American amphibious gunboats in World War II : a history of LCI and LCS(L) ships in the Pacific In the United States campaign against numerous Japanese held islands in the Pacific crucial to the assaults was a new group of amphibious gunboats that could deliver heavy fire close in to shore as American forces landed. They were important later against kamikaze threat. By the end of the war amphibious gunboats had proven their worth Provided by publisher