List of ships in Utah Bombardment Group explained

Below is a list of ships responsible for bombarding targets at Utah Beach as part of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, the opening day of Operation Overlord. This force, code-named "Bombardment Group A", and commanded by Rear Admiral Morton Deyo, was a group of eighteen warships assigned to support the amphibious landings on Utah Beach on June 6, 1944 ("D-Day"); this was the opening day of Operation Overlord, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II.

It was part of US Navy Force U, which consisted of 865 ships under Rear Admiral Don P. Moon. This was in turn part of the Western Naval Task Force, under Admiral Alan G Kirk.

US Navy Force U Bombardment Group
NameTypeNational serviceCaptain
BattleshipUS NavyCaptain P. M. Rhea
MonitorRoyal NavyCaptain J. S. Colquhoun
Heavy cruiserRoyal NavyCaptain J. W. Josselyn
Heavy cruiserUS NavyCaptain E. M. Senn[1]
Heavy cruiserUS NavyCaptain J. B. Waller; flagship of Rear Admiral Morton Deyo
Light cruiserRoyal NavyCaptain D. M. Lees
Light cruiserRoyal NavyCaptain H. T. Grant
GunboatNetherlandsLt. Cmdr. H. H. Propper
DestroyerUS NavyCmdr. M. Matthews
DestroyerUS NavyLt. Cmdr. G. Hoffman
DestroyerUS NavyCmdr. K. Walpole
DestroyerUS NavyCmdr. Letts
DestroyerUS NavyCmdr. M. Curtin
DestroyerUS NavyCmdr. G. Moore
DestroyerUS NavyLieutenant K. Loveland
DestroyerUS NavyLt. Cmdr. W. Blenman
Destroyer escortUS NavyLt. Cmdr. H. Wilmerding
Destroyer escortUS NavyLt. Cmdr. E. Michel
FrigateRoyal NavyA/Lt.Cdr. Sydney Ayles[2]
FrigateRoyal NavyLt. Christopher H. Rankin[3]

Sources

. Winston Churchill . Closing the Ring . The Second World War . V . 1951 . 1948 . Houghton Mifflin . Boston . 396150 .

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Quincy III (CA-71) . Naval History and Heritage Command, US Navy . 27 May 2020.
  2. Web site: HMS Hotham (K 583). Helgason. GuĂ°mundur. U-boat.net. 14 September 2014.
  3. Web site: HMS Tyler (K 576). Helgason. GuĂ°mundur. U-boat.net. 14 September 2014.