Run-In Shoot by RA in Overlord Assault

I think there is some film footage out there showing 25 pdrs firing from the decks of landing craft . certainly worth a trawl through the newsreel sites

 

The memorial to the 3rd British Infantry Division artillery on the seafront at La Breche d'Hermanville in Normandy (Sword Beach) commemorates the run-in bombardment. The inscription says the Royal Artillery 'after firing their guns from the sea landed here on June 6, 1944 and continued firing from the beaches'. It then lists those RA units which took part. I'll try to find a picture.

 

No.2 Operational Research Section did a study on the Canadian Fd Regts' run-in shoots as theese were assumed to be representative. They were 12, 13, 14 and 19 Fd Regts SP RCA. Info comes from Copp', Montgomery's Scientists that reprints a selection of their reports.

Regarding accuracy, the conclusion states that:

2. In general, regimental fire fell in an area 400 to 700 yds wide and 400 to 600 yds deep measured from the forward line of enemy defences.

3. Maximum crater density in every case was plus of the target from 100 to 200 yds, and within 200yds of being correct for line.

Although they overshot the target, it does suggest that the fire was reasonably well controlled and concentrated given the nature of the gun position. It is implied that strikes on beachfront buildings were used to correct fire and they are said to have been extensively damaged.

 

From Juno Beach Centre - D-Day

The four field artillery regiments, in all 96 guns of 105-mm, embarked on 24 LCTs, moved on simultaneously. From its craft the 12th Field Regiment opened fire against a fortified position in Courseulles. At 0655, the 13th Field Regiment attacked another position west of the cliff. At 0744, the 14th Regiment fired on the Bernières fortified position; and at 0739, the 19th Regiment attacked a similar post in Saint-Aubin. For half an hour they fired above the heads of the infantry and above the LCAs that were by the shore.

 

This is the memorial to the 3rd Division Royal Artillery on the Sword Beach seafront at La Breche d'Hermanville, Normandy, which commemorates the run-in bombardment on D-Day.
The inscription reads:
This stone commemorates the headquarters and the five regiments of the Royal Artillery in the 3rd British Infantry Division which after firing their guns from the sea landed on 6th June 1944 and continued firing from the beaches and the fields around Hermanville.
7th Field Regiment (SP) RA
33rd Field Regiment (SP) RA
76th (Highland) Field Regiment (SP) RA
20th Anti-Tank Regiment RA
92nd LAA Regiment RA

 

See also:
BBC - WW2 People's War - Recollections of D-Day: June 6, 1944 with the 76th (Highland) Field Regiment on Sword Beach.

 

Hi, Hope you can help, i will be going to Normandy next month, and will have to give a presentation about the run in shoot of the 90th field regiment royal artillery. Any help will be greatly recived. Thank you.

 

Nothing specific as yet, but here's the GOLD/JUNO Staff College Battlefield Tour (10MB pdf) as a starter. Oddly, there doesn't seem to be a section for the artillery. 90 Fd do get at least one mention in the landing diagram on p91. I haven't checked the other 223 pages yet...

Also a brief mention of them in the Time Team report at the bottom of this thread.

 

I have a document entitled "Diagrammatic fire plan for a combined operation"... This is "Combined Operations Pamphlet No 7(d), Marked "Secret" and dated June 1944... Copy No. 64.

The intro says "The Diagrammatic fire plan is designed to show, upon a single map or trace, the area and timing of the bombardment and supporting fire provided by all weapons of all arms for an assault landing".

Section 9 of this pamphlet covers "Self-Propelled Artillery (While afloat) targets"

Para 46. Self-propelled artillery whilst embarked in landing craft tank, are able to give supporting fire during the final approach and assault phase".

Para-phrasing the rest of the text for the more important info...

This then gives the maximum ranges as 13,000yds for 25pdr RAMs and 11,000yds for 105mm M7s. The fire of 1 regiment to be concentrated into an area of approximately 400yds square. To allow for errors it is not normal to fire within 1000yds of the leading infantry. Self-propelled artillery targets are marked a RED rectangles on the fire plan. The time at which bombardment will take place is from H-30 to H-5 minutes.

The pamplet includes an A1 foldout sample fireplan.

Hope this is of help.

Tim

PS - Have attached some pics from the pamphlet

 

Pics from the diagrammatic fire plan pamphlet fyi...

 

I am glad to say I am still around.I was a signaller aboard theLCP of 7th FieldReg.t's
FOO Captain H W. Bruce MC RA MA on the approaches to SWORD. Events are well chronicled in the chapterToThe Far Shore of MAX HASTINGS book OVERLORD.
Al Owens

 

Some input on this from my Dad who landed on Gold H+60/90 driving 50 Div signals CRA section half-track.
"When we were at Brockenhurst in the New Forest, a few weeks prior to the invasion, I took part in a scheme on the south coast. Our LCT's ran onto a beach and there were 25 pounder's on LCT's firing live rounds over us. After landing we moved off the beach quite quickly and were in danger of running into some of this fire at one point."

On D-Day our LCT landed Gold Jig Red near Les Rocquettes and we parked up near in a field corner oposite a farm. From here we worked back to CRA Brig Norton on HMS Bullolo. We were supposed to go in at H+90 but our officer Capt Souter told us we were going in early!
On the run in we moved through artilery on LCT's which stood off and fired over us. I cannot say for certain but we may have worked back to these as well. I was just getting us off the beach and into cover.

