NAVY NEWS, D-DAY SUPPLEMENT, JULY 1994 XXI Beyond HMS Edinburgh's billowing ensign, HMY Britannia steams through Formation Ramsay — the two lines of international warships gathered in mid- Channel in remembrance of the sailors who lost their lives during the Normandy campaign. ON JUNE 6 1944 a vast armada of ships gathered off the coast of Norman- dy for the launch of Operation Neptune. Fif- ty years later the focus of remembrance was on the faces of those veterans embarked in the QE2 and Canberra awaiting their Review by the Queen and other Heads of State, Echoes of the past rever- berated through the years as HMS Illustrious, flagship of Commander-in-Chief Fleet, Admiral Sir Hugo White, fired a 42-gun salute mark- ing the start of HMY Bri- tannia's stately procession through the rows of vessels in the Solent which made up the international flotilla. Pursued On board the Royal Yacht for the Review of Embarked Veterans were the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, The Prin- cess Royal and Princess Marga- ret along with Commonwealth and foreign Heads of State and Government including John Major, Bill Clinton, Polish President Lech Walensa, Aus- tralian Prime Minister Paul Keating and Presidents Havel and Kovac of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Pursued by a flotilla of yachts and small boats, Britan- nia was preceded by Trinity House Vessel Patricia and fol- lowed by HMS Hecla (acting as press ship for the event) and her Royal Escort, HMS Avenger. Among the vessels ceremoni- ally manning ship were HM Armada sails on sea of memories by Ruth Vernon on board HMS Hecla ships Fearless, Ursula, Hur- worth, Sandown, Spey and RFA Sir Percivale. Inter- national ships included the world's largest aircraft carrier USS George Washington, USS Guam and French ships Loire, Croix du Sud and Clio. One of nine veteran craft which took part in Operation Neptune and which lined up for review 50 years later was the American Liberty Ship Jer- emiah O'Brien, captained by D-Day veteran Capt George Jahn. During June 1944 the ship made 11 runs between Bri- tain and Normandy, carrying troops, war machinery and sup- plies to Utah and Omaha Beaches. As the Royal Squadron turned towards the Review all eyes were turned skyward for the flypast of historic and modern military aircraft. RAF Hawk trainers flew over the flo- tilla in a number 50 formation while two Swordfish torpedo biplanes and a Fairey Firefly led the flight of 120 aircraft old and new. On completion, Britannia and Avenger headed towards France, followed by the QE2, Canberra and other merchant vessels with D-Day veterans on board. Wreaths In mid-Channel, as near as possible to a spot named Picca- dilly Circus where the various forces taking part in Operation Neptune gathered 50 years ago, warships of the international flotilla lined up in two columns — named Formation Ramsay in memory of Admiral Sir Ber- tram Ramsay — for a comme- morative act of remembrance. At the head of the columns were HMS Edinburgh, Flagship of Flag Officer Surface Flotilla, Vice Admiral Mike Boyce, and the French frigate Ruguay Trouin with the liners carrying the veterans lying further off, in the wings of the formation. As the Royal Yacht sailed past each pair of ships, wreaths were cast into the sea in memo- ry of those sailors, RN and Merchant Navy, who gave their lives during Operation Nep- tune. Overhead a Lancaster bomber returned to drop 850,000 poppies over the veter- ans on board Canberra. The day's events had begun at the Naval war Memorial on Southsea Common where a Drumhead Service commemo- rated the glory and sacrifices of the D-Day invasion. It ended with a ceremony of subdued re- membrances which marked both public victories and pri- vate losses. • Following the commemora- tion the Queen ordered HMS Edinburgh to "Splice the Main- brace" in recognition of the ship's role as flagship of FOSF. A standard bearer of the Submarine Old Comrades Association stands to attention during the Drumhead Service held on South- sea Common, Portsmouth on June 5.
Transcript
NAVY NEWS, D-DAY SUPPLEMENT, JULY 1994 XXI
Beyond HMS Edinburgh's billowing ensign, HMYBritannia steams through Formation Ramsay — thetwo lines of international warships gathered in mid-Channel in remembrance of the sailors who losttheir lives during the Normandy campaign.
ON JUNE 6 1944 a vastarmada of ships gatheredoff the coast of Norman-dy for the l a u n c h ofOperation Neptune. Fif-ty years later the focus ofremembrance was on thefaces of those veteransembarked in the QE2and Canberra awaitingt h e i r Rev iew by theQueen and other Headsof State,
Echoes of the past rever-berated through the years asHMS Illustrious, flagship ofCommander-in-Chief Fleet,Admiral Sir Hugo White,fired a 42-gun salute mark-ing the start of HMY Bri-tannia's stately processionthrough the rows of vesselsin the Solent which madeup the international flotilla.
PursuedOn board the Royal Yacht
for the Review of EmbarkedVeterans were the Queen, theDuke of Edinburgh, The Prin-cess Royal and Princess Marga-ret along with Commonwealthand foreign Heads of State andGovernment including JohnMajor, Bi l l Cl inton, PolishPresident Lech Walensa, Aus-t ra l ian Prime Minister PaulKeating and Presidents Haveland Kovac of the Czech andSlovak Republics.
Pursued by a f l o t i l l a ofyachts and small boats, Britan-nia was preceded by TrinityHouse Vessel Patricia and fol-lowed by HMS Hecla (acting aspress ship for the event) andher Royal Escort , HMSAvenger.
