Two U.S. Navy LCM-8 landing craft up for auction GREAT LAKES, Ill., June 19 (UPI) -- Two Vietnam-era vessels docked at the Naval Station Great Lakes north of Chicago, landing craft that can hold 200 people each, are for sale, the U.S. Navy said. An auction of the two LCM-8s, capable of plowing through surf onto a beach, opening a ramp and unleashing an amphibious assault, began Tuesday and ends Thursday afternoon on the govliquidation.com website, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday. Bids started at $25 but reached $13,300 and $15,500 by late Wednesday afternoon. The landing craft, each 74 feet long, 21 feet wide and made of welded steel, can carry up to 200 people and one M60 tank, and might be appropriate for cruising Lake Michigan, involvement in Caribbean scuba tours or staging a D-Day invasion, the newspaper noted. The auction is conducted by Government Liquidation, a private company thousands purchased thousands of unused and obsolete items from the Department of Defense weekly and routinely auctions them, company spokesman Melissa Gieringer said. Customers can inspect the boats by appointment. Winning bidders have 10 days to remove their merchandise.