Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings (77 page)

One of the Allied landing rehearsals turned tragic in April of 1944 when German
Schnellbooten
, literally fast boats, though often called S-boats or E-boats by the Allies, attacked a convoy of LSTs heading for Slapton Sands during Exercise Tiger. The E-boats managed to sink two LSTs and severely damage another. The LST 289, seen here, was badly mauled when a torpedo struck its stern. The 289 managed to make it back into port but could not be repaired in time for the invasion. The loss of three LSTs this late in the planning was a severe blow. (U.S. Naval Institute)

A group of LSTs loads an artillery unit across a “hard” at Brixham, just north of Dartmouth, on June 1, 1944. Seen here are LSTs 382, 499, 384, and 380. The 499 was destroyed by a German mine off the invasion beaches on June 8. (U.S. Naval Institute)

The Allied bombardment of the target beaches began at 5:36 a.m. on June 6. Here guns of the American battleship
Nevada
(BB-36) fire on Utah Beach. In just over an hour, the
Nevada
fired 337 rounds of 14-inch shells and 2,693 rounds of 5-inch shells. Other American and Allied ships also punished the invasion beaches, but only on Sword Beach did the preliminary bombardment by Royal Navy warships have a significant effect. (U.S. Navy Photo)

A long line of LCI(L) vessels, manned by U.S. Coast Guard crews and loaded with soldiers of Group B, the follow-up invasion force for Omaha Beach, cross the English Channel during the daylight hours of June 6. The barrage balloons above them were to prevent strafing by German aircraft, though complete Allied command of the air made that an unlikely threat. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo)

American GIs headed for Omaha Beach steel themselves for the assault. The point of view in this photograph is that of the coxswain who is driving the Higgins boat. Packed into the craft like cattle, the soldiers could see little beyond the back of the soldier in front of them, though an officer peers out over the port bow for a look at the beach. (U.S. Army Photo)

This drawing by U.S. Coast Guard artist H. B. Vestal depicts the American destroyer USS
Doyle
(DD-494) firing onto the bluffs above Omaha Beach at about 9:00 a.m. on June 6. The close-in gunfire support that morning from a handful of destroyers was critical in turning the tide on Omaha Beach. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo)

An aerial view of the British Mulberry (Mulberry B) off Arrowmanche near Gold Beach a week after the invasion. Four Liberty ships are moored inside the line of Phoenix units, and the floating “whale” roadways can be seen leading from the Lobnitz Piers to the beach. (U.S. Naval Institute)

A portion of the wrecked “whale” roadway of the American Mulberry (Mulberry A) off Omaha Beach after the storm of June 19–21. The “spuds” of the Lobnitz piers are visible in the background. After a survey of the damage, the American supervisor of salvage recommended that the American Mulberry be shut down. (U.S. Naval Institute)

The cruisers USS
Quincy
(foreground) and HMS
Glasgow
fire on the Querqueville batteries west of Cherbourg on June 25, 1944. Though the Allied naval task force was able to silence the smaller (6-inch) German batteries, the bigger 11-inch guns east of Cherbourg managed to hold their own. (U.S. Army Photo)

British, American, and Canadian salvage experts struggle to clear the wreckage in Cherbourg Harbor, where the Germans blew up piers, scuttled ships, and sowed 133 mines. It would take more than a month before the port was again fully functioning. (U.S. Naval Institute)

A long row of LSTs discharge their cargoes onto Omaha Beach. Unloading across a beach was more time-consuming than at a pier, especially if the LSTs “dried out” through a tide cycle. On the other hand, the broad beach allowed many more LSTs to come ashore simultaneously, and despite the loss of Mulberry A at Omaha Beach, the Allies were able to sustain both the troop buildup and the logistic supply line for the armies in Normandy. (U.S. Navy Photo)