Among the vessels ceremoni-ally manning ship were HM
Armada sails onsea of memories
by Ruth Vernonon board HMS Hecla
ships Fearless, Ursula, Hur-worth, Sandown, Spey andRFA Sir Percivale . I n t e r -nat ional ships included theworld's largest aircraft carrierUSS George Washington, USSGuam and French ships Loire,Croix du Sud and Clio.
One of nine veteran craftwhich took part in OperationNeptune and which lined upfor review 50 years later wasthe American Liberty Ship Jer-emiah O'Brien, captained byD-Day veteran Capt GeorgeJahn. During June 1944 theship made 1 1 runs between Bri-tain and Normandy, carryingtroops, war machinery and sup-plies to U t a h and OmahaBeaches.
As the Roya l S q u a d r o nturned towards the Review alleyes were turned skyward forthe f lypast of h i s to r ic andmodern mil i tary aircraft. RAFHawk trainers flew over the flo-
tilla in a number 50 formationwhile two Swordfish torpedobiplanes and a Fairey Fireflyled the flight of 120 aircraft oldand new.
On completion, B r i t ann i aand Avenger headed towardsFrance, followed by the QE2,Canberra and other merchantvessels with D-Day veterans onboard.
WreathsIn mid-Channel, as near as
possible to a spot named Picca-dil ly Circus where the variousforces taking part in OperationNeptune gathered 50 years ago,warships of the internationalflotilla lined up in two columns— named Formation Ramsayin memory of Admiral Sir Ber-tram Ramsay — for a comme-morative act of remembrance.
At the head of the columnswere HMS Edinburgh, Flagship
of Flag Officer Surface Flotilla,Vice Admiral Mike Boyce, andthe French frigate R u g u a yTrouin with the liners carryingthe veterans lying further off, inthe wings of the formation.
As the Royal Yacht sailedpast each pair of ships, wreathswere cast into the sea in memo-ry of those sailors, RN andMerchant Navy, who gave theirlives during Operation Nep-tune. Overhead a Lancasterbomber r e t u r n e d to d rop850,000 poppies over the veter-ans on board Canberra.
The day's events had begunat the Naval war Memorial onSouthsea Common where aDrumhead Service commemo-rated the glory and sacrifices ofthe D-Day invasion. It endedwith a ceremony of subdued re-membrances wh ich markedboth public victories and pri-vate losses.
• Following the commemora-tion the Queen ordered HMSEdinburgh to "Splice the Main-brace" in recognition of theship's role as flagship of FOSF.
A standard bearer of the Submarine Old Comrades Associationstands to attention during the Drumhead Service held on South-sea Common, Portsmouth on June 5.
XXII NAVY NEWS, D-DAY SUPPLEMENT. JULY 1994
DAY OF DIGNITY AND GRANDEUR AS QUEEN HONOURS VETERANS
ABOVE: The water of theSolent is churned to white bya myriad of small craft follow-ing the Royal Yacht as sheheads for the Review ofEmbarked Veterans. Those onboard HMY Britannia includedthe Queen, the Duke of Edin-burgh, the Princess Royal,Princess Margaret and Presi-dent Clinton.
RIGHT: The Queen inspectsthe standards of the RoyalMarines Association after theDrumhead Service on South-sea Common.
BELOW: With ss Canberra onher starboard beam and theaircraft carrier USS GeorgeWashington off her starboardbow, the QE2 forms up for theReview of Embarked Veteransat Spithead.
BELOW RIGHT: HMS Illustri-ous forms an impressivebackdrop to the veterans'standards as the aircraft car-rier steams past the NavalWar Memorial at Southsea.
How Navyteam 'got
it right'SIX MEMBERS of the British Royal Family, 14Heads of State and Government, 16,000 veterans,70,000 members of the public and several bottles ofaspirin later, project leader Capt Mike Wood RN hasdeclared the D-Day commemorative events a greatsuccess.
"After months of prepa-ration it is enormouslysatisfying to know we got itright," he told Navy News."We have received lots ofpersonal letters from veter-ans who witnessed theevents and their praisemeans more to us than any-thing else.
"We were especially pleasedwith the TV and radio coveragewhich brought the commemo-rations to millions in their ownhomes. There were many veter-ans who couldn't make it to theactual events and it was impor-tant for them to be involved —that was always an importantconsideration for us."
PopularOne of the most successful
ventures was the establishmentof the Veterans Centre onSouthsea Common wh ichproved to be a popular day-time home for the visitors.
Over the ten days it was openmore than 5,000 veterans andtheir guests visited each daywhile on June 5, when theDrumhead Service and Reviewof Embarked Veterans tookplace, more than 15,000 peoplepassed through the doors.
"There is no doubt that theorganisation of the commemor-ative events has been a teameffort," added Capt Wood. "Itwas about a group of peoplefrom different backgroundsand different branches gettingtogether — and getting it right.
"Whether they were Writersin the back room or senior offi-cers escorting Heads of State,they all had a contribution tomake, and after having talkedto many of the veterans, they
saw it was worth the hard work."My team did tremendously
well and I hope they carry theexperience with them for therest of their lives."
Praise—forplannersIN A PERSONAL messageto those who had takenpart in the planning andexecution of the D-Daycommemoration, the FirstSea Lord, Admiral Sir Ben-jamin Bathurst, said:
"Now that the principalD-Day anniversary eventsare over I would like tocongratulate all who wereinvolved, both in and out ofuniform, on such immacu-late planning and execu-tion which even some ap-palling weather could notdisrupt.
