JUNO BEACH.

Discussion in 'NW Europe' started by Trux, Jan 1, 2014.

  1. RWR here stands for The Royal Winnipeg Rifles. The offical abbreviation is R Wpg Rif. Since only the 1st Battalion served overseas (i.e. outside Canada) during WW2, the "1" is usually dropped when the battalion is mentioned in reports etc. and is therefore just "R Wfg Rif" or "The Royal Winnipeg Rifles".

    I could not find any photo of SS Lairds Isle around D Day, nor of any of the six craft from 516 Assault Flotilla, except this one, showing LCA 875 fitted as LCA(HR) (i.e. with rockets), during tests probably after D Day. On D Day she was a normal LCA, without rockets:
    LCA 875.jpg
    Michel
     
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  2. julie Shelley

    julie Shelley Member

    Thank you for your knowledge and expertise Michel, it’s so kind of you. Do you live in Normandy by chance?
     
  3. julie Shelley

    julie Shelley Member

    Thank you so much for the information :cheers: if you visit Normandy for the D-Day commemorations at all, I would like to buy you a beer! Thanks, again.
     
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  4. Julie,

    You are welcome. I regret not having any additional photos or infos of LCA from Lairds Isle.

    I live in the western suburb of Paris, not too far from Normandy, and do have some Norman ancestors, but not from Calvados or the Manche where the landings took place.

    I try to avoid going to these places during the commemorations, because one can hardly move around, but if I do, I'll certainly take you up on your offer ! :salut:
     
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  5. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD


    Just reading about LV 72 here.

    A D-Day landings ship is slowly rusting to nothing in a Neath river
     
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  6. wolflyn

    wolflyn Junior Member

    Hi Mike, are there any charts showing the sea areas of Kansas and Juno?
     
  7. See attachments.

    A photo of Lightship JUNO:
    JUNO Lightship - prob 7 Jun 44, fm HMCS TRENTONIAN.jpg

    and a couple of frames from a colour film showing an unidentified lightship in British waters on 5 June 1944:
    Lighship - 986-656-826 - 01.21.jpg
    Lighship - 986-656-826 - 01.23.jpg
    Lighship - 986-656-826 - 01.28.jpg

    Michel
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2020
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  8. wolflyn

    wolflyn Junior Member

    Hi thanks The lightvessel in the coloured photos is the Calshot Spit LV55 ( names removed during the war)
     
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  9. wolflyn

    wolflyn Junior Member

    Another view of JUNO lightvessel, yet to find one of KANSAS
     

    Attached Files:

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  10. I could not find the exact actual positions of KANSAS and JUNO lightships with certainty, but they must have been replacing the most southerly buoys in the 14 and 58 Swept Channels whose planned approximate positions were (see attachment):

    14H – 49° 28’ 00” N, 0° 54’ 30” W
    58H – 49° 28’ 00” N, 0° 29’ 00” W

    This seems confirmed by an entry in USS BANNOCK War Diary:

    Friday, 21 July 1944
    0800
    49° 27' 00" N
    00° 54' 30" W
    Anchored in vicinity of KANSAS lightship, Baie de la Seine, off shore from St. Laurent, France

    Source: World War II War Diaries, 1941-1945 U USS BANNOCK War Diary, 7/1-31/44 Page 16
    War Diary, 7/1-31/44 › Page 16 - Fold3.com

    Michel
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2020
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  11. wolflyn

    wolflyn Junior Member

    Thanks much appreciated, that ties in with other previous comments, thanks for the list of buoys too. Are there any other similar lists? I have a Facebook page dedicated to lightvessel history,
     
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  12. Jane Suff

    Jane Suff Member

    A wonderful thread Mike!
    Do you have any info about landings at Juno beach later on in the campaign? My father served with the 86th anti tank regt RA(5th Devon’s) and sailed out at the end of June(29th?) landing at Juno beach at Courseulles. I seem to recall he sailed out from Tilbury in Kent. Anything?
    Kind regards
    Jane.
     
  13. Jane Suff

    Jane Suff Member

    A wonderful thread Mike!
    Do you have any info regarding landings on Juno post D-Day? My father served with the 86th anti tank regt RA(5th Devon’s) and sailed out from Tilbury (?) to Courseulles at the end of June (29th?). Anything?
    Kind regards, Jane
     
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  14. Trux

    Trux 21 AG

    Jane,

    I am afraid that my material will not identify individual units. The units operating the beach kept a reord of the number of vehicles and personnel which landed each day but no other details were recorded.

    A possibility is the War Diary for 86 AT Regiment. These sometimes have a lot of detail in appendices attached to the actual monthly diary but this is very hit a miss.

    I can give background information about the Tilbury docks and the assembly areas serving it. Also details of the location of the vehicle and personnel landing points west of Courseulles and the route forward to transit areas. These were the same for all units. Also the War Establishment tables showing the numbers and types of vehcles and personnel in the unit.

    Mike.
     
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  15. Jane Suff

    Jane Suff Member

    Thanks Mike- no worries.
    Anything about Tilbury docks in late June ‘44 would be interesting.
    Thanks for the tip about the war diaries- I understand they are kept at Kew(?) but are they digitalized or does one have to visit the archives in person? I have already seen a photo of a page from one of the 86th’s diaries on this site- it just happened to be open on the entry for 5th Sept and I saw that my father’s battery had played a game of football at 18.00 hrs at RHQ and won 5-2! I was very touched by this thought.
    Thanks and keep up the good work! Jane.
     
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  16. Trux

    Trux 21 AG

    Jane,

    I wrote about Tibury docks and assembly areas some time ago. It can be found by entering 'Force L' in the search function. Go to Post No 9. I never learned how to do links.

    86 Anti Tank Regiment was a Corps anti tank unit. Initially with 12 Corps and later 1 Corps. You can find a brief description of its function, and a War Establishment Table by entering Corps Anti Tank Regiment in the search function.

    I am afraid that War Diaries are not digitalised but there are forum members who will make digital images when they visit Kew. Bit difficult and slow at the moment because of virus restrictions. I have used Drew. He has copied thousands of pages for me. He should be able to find how many pages are involved and therefor the cost, which is a small fraction of the official copying service.

    Mike
     
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  17. Here's the link to Post #9 in Trux' Naval Force L thread:
    Naval Force 'L'

    Not giving up on Mike's computer alphabetisation, to find links to individual posts, click on the Post Number which is in grey at the bottom right at the end of each post, just to the left of the "Like" button. In this case it shows as "#9". A small window will pop up with the link (in various formats). Highlight any of these links, copy it, and then paste it into your post.

    Michel
     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2023
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  18. Jane Suff

    Jane Suff Member

    Thank you so much!
     
  19. Jane Suff

    Jane Suff Member

    So many thanks for this Mike.
    We think my father’s crossing may have been delayed by a storm in the channel. As far as I remember he did say they left from Tilbury ( he was a Gravesend man so it was very convenient!) and that he saw his brother in law ( a Guernseyman) on board another ship as they left the docks.
    Jane.
     
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  20. Trux

    Trux 21 AG

    Jane,

    There was an unusually strong storm in the Channel for three days. This caused delays in sailing, but also caused a great deal of damage to the Mulberry Harbour, the landing beaches and small craft.
     
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