Post by Administrator on Jun 5, 2020 13:02:15 GMT
The Role of the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy in D-Day.
On 6th June 1944 the largest amphibious invasion of the Second World War took place. The invasion of Normandy, or D-Day as it is popularly remembered, was an immense undertaking.
For Britain’s maritime forces, the efforts to make D-Day possible began long before the summer of 1944. The first US forces began to arrive in Britain in the late summer of 1942, many of them transported by the ships of the Merchant Navy and escorted by British and Commonwealth warships. This steady build-up was sustained alongside the ongoing task of maintaining Britain’s maritime lifeline. As the date of the invasion drew close, the naval duties expanded to include mine clearance and perilous surveys of the selected landing beaches. To preserve operational secrecy the latter task had to be carried out by midget submarines. A small number of these craft were the first Allied warships to arrive on station on the morning of 6th June, their role to guide the landing forces in with signal lights.
LINK
On 6th June 1944 the largest amphibious invasion of the Second World War took place. The invasion of Normandy, or D-Day as it is popularly remembered, was an immense undertaking.
For Britain’s maritime forces, the efforts to make D-Day possible began long before the summer of 1944. The first US forces began to arrive in Britain in the late summer of 1942, many of them transported by the ships of the Merchant Navy and escorted by British and Commonwealth warships. This steady build-up was sustained alongside the ongoing task of maintaining Britain’s maritime lifeline. As the date of the invasion drew close, the naval duties expanded to include mine clearance and perilous surveys of the selected landing beaches. To preserve operational secrecy the latter task had to be carried out by midget submarines. A small number of these craft were the first Allied warships to arrive on station on the morning of 6th June, their role to guide the landing forces in with signal lights.
LINK