"An immense amount ofhard work and care wentinto each event and it wasobvious from the manycomments made to me byveterans that you have giv-en them exactly the com-memoration they wanted.You looked after them allwith the utmost kindnessand cheerfulness.
"Thank you for showingthem that today's men andwomen of the Royal Navyand Royal Marines areworthy inheritors of theproud and gallant examplethey set us."
4 * • A *' - *4-J ? ? T T T
f t tfiuttfeti Mutt tftf MJM i ttft *J <
Forgottengenius ofNormandy
NAVY NEWS, D-DAY SUPPLEMENT, JULY 1994 XXIII
IT IS ONE of the curiousinjustices of history thatAdmiral Sir BertramRamsay remains one ofth£ least known of all theprincipal architects of D-Day or indeed of the out-standing naval leaders ofWorld War II as a whole.
Yet his career is full ofstrange inconsistencies forone eventually entrustedwi th such g raveresponsibility.
He never commanded any ofthe major British Fleets — oreven any significant formationof cap i ta l ships . He neverserved in the Admiralty, exceptfor a few months as a juniorofficer.
Even more surprising is thefact that he asked to be relievedfrom his first flag appointment,as Chief of Staff to the Com-mander-in-Chief Home Fleet— because he couldn't abidehis boss's unfortunate habit ofdoing the job for him.
That was in 1935 — and his
• Architect of the success of Operation Neptunewas the naval leader whose genius for organisationand attention to detail had four years beforewrought the "miracle" of Dunkirk. In this profile ofAdmiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, JIM ALLAWAY throwslight on a man who in 1939 seemed among theunlikeliest to fulfil a role as one of Britain's mostsignificant wartime leaders.
career seemed to be over, for hewas put on the half-pay list vir-tually without further appoint-ment until he was retired in therank of Vice Admiral at the be-ginning of 1939.
DynamicAs war clouds gathered in
earnest he was nominated FlagOfficer Dover — a post he had,in fact, briefly filled during theMunich Crisis the previousyear.
Within a few months his rolein organising the Dunkirk eva-cuation would alone secure hima place in the history books —if not in popular memory.
CAMPAIGN DIAR1APRIL 1944
26 Admiral Ramsay moves HQ toSouthwick Park. HMCS Haidasinks German torpedo-boatT29 off He de Batz and drivesashore T27 off Pontusval.HMCS Athabaskan sunk bytorpedo (with heavy loss oflife).
26-28 Exercise Tiger: Force U full-scale exercise in Lyme Bay.
28 US LSTs 507 and 531 sunkand LSI 289 damaged by E-boats (with very heavy loss oflife).
MAY
8 Admiral Ramsay decides onJune 5 or 6 for D-Day.
25 Operation orders opened byholders at 2330.
28 June 5 nominated as D-Day;all naval personnel "sealed"within their ships.
JUNE
1 Admiral Ramsay assumesgeneral control of EnglishChannel operations.
2 Bombarding Force D leavesScapa Flow. Midget submarines X20 (for Juno) and X23(Sword) leave Portsmouth under tow.
3 Bombarding Forces E and Kleave Clyde, BombardingForce A and C leave Belfast,Force U assault convoy leavesStart Peninsula.
4 0515: Neptune postponed 24hours due to bad weather.
5 0400: Gen. Eisenhower de-cides on June 6 for D-Day.0900: First assault groupsdepart.1800: Minesweeper USS Os-prey mined off Cap d'Antifer.
6 0440: Norwegian destroyerSvenner sunk by German tor-pedo-boats off Sword Beach.0630: H-Hour in Western TaskForce area.0633: Destroyer USS Corrymined off Utah Beach.0645: Destroyer HMS Wrestlerdamaged beyond repair bymine off Sword Beach.0725: H-Hour in Sword andGold areas.0745: H-Hour Juno Beach.1620: Transport ss Sambutsunk in Dover Strait by long-range artillery.1700: Convoy of nine largepersonnel ships becomes firstfor four years to transit west-bound through Dover Straitwithout damage.
7 0700: US freighter Susan BAnthony sunk by mine offJuno Beach. US LST 715 sunkby E-boat.
0940: Minesweeper USS Tidesunk by mine off Utah Beach.1230: First of 54 vessels scut-tled to form five "Gooseber-ries" — protected break-waters.
7-8 Two RN LCTs sunk by E-boatsin mid-Channel.
8 0152: Destroyer USS Meredithmined off Utah Beach (sinkson 9th after near miss duringair attack)0445: Assault HQ ship HMSLawford (frigate) sunk by airattack off Juno Beach0803: Destroyer USS Glennonmined off Utah Beach.0920: Destroyer escort USSRich mined while assistingGlennon. Netlayer HMS Min-ster mined off Utah Beach,coastal tanker Chant 6 sunkby air attack in Eastern TFarea. Port-en-Bessin (capturedby 47 Cdo RM on 7th) in useby coasters and barges. FirstMulberry harbour units laid.
8-9 US LSTs 314 and 376 sunk byE-boats in mid-Channel.
9 0210: HMS Ashanti sinks Ger-man destroyer ZH1 off He deBatz, and HMCS Haida drivesashore destroyer Z32.First Phoenix units laid for Mul-berry harbours.
9-10 Ammunition coasters Brack-enfield and Dungrange sunkby E-boats in mid-Channel.
