List of Allied warships in the Normandy landings explained
This is a list of warships which took part in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944.
Battleships
Seven battleships took part: four British and three US:
- , eastern Omaha Beach (26,100 tons, main armament: twelve 12" guns) primarily in support of the US 29th Infantry Division.
- , Utah Beach (29,000 tons, main armament: ten 14" guns).
- (1915,, 33,500 tons, main armament: eight 15-inch guns).
- (1925, Nelson-class, 38,000 tons, main armament: nine 16-inch guns).
- , western Omaha Beach (27,000 tons, main armament: ten 14-inch guns, Flagship of Rear Admiral Carleton F. Bryant) primarily in support of the US 1st Infantry Division.
- (1913,, 35,000 tons, main armament eight 15-inch guns, only six operational).
In addition (main armament: nine 16-inch guns) was held in reserve until June 10.
Heavy cruisers
Five heavy cruisers (main guns of 8 inches) took part, three from the United States and two from Britain, HMS Hawkins had her original armament of seven 7.5-inch guns while HMS Frobishers main gun armament had been reduced from seven to five single-mounted 7.5-inch guns.
Light cruisers
17 British light cruisers took part along with two of the Free French navy, and one of the Polish navy. All carried either 6- or 5.25-inch guns of varying numbers.
Destroyers and escorts
139 ships (eighty-five British and Dominion, 40 US, 10 Free French and 7 other Allied):
Monitors
Troop transports
Other warships
508 ships (352 British, 154 US and 2 other Allied):
- HMS Lark (U11) Modified Black Swan class Sloop - Convoy escort from Thames Estuary Spithead onward to Eastern Task Force Area / Beachhead Convoy ETP1
- HMS Bulolo, Landing Ship Headquarters (LSH) for Gold Beach carrying tri-service commanders and staff
- HMS Centurion, old battleship sunk as a blockship to form part of "Gooseberry" breakwater of the Mulberry harbour on Sword beach
- Courbet, Free Naval French Forces, former battleship, sunk as a blockship in "Gooseberry" breakwater on Sword beach
- Forbin, Free Naval French Forces, patrol boat, sunk as a artificial dike in "Arromanches"on Gold Beach
- HMCS Cowichan, Canadian minesweeper
- , Captain class frigate converted to act as a headquarters ship
- HMS Durban (light cruiser used as a blockship in "Gooseberry" breakwater)
- , Dutch gunboat
- HMS Hilary, H.Q. ship for Juno Beach carrying tri-service commanders and staff
- , Captain class frigate converted to act as a headquarters ship
- HMS Largs, H.Q. ship for Sword Beach carrying tri-service commanders and staff
- , Dutch gunboat
- , Captain class frigate converted to act as a headquarters ship (bombed and sunk)
- HNoMS Nordkapp, Norwegian patrol boat
- HNLMS Sumatra (Dutch, decommissioned due to crew shortages and losing her guns to HNLMS Flores and Soemba, used as blockship in "Gooseberry" breakwater)
The British 9th and 159th minesweeping flotillas and U.S. 7th Minesweeping Squadron provided minesweeping protection.
A distant anti-submarine screen to the operation was provided by HMS Onslow, Offa, Onslaught, Oribi, Melbreak and Brissenden. Additional protection from E-boats was provided by Motor Gun Boat flotillas.
Support
See also
Notes and references
- Investigations indicate that the Svenner may have been hit by an early version of a German anti-shipping missile (possibly a Fritz X), instead of the more usual attribution of a torpedo from the German large torpedo boast Jaguar or Mowe or T28 based at Le Havre. There have also been reports of German bombers releasing long, torpedo-like bombs, but from a very long distance, no way near firing-range. The most likely, though, is that it was hit by a torpedo, but accounts point in either direction.
- Ryszard Leszczyński: Ginące frachtowce. T. 1. Gdańsk: Fundacja Promocji Przemysłu Okrętowego i Gospodarki Morskiej, 2007, p. 48–54. ISBN 978-83-60584-08-8
- Web site: Scheepswrak: Katowice. . nl.
