Good afternoon This is my first posting to the Forums and I am relatively new to military research so i'm hoping the group may be able to assist and perhaps point me in the right direction. I'm researching the military history of my Uncle James Timlin No JX523124 who served in the Royal Navy during WW2 and specifically was involved in the D-day operations at Omaha beach. From his navy record we know we was attached to LCT 7086 between 1/4/44 and 6/2/46 and although he is no longer with us, he did say that he was involved in the D-day landings, conveying American troops to the Omaha beaches. He also told us that around this time, his landing craft was damaged and he had to be rescued and towed by a tug called the 'Griper' - I have found a record of this event and believe it took place on 19-20/6/44. I would love to find out more about the activities of LCT 7086 and the men who served or were conveyed on board. I am also interested in the type of work LCT 7086 would have been involved in and the type of craft she was? As I say, I am a relative novice in this field, so any help or pointers would be gratefully received. Thanks you David
Hi David and welcome to WW2Talk. LCT 7086 would have been a 'second series' Mk3 LCT. The first series were numbered 400+ and the second series 7000+. Your best bet would be to try and find which Flotilla 7086 was part of. This will give you an idea of movements pre- and during D-Day. I have some info and accounts of LCTs carrying American troop on D-Day and will look them out later. A book that might be a good introduction to landing craft would be 'The War of the Landing Craft' by Lund and Ludlam ISBN 450 03039 3. You should be able to find cheap second hand copies on AbeBooks http://www.abebooks.co.uk/?cm_ven=Bing&cm_cat=UBT&cm_pla=abebooks&cm_ite=abebooks Attached a couple of pages from 'Allied landing craft of WW2'. Good luck, Mike
David, I have sent you a PM (private message). Have a look for a red square (notifications) at the top of the page.
Many thanks Mike and Roy for your responses, I do appreciate your help. I would like to try and find out which Flotilla LCT7086 would have been with but am not sure how to progress this... any ideas or pointers gratefully received! I have attached a document which I found which does list LCT7086 alongside Group L2 but am not really sure how to interpret this? Thanks again David
Hi, LCT 7086 was in 6 LCT Flotilla, “H” LCT Squadron, Force “L”. Based in Harwich just before Normandy. Regards Danny
Cheers Danny, that's great, thank you! Is this information you were able to extract from the document I attached to my earlier posting or is it from elsewhere? I'm guessing I probably need to visit the National Archives now with a view to trying to find the activities the above where involved in? Thanks again David
Hello David, The information came from this document in the National Archives ADM 199/1560 - Operation `Neptune' (Overlord). Eastern Task Forces - Force `L': orders and memoranda. Approximately 290 pages in it. It is worth looking at if you can get to Kew. You might find this page interesting if you have not seen it before. http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/lctfoto031.htm Cannot recall seeing that much on Force L in other Neptune/Overlord documents that I have looked at. Regards Danny
Thanks Danny for the additional information and link, which are all of great interest... I'll spend some time reading through the 'linked' website in more detail. I am compiling a list of items for further research based on the information kindly provided by both Mike and yourself... it's looking like i'm going to have to plan a trip to London! Mike - I'll e-mail you later today hopefully! Thanks again, your help is really appreciated. David
I hadn't noticed 7074 in the list of LCTs. Until a few years ago 7074 was still afloat, sadly now sunk and likely scrapped. See this thread, 7074 mentions start on page 4: http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/2923-u534-birkenhead-warships-trust-fate-of-collection/page-4?hl=%20lct%20%207074
Hi, You might be interested in this book. "The Landfall Story. The D-Day Veteran that lives on as a unique floating club". George Evans. Published by George Evans 1972. Still a few copies around on AbeBooks and Amazon at a reasonable price. My copy is boxed up at the moment but from memory it is OK. Regards Danny
Danny, I've gone through the website link you sent me a few days ago, fascinating stuff and some great photos too of Mk 3 LCTs, thank you. Good to see LCT 7074 mentioned as well, what a pity the authorities didn't see fit to preserve her when she was in Liverpool. As a point of interest though, my cousin (the daughter of my Uncle 'Jim' about whom this research is based), tells me that before he died, he did go to Liverpool and see LCT7074 before it was scrapped and said he thought it had been in the same Flotilla as 7086, which is a fitting tribute to her before she met her untimely end! Cheers David
Actually LCT 7074 was in a different Flotilla (17 LCT Flotilla) but in the same "H" LCT Squadron as 7086 (as of 5 Jun 44). Michel
LCT 7086 was to carry LTIN 3514. For more information, including her detailed planned load, see Mike's thread on Naval Force 'L'. Michel
A couple of screengrabs from a very short clip showing LCT 7086 after D Day: Some snippets gleaned about 7086: On D+13 (19 June 44) at 0726 PINTO reported that a "Metal Barge and LCT(A)7086" were "in trouble in channel 14 - dispatched for assistance." The Admiralty War Diary for 19.6.44 states: "L.C.T.7086 broken down in vicinity 14 E buoy. Request tug may be sent. (BURDOCK 191701B to N.C.W.T.F.)" On D+14 (20 June) at 0440, "CTF 122 requested that tug be sent to assistance of LCT 7086 in vicinity of 14 EASY buoy." Michel
Hi Michel Many thanks for your contact and your continued interest in LCT 7086. I have seen the stills of LCT 7086 before and in fact have viewed the short film footage from which the still were taken. It was through the forum that I was kindly sent a link to the film and as far as I'm aware, this is the only photographic representation that exists of this LCT. I've also been fortunate to have found out quite a lot about the rescue of LCT 7086 that you refer to. She was actually rescued by a Royal Navy tug called The Griper and the rescue was described in an article in The Sphere, including a drawing of the actual event (attached). I've been able to obtain a copy of this from the British Library. My uncle actually talked about this when I spoke to him a few years before his death. His LCT was actually incapacitated and was drifting dangerously towards Cherbourg which was still in the hands of the Germans and had it not been for The Griper, there is every likelihood it would have been a sitting duck for German guns. Thanks again and kind regards David