10 US freighter Charles Morgansunk by air attack in WesternTF area.
11 0315: Frigate HMS Halsteaddamaged beyond repair by E-boats in Eastern TF area, MTB448 and E-boat sunk in actionin Western TF area, coasterAshanti and four tugs sunk byE-boats in mid-Channel.US 5th and British 30th Corpsmake contact.
12 Churchill and Chief of GeneralStaff visit British assault areain destroyer HMS Kelvin.
13 Destroyer HMS Boadicea sunkby air-launched torpedo southof Portland.
14 0045: German torpedo-boatsFalke, Jaguar and Moewesunk and Kondor damaged inRAF raid on Le Havre (11 E-boats, 20 patrol craft and 19tugs also damaged).1145: Frigate HMS Mournesunk by U-767 off Lizard1910: Frigate HMS Blackwoodsunk by U-764 off Portland.Operation PLUTO: Start of thefirst Pipeline Under The Oceanto Port-en-Bessin.Germans regain control ofeast bank of the mouth of theRiver Orne; shelling of SwordBeach intensifies, two HMships and five LSTs being da-maged. Unloading of person-nel moved to Juno Beach.
16 King George VI visits Britishassault area in HMS Arethusa.Trinity House vessel Alert
The "miracle" of Dunkirkwas down in part to speedy im-provisation and mobilisation ofresources — which showed thatRamsay was equally as capableof dealing with a highly dyna-mic situation as with a broad,preconceived plan such asOperation Neptune four yearslater, which anyway allowed forconsiderable flexibility despiteits 1,000 pages of orders.
Before the order to startOperation Dynamo was given,Ramsay had already directed anumber of small passenger ves-sels to sail as the vanguard ofthe "Little Ships".
By the end of it 338,226troops had been taken off —
Admiral Ramsay with Generals Eisenhower and Montgomery off the Normandy beaches just 24hours after the initial landings. picture: imperial war Museum
over seven times the total theGovernment had estimatedmight be possible. Ramsay wascreated a Knight Commanderof the Bath.
TorchThough he was to be in-
volved from the outset in theplanning for Operation Torch,the Allied assault on NorthAfrica that would in many waysserve as a dress rehearsal for D-
Day, the naval command wasgiven instead to Cunningham,whom he served as deputy.
After Africa fell to the Alliesin May 1943, attention turnedto Operation Husky — the in-vasion of Sicily. Here Ramsaycommanded the Eastern (Bri-tish and Canadian) Task Force.
It was Ramsay who made thefinal recommendation that theassault should proceed on July
10, despite poor weather condi-tions — as he would 11 monthslater — and thus a considerablemeasure of surpr ise wasachieved.
Within a month the Axisforces were themselves workinga version of Dunkirk across theMessina Strait — but by thistime Ramsay was back in Bri-tain, soon to be confirmed as
• Turn to page XXVI
mined and sunk in Gold area.18 0200: German minesweeper
M133 damaged beyond repairby RN MTBs 727 and 748 offJersey.U-767 sunk by destroyersFame, Inconstant andHavelock.Coaster Albert C. Field sunkby air attack off St AlbansHead.
19-23 Northerly gale in assaultareas. 13 merchant and auxil-iary vessels and 800-plusminor craft driven aground.Western Mulberry harbour offOmaha Beach damaged be-yond use. All convoy move-ments halted until 21st.
20 French frigate La Surprise se-verely damaged by mine offOmaha Beach.
21 Destroyer HMS Fury minedand beached in Sword area.
23 Coaster Dunvegan Head de-stroyed by artillery fire inSword area.2300: Cruiser HMS Scylla(flagship Eastern TF) da-maged beyond repair by minein Sword area. Norwegian des-troyer Glaisdale and mine-sweeper HMS Persian severe-ly damaged by mine in Goldarea.
24 Destroyer HMS Swift minedand sunk in Sword area;freighters Fort Norfolk andDerrycunihy mined and sunkin Eastern TF area; cruiserHMS Arethusa severely da-maged by air attack.U-971 sunk by destroyersHMCS Haida and HMS Eski-mo, and RAF attack.
25 Bombardment of Cherbourgby Western TF ships includingcruisers HMS Glasgow andEnterprise (clearance sweepby minesweepers and dan-layers of 9th M/S Flotilla).Frigate HMS Goodsondamaged beyond repair by U-984 in mid-Channel.Continued shelling of SwordBeach forces; abandonmentof unloading by all but minorcraft.Operation PLUTO: First pipe-line completed
26 Cherbourg captured by US7th Corps.
27 Corvette HMS Pink damagedbeyond repair by U-boat offBarfleur.
28 US freighter Charles W. Elliotmined and sunk in Juno area.
29 1335: Convoy EMC 17 at-tacked by U-984 which da-mages beyond repair USfreighters James A. Farrell,James A. Treutlin and HGBlasdel; Edward M. Housedamaged.1600: Convoy FMT 22 at-tacked by U-988 which sinksfreighter Empire Portia. U-988sunk by HM ships Duckworth,Essington, Cooke, Domett,and RAF attack.
JULY
1 Sword Beach closed for un-loading due to enemy artilleryfire.
2 LSI(L) Empire Broadsword
mined and sunk in Western TFarea.
3 Official end of Operation Nep-tune on withdrawal of RearAdmiral Kirk USN, Command-er Western TF; naval com-mand assumed by shore HQsin British and US sectors.
5 Millionth man lands in France.Minesweeper HMS Friendshipseverely damaged by mine inGold area.U-390 sunk by HM ships Wan-derer and Tavy.
