning, the transport Arcturus landed her complement of tanks onto the quays.