D-day order of battle

Aaagghhhhh Wrong thread!!! Sorry losing it today!

 

Yes they were inland, but they arrived pretty damned sharp.
Sapper

 

Thanks for the responses, particularly Jeff and Adam.


At the moment of D-day my father was on HMS Whitshed. This was a destroyer based at Chatham (at any rate in the months before June 1944). The only thing he ever said was this: we went out into the Channel to exercise a few times; then one time, they told us we weren’t turning back, this time it was the real thing.

I had found some indications that Whitshed was one of the destroyers that bombarded Gold beach, but since she was only a short-range escort destroyer, this seemed odd to me.

After much wearisome Googling I had almost given up trying to validate my theory when I found this site: Royal Navy in World War 2 and Post-War, and Ship Histories I’m sure it wasn’t there last time I searched for Whitshed.

For Whitshed in 1944 it tells me:
April 18th In action with E-Boats carrying cut minelay in English Channel.
(Note : Enemy craft abandoned their attacks after sustaining damage.

May Nominated for duty with Escort Group 104 based at Nore for defence of convoys to Normandy beachhead with HM Destroyer MONTROSE, HM Corvette BORAGE and HM Corvette LOOSESTRIFE during planned allied landings (Operation NEPTUNE).
Continued escort of mercantile convoys.

June Joined Escort Group 104 at Southend..
4th Escorted Convoy EIL1 comprising 12 Landing Ships, Tank and 24 Landing Craft, Tank from Southend to Eastern Task Force Area.
6th Arrived in Area with convoy and then returned to Southend with Escort Group for escort of Build-Up convoys.

July Released from NEPTUNE and reamed convoy escort and patrol duties at Harwich.

This site is a marvellous resource, with that kind of detail on over 1000 British ships in WW2. Thought you’d like to know!

BTW I’m now curious about the exercises beforehand that Dad mentioned. Did they really load up all the landing ships of Convoy EIL1 and sail out from Southend and come back again?

Bart

 

Good website, Bart

 

Please could anyone tell me the names of the boom defence vessels involved with operation neptune.

My grandfather earnt the France and Germany star, the only ship that he served on during the qualifying date was HMS Kerriemoor a Boom Carrier and Thames Boom Defence,
The thames Boom dfence was based on the river thames so did not qualify for the star so that only leave s the HMS Kerriemoor.

Any Help greatly appreciated

James

 

James, try this link, more info in Operation Neptune than you probably want. Written by the US Navy but includes British etc ships, has to really, 70% were Brit and Canadian.
HyperWar: Administrative History of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, 1940-1946

 

just finished reading a utah site,and was quite suprised to see that the term reverse lend-lease was used alot.this is sprecially interesting because it seems lots of landing craft,were in fact built to british specs.i always understood landing craft were all designed and built by some bloke called higgins from new orleans,yours,4th wilts.

 

4th Wilts
The Higgins landing craft were indeed built in New Orleans by a company owned by an Irish American called Higgins. They were wood and had a flat bottom, initially to land and drag off from the shallow shores of swamps.

The reverse lend lease craft were LCT (Landing Craft Tank) metal craft built in the USA, many ordered by Britain under lend lease who then thought it a good idea to add some armor and it was these craft which found a function on the US beaches, hence the reverse lend lease.

These craft did not receive names, only numbers, and so would not be relevant to the question on this thread since, I think, the original question was the part played by a ship which would have to have a name except; I cannot find the mention of which name that might have been.

 

i understood this thread is about the naval order of battle,so a ship without a name,just a number is not part of the naval order of battle.is this what you are saying.i bet the poor blokes in the numbered ships thought they were in a battle.4th wilts.

 

how many l.s.t,l.s.i,l.c.i and all the assault ships and craft,would you not consider to be part of the naval order of battle.i would certainley suggest you ask some veterans if they think they were in the naval o.o.b sir.

 

Not quite. I am sure it was a great deal hotter in the numbered ships than it was on the big monsters.
To clarify, I meant that it is not possible to research the smaller(numbered) ships by name as all the orders of battle only list named ships, usually destroyers and up. Though there are a few sites that go into losses of numbered craft by number.

 

We know what your intent was, Compo.

I saw a rundown one time of the landing craft and landing ships for the US beaches. I don't remember where, though. It may have been in a book, not online though.

 

i was reading an online rundown of all the landing ships only yesterday, and the units that were landed.yours,4th wilts

 

been reading about la combattant,she was a hunt class destroyer.she provided gunfie support to juno beach,3000yds offshore in 4meter deep water,she beached at one point,and received a morse signal congatulating her.quite a ship.lee.

 

Somewhere upstairs. I have the Pre Piccadily Circus berthing plan in Southampton water. Its too big for me to copy and post. And the order of assault landing.
Sapper

 

In the National Archives I found more or less what I wanted.
ADM 179/391 is a structured list sent by Admiral Ramsay to the Admiralty of all Allied ships for D-day. They are set out in a table with columns for different types of ship and rows for port of embarkation.

It is notable both for the courtly language: "Be pleased to lay before thier Lordships .. " and because this, the greatest armada ever, is defined by its commander in such a tatty, mimeographed document.

 

I have a relative who served on the Flores , i believe it took out the third casement at Aromanches , doesanyone have any more infoon this ship ? many thanks Warren

 

I have pre invasion ships positions, and order of battle. But cannot copy and paste. All the ships prior to taking part in the great circle of ships to the South East of the Isle of Wight. (Piccadilly Circus)

The planning was done in serials so that the ships peeled off and set sail in the correct order towards Normandy

 

This is the landing table for the vessels which carried 3rd British Infantry Division to Sword Beach on D-Day (attached). It is one long document, but I have had to split it into three to accommodate it on the page. The total force consisted of around 350 vessels, including 132 tank landing craft. The landings were made by the assault brigade (8th Brigade), the intermediate brigade (185th brigade) and the reserve brigade (9th Brigade).