6 Minesweepers HMS Cato andMagic sunk by midget sub-marines in Sword area.
7 Fighter direction tender FDT216 sunk by air attack in SeineBay.
8 0428: Polish cruiser Dragonbeached after midget subma-rine attack in Sword area (shipbecomes part of Mulberryharbour).0500: Minesweeper HMS Py-lades sunk by midget subma-rine in Sword area.Battleship HMS Rodney andmonitor HMS Roberts engagetargets in and around Caen;RAF bomb Caen. 600 minorcraft damaged in storm (19th-23rd) refloated at spring tide.
18 HMS Balfour sinks U-672.20 Destroyer HMS Isis lost by en-
emy action of unconfirmed na-ture in Sword area. FrigatesHMS St John and Matane da-maged by guided bombs offUshant.
21 Minesweeper HMS Chamoisdamaged beyond repair bymine in Eastern TF area. HMSCurzon and Ekins sink U-212.
24 Destroyer HMS Goathland(acting as assault HQ ship)damaged beyond repair bymine in Eastern TF area.
26 HMS Cooke sinks U-214.30-31 E-boats attack convoy off
Beachy Head, sinking freight-er Samwake and damagingfour others.
31 HMS Starling and Loch Killinsink U-333.
AUGUST
2-3 Germany Navy launches 58midget submarines and 22 ex-plosive motorboats againstEastern TF anchorages; only17 midget submarines return.Destroyer HMS Quorn andtrawler HMS Gairsay sunk bymidget submarines, and anLCT sunk by motorboat.
4 RAF strike on Pauillac sinksGerman minesweepers M271,M325 and M422. HMS Wens-leydale and Stayner sink U-671.
6 German sweepers M263 andM486 with four ships in con-
voy sunk south of St Nazaireby cruiser HMS Bellona anddestroyers HMS Ashanti, HMSTartar, HMCS Haida andHMCS Iroquois. Germanescort SG3 damaged and lat-er sunk by RAF. HMS LochKillin sinks U-736.
8 German minesweepers M366,M367, M428 and M438 sunkby RAF strike off Noirmoutiers.
10 Minesweeper HMS Vestal se-verely damaged by mine offGold Beach.
11 German minesweeper M27mined off Pauillac. U-385 sunkby HMS Starling and RAF.
12 RAF strike off Royan sinksGerman minesweeper M370.
14 German minesweeper M444sunk (probably by mine) inBrest Roads. U-618 sunk byHMS Duckworth, HMS Essington and RAF.
15 German minesweeper M385beached after being damagedoff Sables d'Olonne by cruiserHMS Mauritius and destroyersHMS Ursa and HMCS Iro-quois. U-741 sunk by HMSOrchis.
18 U-621 sunk by HMCS Ottawa,Kootenay and Chaudiere.
19 Falaise Gap closed; Germanevacuation of Normandystarts.
20 U-413 sunk by HMS Wensleydale, Forester and Vidette. U-984 sunk by HMCS Ottawa,Kootenay and Chaudiere.
21 Corvette HMS Orchis minedand beached of Courseulles(total loss). Corvette HMCS Al-berni sunk by U-boat in mid-Channel German destroyerZ23 sunk by RAF at La Pallice.German minesweeper M292sunk by RAF off Le Verdon.
22 Minesweeper HMS Loyaltysunk by U-boat in mid-Channel.
24 German destroyer Z24 andtorpedo-boat T24 sunk byRAF off Le Verdon. HMS Louissinks U-445
25 Minesweeper HMS Gleanerseverely damaged by mine offSword Beach
27 Minesweepers HMS Britomart,Hussar and Salamander mis-taken for German vessels andattacked by RAF in Seine Bay.Britomart and Hussar sunk,Salamander damaged beyondrepair.
31 HMCS Swansea and St Johnsink U-247.
SEPTEMBER
12 Surrender of Le Havre marksthe end of Normandycampaign.
Liberation ... Royal Navy personnel meet French residents ofArromanches. Picture: Imperial War Museum Details supplied by the RN Historical Branch
3N NAVY NEWS, D-DAY SUPPLEMENT. JULY 1994
Options TK7e
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The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Mother at the Drumhead Service on Southsea Commonwhere (left) Mrs Carol Gibbon was the only woman standard bearer - for the Association of Wrens.
4tot
Former shipmates Alt Gardner (left) and John Jacob meet up by chance at the Veterans Centre onSouthsea Common. Portsmouth.
