assault boat

American  

noun

1. a portable boat used for landing troops on beaches and for crossing rivers.

---

Etymology

Origin of assault boat

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Henry Herschell Mosley of the 84th Infantry Division was crossing the Ruhr River in an assault boat near Linnich, Germany, on Feb. 23, 1945, when German machine guns opened fire.

From Washington Times

“His assault boat landing craft was constantly being repaired in Yokohama,” his wife said, “so he started to study Japanese.”

From New York Times

Egypt can easily put commandos across the canal by helicopter and assault boat.

From Time Magazine Archive

When noon came, an assault boat with a few steel-helmeted Irgunists ventured toward the beach, and despite Haganah fire set up a small beachhead.

From Time Magazine Archive

At Swan Lake, for lack of regular tackle a Signal Corps man made a line from telephone wires, hammered a fishing spoon out of a tin can and brought in strings of fat trout over the side of an assault boat.

From Time Magazine Archive