D Day

[Pelican]

D-Day shipwrecks were a WW2 time capsule – now they are home to rich ocean-floor life

Among the 80-year-old sunken D-Day wrecks that line our coasts, burgeoning wildlife is thriving on the wreckage of war.
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Stretching for miles along England's Devonshire coast, between the sea and a patchwork of hills, lies the shingly expanse of Slapton Sands. Humpback whales can occasionally be spotted offshore. A thatched pub at the far end sells fish and chips in an oak-beamed bar. And each year, at dawn on 27 April, hundreds of dead soldiers rise up out of the waves and march across the fields. Or so goes a local ghost-story.

The tale has its roots in tragedy. In the spring of 1944, the coastline had become a training area for American troops. Their mission was to complete a secret, full-scale practice of the upcoming D-Day invasion of Utah Beach in Nazi-occupied France – part of an operation in which 160,000 Allied troops landed along 50-miles (80km) Normandy coast. But disaster struck when German E-boats snuck among the flotilla, torpedoing the gasoline-loaded ships, and leaving scenes of burning carnage in their wake.

More than 700 Americans died in the ensuing chaos: one of the largest single-incident losses for the US after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. The figure is much higher than the death toll for the eventual assault on Utah. Across all the landings on D-Day, an estimated 4,400 allied troops and thousands more Germans were lost.

It is fascinating to see nature reclaim things that were once a scene of disaster and tragedy, and bring them back into the fold – Steve Mortimer See https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2024 ... floor-life LFT

[jbryce1437]

I served on the Type 15 Anti Submarine Frigate HMS Undaunted in the late 1960s. She had a long and distinguished career.

Built under the War Emergency Programme, she took part in the D-Day landings, as part of Task Force G, covering the Roger section of Sword Beach. It was while she was at Normandy that the recently appointed Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was embarked in her from the fast mine laying cruiser Apollo, which had grounded, damaging her propellers. General Eisenhower and Admiral Ramsay were given a fast passage back to Portsmouth by HMS Undaunted and his flag was a Wardroom "Trophy" until 1969, when it was presented to the National Trust for Scotland during a ceremony in Edinburgh, during a visit to Leith.

The Eisenhower flag

The flag now resides in the National Trust for Scotland property of Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland, in the Eisenhower exhibition along with some other items of his, including his presidential flag, shirt, jacket and tie. The flag is thin and crudely made, and has Eisenhower's signature on two of the four stars sewn on. The description board for the flag states:

Flag presented to the Officers and Men of HMS Undaunted by General Eisenhower. During the afternoon of 7 June 1944, HMS Undaunted embarked General Eisenhower, Admiral Ramsay and their staffs, whose ship had grounded. This flag was hoisted at the starboard yard arm. General Eisenhower signed his name across two of the stars, using an indelible pencil dipped in whiskey.

After the D-Day Landings HMS Undaunted saw service in the Mediterranean and did a great deal of escort work out of Malta. She then went on to Bari, Brindisi and Taranto (Italy), where crew members earned the Italy Medal for operations such as bombarding the Coast Road by Ancona, to help the Army and she was also engaged in operations off the coast of Yugoslavia.

She then travelled through the Suez Canal to Aden and Bombay, where she was engaged in escorting troopships. As part of the British Pacific Fleet she was assigned the pennant number D25, she acted as Guard ship off Yokohama Bay on VJ Day, whilst the peace treaty was being signed aboard the US battleship USS Missouri. Shortly after VJ Day, Undaunted sailed into Sydney, Australia, flying the flags of Japan, Germany and Italy. She also flew the flags of France, United States, China and Poland, as well as the personal flag of Dwight D. Eisenhower. One officer explained "We were feeling exuberant and flew the lot."

She then went on to Auckland, New Zealand, where she was in refit for six weeks, having steamed 150,000 miles since commissioning some 18 months beforehand. In January 1946, she sailed home via Sydney, Melbourne, Cape Town, St Helena, Freetown and Gibraltar, to Plymouth, where she arrived on 19 March 1946.

Between 1946 and 1953 she was held in reserve at Devonport. Between 1953 and 1954, like many former wartime destroyers, she was converted into a Type 15 anti submarine frigate, at the Cowes shipyard of J. Samuel White. Following her conversion, she was assigned the new pennant number F53.

Undaunted was in commission until late 1973, when she was reduced to reserve. In November 1974 she was used as a target by the destroyer HMS Norfolk (D21), which fired an Exocet anti-ship missile. Undaunted was towed by its stern to Gibraltar for damage analysis and light repair. In November 1978 she was again used as a target ship by HMS Norfolk, again firing a live Exocet anti-ship missile, together with Seaslug and Seacat anti-aircraft missiles, before the submarine Swiftsure sank the frigate with a torpedo. She now rests on the seabed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Laid down in 1942 and expended as a target in 1978

[Pelican]

The D-Day Frogmen.

Firstly before we start this post proper, an apology we missed these guys from the D-Day hour by hour posts purely because there was so much information to get posted.
The first men ashore are clearance divers from the Royal Navy, these men are selected from the naval service and the Royal Marines, the official name of these Frogmen Landing Craft was Obstacle Clearance Units (LCOCUs). Pronounced ‘lock-yews’. These men would clear obstacles and mines before the assault forces hit the beach.
In the case of the American Beaches, the equivalent of the LCOCUs was the US Naval Combat Demolition Units (NCDUs). However, these were not equipped to swim or dive as they assumed that most obstacles would be above water at low tide anyway.
Selection and training for this incredible dangerous job began in January 1944, men with previous experience with bomb disposal and minefield clearance were preferred but they also needed the ability to be able to cope doing this task under water wearing diving gear. Training was held at HMS APPLEDORE in North Devon.
On D-Day, four Royal Navy and six Royal Marine LCOCUs, each consisting of one officer and eleven men, were deployed from their LCAs (Landing Craft Assault) at H-Hour.
LCOCUs 3, 4, 9 and 10 were assigned to Gold Beach, 7 and 8 to Sword Beach, and 1, 5, 11 and 12 to Juno Beach. Using inflatable boats, the Forgmen had to clear obstacles between 1.4 and 3 metres deep while the Royal Engineers had to clear the road in the shallow parts and on the beach itself.
Despite coming under constant fire from artillery and mortars, the LCOCUs managed to clear wide passages through the various obstacles before assisting the Royals Engineers with their tasks.
By the end of the day, they had cleared approximately 2500 obstacles. Allister Austin (LCOCU 3) was killed and some of the divers were badly injured.
For their skill, perseverance, dedication and courage during the D-Day landings:
Distinguished Service Cross
Lt Robert Billington
Lt Harold Hargreaves
Lt John Taylor RNR.
Military Cross
Lt David Cogger.
Distinguished Service Medal
Sgt Keith Briggs
Sgt Peter Jones
PO Sydney Eagles
PO George Lock
LH Frank Livingstone
Mne Eric Deans