00
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AMPHIBIOUS landings are nota thing of the past. Commodore
Lessons fcRichard Bridges, told RoyalNavy veterans on board HMS
---Unlike wartime, when secrecy is today's Naparamount. today we can praciicefull', our techniques with our allies."said the ('ommodore Amphibiousby Stu Reed on board HMS Fe
Speaking off the Normands coast onthe eve of the 1)-Day, commemoration inFrance he detailed three recent NATO "Landings v.erc enormous then, but soldiers in lnscrncssexercises and the biggest disaster relief seemed less complicated," said 70-sear- ing at speed. The topractice ever held at Portland. That had old Roy Ellis. chairman of the 1,0(X)- train, while we stagedsharpened Fearless's combined land, sea strong association, to Shoreham to meetand air operations capability ready for a "You hada single aim and you did just "We had a big csciwide range of missions from earthquakes that. Communications are better. Now ton which was aand civil evacuations to major hostilities, troops can switch tactically and light Ouistreham (we learn
"These operations can only be success- more effectively at night." I went to a full brielittul if the Admiral and the General under- After months of training at HMS Dun- the ('-in-('. the Armstand each other. donald. Scotland. and battle hardening in
ComplexitySicily and Salerno. Mr Ellis, an RN sub-lieutenant at the time, missed D-Da% be-
Morale tcause of a baseball injury, but went on to "Commanding otli
'I4 caring down the French arni clear mines in Dutch waters with his full picture - evenand keeping them off balance. Admiral motor minesweeper. Later he served in deception bombardni'.inders made a major contribution to the RNR and retired as a lieutenant- booster!"V ilk's success at Quebec. commander. He said that two
Hut the Dardanelles was a brilliant Fred Naylor (70). a sub-lieutenant companies went toticept earned out lamentably. I'rinci- RNVR in 1944, commanded L('T 953. briefed. "We were r
.ill. nothing's changed." "We were attacking on a 50-mile front, back into NewhaserI he vets nodded sagely, and members something unlikely today, weather and the solthe LST and Landing ('raft Associa- "My vessel was straight off the produc- route marches,
lien were impressed at the complexity of tion line. Alter training off Rothesa) "When we re-emlmodern operations. ()ban. l,amlash on Arran. svc' picked up coded en s elope - -- rn
PRINCESSES MEETTHE VETERAN
MEDALS WORN by this veteran caught the eye of PrincessMargaret who was guest of honour at a Royal Garden Partyat Southwick Park,The party, held in atrocious weather on June 4, marked the
planning phase of the Normandy invasion. It was hosted bDefence Secretary Malcolm Rifkind and among the guestswere John and Norma Major, Canadian Prime Minister JeanChretien, US Defence Secretary William Perry and PrinceBernhard of the Netherlands.
After viewing the Map Room, laid out exactly as it was inJune 1944, Princess Margaret was presented with a cere-monial sword by the Captain of HMS Dryad, Capt AndrewRitchie.
--
- and the Princess of Wales.After the Drumhead Service there were veteran encounters for the Princes. Royal,
U
NAVY NEWS. D-DAY SUPPLEMENT. JULY 1994 XXV
!tW.2 9-1
71
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HMS lout~ In positionaft of mine counter-measures vessel HMS Speyduring preparations for theReview of Embarked veter-ans. Left - HMS Active offArromanches where thebeaches were crowded byveterans and sightseers.
turw_.
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told the tX Troops we were going to()uistreham. The soldiers had the unload-r ing drill down to a few minutes but anexceptionally high tide made the beachcrowded - jam-packed with people andequipment.
V "We were stuck there for over an hour.[ being potted at before the men gotashore. The smaller ships took apounding."Wewere expecting 50 per cent casual-
arless tics and the figure wasn't far off that."Modern helicopters could have taken
out enemy, strong points and saved mansto practice unload- lives."ops went south h
Cries for helpdown the cast coastthem.cisc off Littichamp- Ken Tuppen (68) was a Navy tclcgra-dead ringer for phist in LCI(L) Ill at Sword Beach.
later). On June I "on the RI wavelength I could hearg in Portsmouth b- cries for help from ships and the beach-and the RAF. masters. Bodies were floating in the
water. There were ships everywhere youooster
looked. Some were hitting mines."Our port ramp jammed, then it fell
were gi'.cn the off. An 88mm shell wiped out a wholethe Pas de Calais troop of the Suffolk Regiment. There was
What a morale sustained mortar and machine-gun fireRockets ships were letting go with every-
lass later all ships' thing they had. The air was filled withNcwhavcn to be acblack smoke.
to go but put "'We went alongside a destroyer and anbecause of rotten SBA amputated a man's leg. He got theicrs were sent on DSM for that. By nightfall I was back in
England. The Evening Argus was full ofiarkcd I opened a D-Da stuff, but I couldn't y I'd beeninc was 007 - and there."
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Mark of- honour
for 849
-T
CAPITALSALUTE
HMS BELFAST'S guns spoke out again on June 6, thesound of her firing echoing over London.Using harmless pyrotechnics, a volunteer crew of
ratings from HMS President -London Division RNR-fired six simulated shells from the museum shipberthed in the Pool of London.Theevent was witnessed by 130 naval veterans who
had taken part in Operation Neptune. They includedCdv Rex Mouritheld, the ship's gunnery officer on 0-Day, and Capt Richard Tosswill, the ship's executiveofficer at the time.Our pictures show the guns being loaded and (light)
the ship filing.
THESE 0-Day stripes weresported by two Sea Kingairborne early warning air-craft of 849 Naval AirSquadron to mark the re-cent award to the squad-ron of the Normandy 1944
-battle honour.Owing the invasion the
squadron flew GrummanAvenger torpedo bombersfrom RAF Perranporth.Now849 I based at RN air
J' station Culdrose in Corn-wall, and two of theirflights (A and B) are cur-- -rently serving with HMSInvincible and HMS Ark
-Royal respectively.
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XXVI NAVY NEWS, D-DAY SUPPLEMENT, JULY 1994
D-DAY OPERATION NEPTUNE ORDER OF RATTLEEASTERN TASK FORCE WESTERN TASK FORCE
Flagship — HMS Scylla (cruiser, RearAdmiral Sir Philip Vian).
I SWORD BEACHFORCES
HQ: HMS Largs (Rear Admiral A. G.Talbot).
Assault Forces5.1 — HQ Ship HMS Locust, 23 LSTs
including HM LSI Bachaquero, 26 LCTs.13 LCI(L)s.
5.2 — HQ ship HMS Dacres, 34 LCTs.32 LCI(L)s.