Also one post quotes the Trux website that only tracked vehicles were on shore for the first eight hours. The first off our LCT was a big Dodge jeep carrying an Omaha liason team. It promptly sank!
Second attempt we hit a mine and I drove up the beach on our third attempt, being last vehicle off.
It was all a bit chaotic but I do remember a smaller jeep, a Wiley, in trouble off the next LCT.
Thats all I can remember"

 

D Day Run in Shoot by Royal Artillery .
I can give you some further details as my father Derek Findley, now 92, gave the order to fire the first round on the LCT which fired the first shots on the run-in to Queen beach. my late godfather Alan Bowman was on the same LCT and they each had command of a 105mm self-propelled gun.

They both were Lt. in the 9th (Irish) Field Battery which was was part of 7th Field Regiment Royal Artillery

Their LCT is featured in a painting of the event by David Rowlands, see at the attached link.

David Rowlands Military Artist

My father met and supplied the artist the technical information about the weather, tide, state of the sea, cloud cover etc .

My father contacted the RA in Larkhill in 2011 as his print of the painting had faded and he wanted to look at the original.

A print of the painting was presented to him in Larkhill in June 2011 and is was written up in the September 2011 The Gunner magazine.Print of this painting is still given on commission, at Larkhill, to all new officers.
Chris Findley

 

Some familiar names and images on this thread. I was BK of 24 (Irish) Battery when we commissioned David Rowland in 1986 to paint the D day run inshoot painting. The late Major Will Townend did a lot of research on the Gunners on D day.

The Field regiments that were part of the infantry divisions (3rd 3 Canadian and 50th) which were established with 25 pdr. These regiments 7th, 16th, 33rd, 90th 13th and 14th Cdn were equipped with 105mm Priest SP guns. This was to cover the landing phase as it was envisaged that the army might have to fight ashore with the support from artillery in the surf. This was obviously impossible using towed equipment. The 105mm SP guns seem to have been popular with the troops, but caused problems for the logistic chain. The guns themselves were worn and worn out by the end of the Normandy campaign which is when they reverted to using 25 pdrs. Re-equipping the field artillery of three divisions in the middle of a campaign was a nuisance. It shows how important it was to ensure D day was a success.

86th and 147th Field were already equipped with Sexton because they were army formations intended to support armoured brigades. These replaced two of the integral 25 Pdr field artillery Regiments of 50th Division (74th and 124th). All of this was necessary because 50th Division were only assigned as an assult division in January 1944. It is noteworthy that 90th Field were chosen as the SP Assault regiment as this unit was not part of 50th Infantry Division in North Africa. Their equipment was taken from one of 49th Infantry Division's field regiments as 49th Division had been training to be an assault division on D Day until replaced by 50th

 

sorry I can't work out how to compleely delete this post

 

Chris,

As he fired the first round, your father must have been on board LCT Serial Number (or Landing Table Index Number) 331. This serial number or craft load serial is often mistaken for the Navy pennant or number of the craft, which in this case was LCT Mark IV pennant 859 of 32 LCT Flotilla.

This craft, with its LTIN boards still attached to the bridge, appears on stills 18-33 in British Pathé clip 1951.06, viewable here (see also attached still 23):
NORMANDY AFTER D-DAY - British Pathé

At Musée du No.4 Commando in Ouistreham I found the attached photo taken after the war showing the wreck of LCT 859 (331) on the beach with its back broken.

Does your father know the details of his SP gun and/or those in the same LCT, such as name, number in the Battery, position in the LCT etc., or have some photos? I believe he was part of 'A' Tp?

Michel

 

hi Chris / Michael,
just found your chat about LCT 859. Fascinating stuff. My grandfather was the Coxswain on-board 859 on D-Day. If this post works (this time - having tried 4 times so far !), I will post more info/questions. Thanks
Phil

 

hurrah - my reply worked !!
My grandfather, Stanley Pilling, was the coxswain on LCT 859. Unfortunately he died in 1963, before I was even born, and much of his wartime story was lost with him. I recently started researching his naval wartime career and am in the middle of exploring his time in the run-up to and during the Dieppe Raid. He was a crewmember (and ramp operator) of LCT121 (LCT5 for Operation Jubilee), which was severely damaged and abandoned on White Beach. He survived unwounded and even managed to get back to England. Not too many naval servicemen managed to spend 4 hours on Dieppe beach and get home on that terrible day ! I have lots of stories of him and the time he spent with some Canadian infantry sheltering under the ramp of that stricken LCT.
BUT, your thread caught my eye as its the first time I have gained any information about what happened to him on D-Day. LCT121 is the famous burning image of Dieppe, but to hear that his D-Day craft is also a well known image of the war (captured on canvas, newsreel and photographs) is fascinating news for me. Its the first time I have had a family legend confirmed. We had always heard that Stan's LCT had been hit, damaged and beached at both Dieppe and D-Day, and now this has been confirmed ! Many thanks for posting this info.
I would dearly love to find any living servicemen who knew my grandfather, or were on board his LCTs during any exercises and live landings (such as Yukon, or Dieppe and D-Day). He must have had an extraordinary time and I'd love to be able to fill in some more details as to his daily activities and experiences of these truly exceptional times and events.
So, if anyone has any contacts and information re Stan Pilling, or LCTs 121 and 859, they will be so gratefully received. Many thanks
Phil

 

Hi my late father was a gunner on a priest self propelled gun onboard LCT 331 on D day. His tank commander was Lt. Bowman. My brother and I are going to sword beach for the 70 commemorations on the 6th of june.I was wondering if anyone associated with the RA in particular 9th Irish field battery would also be there. My father was William Wood.