5.3 — HQ ship HMS Goathland, HMSGlenearn, ss Empire Battleaxe, ss EmpireBroadsword, ss Empire Cutlass, 43LCTs, 9 LCI(L).
J.4 (part) — ss Maid of Orleans, ssPrinses Astrid.
Minesweepers1st MS Flotilla — Britomart, Gleaner,
Halcyon, Harrier, Hussar, Jason, Sala-mander, Seagull, Speedwell. Attacheddanlayers — Alexander Scott, Colsay,Craftsman, Lord Ashfield. Attached motorlaunches — 3.
15th MS Flotilla — Ardrossan. Bootle.Dunbar, Fort York, Fraserburgh, Llan-dudno, Lyme Regis, Worthing. Attacheddanlayers — Calvay. Dorothy Lambert,James Lay, Niblick. Attached MLs — 4.
132nd Motor M/S Flotilla — 10 MMSs.Gunfire Support
Lawford. LSIs: HMS Invicta, HMCSPrince Henry, HMS Queen Emma, ssCanterbury, ss Duke of Argyll, ss Isle ofThanet. ss Laird's Isle, mv Llangibby Cas-tle, ss Mecklenburg, ss Ulster Monarch.One LC(HQ) and 48 LCTs.
J.2 (8th Canadian Bde) — HQ HMSWaveney. LSIs: HMS Brigadier, HMSDuke of Wellington, HMCS Prince David,ss Biarritz, ss Clan Lamont, ss Isle ofGuernsey, ss Lady of Man, ss Monowai,ss St Holier. One LC(HQ) and 48 LCTs.
FLEET AIR ARM
Third Naval Fighter Wing — 808, 885, 886and 897 Naval Air Squadrons equipped withSpitfires and Seafires (Air Spotting Pool flyingfrom HMS Daedalus, Lee-on-Solenl).
RAF Hawkinge — 854 and 848 NASequipped with Avengers.
RAF Perranporth — 849 and 850 NAS withAvengers and 816 NAS with Swordfish.
RAF Mansion — NAS (Avengers) and 819(Swordfish).
RAF Harrobeer — 838 NAS withSwordlish.
J.3 (9th Canadian Bde) — HQ HMSRoyal Ulsterman. 23 LSTs including HMLSI Tasajera. 36 LCTs. 18 LCI(L)s two ofwhich were Canadian, and 3 LC(Flak).
J.4 in part (48 Cdo RM) — LSIs HMSPrins Albert and ss Princess Margaret. 14LCI(S)s. Landing ship, dock ss Northway.
The following troopships arrived onJune 7: Cheshire, Devonshire, Lanca-shire. The troopship Worcestershirearrived on June 8 and the Longford onJune 25. The train ferry Princess Irisarrived at the end of June.
Close Support Craft7 LC(Gun) each with two 4.7in. guns, 8
LCT(Rocket), 6 LC Support (L) each witha 2-pdr. gun, 6 LC(Flak) each with four 2-pdr. guns and eight 20mm AA guns. Plusembarked self-propelled artillery.
HMS Apollo (minelayer). FDT 13 (LSTas fighter Direction Tender), FDT 217,HMS Plover (minelayer). USS Rockaway(seaplane carrier), and the train ferriesHampton Ferry, Lakehurst, Seatrain Tex-as. Twickenham Ferry; AA ships DouweAukes. Goatfeil. Golden Eagle, Ryde,Sandown. Scawfell, Thames Queen,Whippingham; depot ships included thecruisers HMS Despatch and HMS Ceres.
S in Page III of this supplement HMSlollo was described as a mine-
18th M/S Flotilla — Cockatrice, Hound.Hydra, Loyalty, Onyx, Orestes, Rattle-snake, Ready. Attached danlayers —Doon, Gilsay, Hornbeam, Jude, and 3MLs.
MiscellaneousYacht assigned — Diana II. HM des-
patch vessel — Coronia (arrived June 16).
Flagship — USS Augusta (cruiser.Admiral A. G. Kirk USN).
I OMAHA BEACHFORCE O
HQ — USS Ancon (Rear Admiral J. L.Hall USN).
Assault ForcesForce 0.1 — LSI(L) ss Empire Anvil
(British). Henrico. Samuel Chase.Thomas Jefferson, Thurston.
-Midgets that-led the way
AMONG the smallest ofthe vessels in Opera-tion Neptune were thetwo midget submarinesX20 and X23 which act-ed as navigational bea-cons off Juno andSword Beachesrespectively.
In the main picture thecommanding officer ofX23, Lt George Honour,stands on the casing ashis vessel arrives along-side the HQ ship HMSLargs at 0935 on D-Day,and (inset) as he appearedduring a TV interview aspart of BBC's coverage ofthe commemoration.
Lt Honour and the CO ofX20, Lt Ken Hudspeth, be-gan their training as pilotsof the invasion fleet inMarch 1944.
HazardousTheir hazardous mis-
sion, codenamed Opera-tion Gambit, began asearly as June 2. Towed toa position off the Isle ofWight, the small, wave-tossed submarines madetheir 90-mile trip acrossthe Channel to arrive offthe Normandy beaches byJune 4.
As planned, they fixedtheir marker positions byperiscope then dived tothe sea bed. When dark-ness fell they surfaced —and received a message
that the invasion had beenpostponed 24 hours.
Diving once more thecrew and members of theCombined OperationsPilotage Party on boardpassed another long day intheir cramped vessels byplaying dice and sleeping.
The next night the mid-gets surfaced again tolearn that this time the in-vasion was on. The X-craftset up their 18ft telescopemasts carrying greenlights and other naviga-tional aids.
PraiseSixty-four of the 76
hours of their mission werespent submerged and inhideous weather condi-tions. During the times thecraft were on the surfaceall the occupants of X23were washed off the cas-ing at one time or another,and so much water wasshipped that continualpumping was necessary.
Their feat won the per-sonal praise of AdmiralRamsay who commendedthe "great skill and endur-ance" of the X-craft crews.
Of X23 he said: "Theirreport of proceedings,which was a masterpieceof understatement, readlike the deck log of a sur-face ship in peacetime,and not of a very small andvulnerable submarine car-rying out a hazardousoperation in time of war."
Force 0.2 — ss Empire Javelin (British),Charles Carroll.
Force 0.3 — HMS Oceanway, AnneArundel, Dorothea L. Dix.
Force 0.4 — LSI(S)s HMS Prince Bau-douin. HMS Prince Charles. HMS PrinceLeopold. LSI(H)s ss Ben-My-Cheree, ssAmsterdam, ss Princess Maud.
US Army HQ — Achernar (attack cargoship).
Gunfire SupportBombarding Force C
Battleships — USS Arkansas. USSTexas.
Cruisers — HMS Glasgow. Montcalmand George Leygues (French).
Destroyers — HM ships Melbreak,Talybont and Tanatside, and the US ves-sels Baldwin, Barton, Carmick, Doyle,Emmons, Frankford, Harding, McCook,O'Brien (allocated to Omaha from Utahforce), Satterlee. Thompson.
Reserve — US destroyers Murphy.Nelson, Plunkett.
Minesweepers4th M/S Flotilla — Albury, Elgin. Kellett.
Lydd. Pangbourne. Ross, Saltash, Sel-kirk, Sutton. Attached danlayers —Fuday, Neil Smith, Righto, Thunder(Canadian), and 4 MLs.
31st (Canadian) M/S Flotilla — Blair-more, Caraquet, Cowichan, Fort William,Malpeque, Milltown, Minas, Wasaga.Attached danlayers — Bayfield. GreenHoward. Gunner. Mulgrave (2 RN) and 4MLs.
104th Motor M/S Flotilla — 10 MMSs.167th British Yard M/S Flotilla — 10
BYMSs.Miscellaneous
HM fighter direction tender FDT 216.USS J. Fred Talbott (destroyer, personnelvessel).
• Total number of amphibious forcesassigned to Operation Neptune: 18troopships, 288 MT ships and coasters,78 Liberty stores ships, 122 storescoasters, 10 accommodation ships, 59blockships, 49 tankers and colliers, 136cased petrol tankers, 76 ammunitioncarriers, 18 ammunition supply issuingships, 10 hospital ships and carriers,216 tugs and rescue tugs, 36 mooringand buoy vessels, 42 salvage and wreckdispersal vessels, 9 Mulberry controlvessels, 9 AA craft, 4 survey ships, 6telephone cable ships, 33 PLUTO (Pipe-line Under The Ocean) Force ships, 62smoke-screen trawlers, and 295 miscel-laneous vessels.
HMS Scourge seen from HMS Kelvin during the NormandyCampaign. Picture: Imperial War Museum
FORGOTTEN GENIUS (f™m p*>9«the naval Commander-in-Chieffor the invasion of Normandy.
Stiff resistance was alwaysexpected and it was obviousthat tactical surprise would bedifficult to achieve — so Ram-say concentrated on super-efficiency in the business of de-l iver ing the troops to thebeaches.
Here his supreme talent forplanning came to the fore — inchoosing the right types ofships and developing the newrange of amphibious craft aswell as supervising the trainingof the force.
Accurate navigation to the
beaches was essential — andmidget submarines used as bea-cons provided one innovativesolution.
In tackling the problems ofsupply, concrete Mulberry har-bours were used to form a us-able port and PLUTO, a long,flexible pipeline laid across theChannel, brought over the hugequantities of fuel required.
The success of Ramsay'stechniques was reflected in thenumbers of troops landed —half a million in just over aweek, plus 77,000 vehicles —and their relatively swift ad-vance to liberate France and
the Low Countries.And when after the failure at
Arnhem, a seaborne assault onWalcheren on the banks of theScheldt became necessary toopen up the port of Antwerp,Ramsay was again in overallcontrol. Once again his effortswere crowned with success —though there were many casual-ties among the Royal Marinesand Canadian forces embarked.
He was still at work, organis-ing maritime support of theArmy, when he was killed in anair crash on January 2, 1945 —just before his 62nd birthday.
Ramsay was a strict discipli-
narian, which made him morerespected than beloved by hissubordinates — but without hispassion for order the greatoperations he controlled in thelast years of his career mighteasily have subsided into chaos.
If genius, as Wellington said,could be defined as an infinitecapacity for taking pains, thena genius Ramsay undoubtedlywas in his organisation of themany strands of amphibiouswarfare and in his ability topredict problems.
The draft of a lecture oncombined operations which heprepared for the Royal United
Services Institute is almost asvalid today as it was then. Per-haps the fact that he came froma distinguished Army familyenabled him to have a particu-lar a p p r e c i a t i o n of t h i senvironment.
His orders for OperationNeptune are a classic documentin the history of warfare. TheCommander-in-Chief Ports-mouth afterwards compliment-ed him that "they have of ne-cessity been voluminous, but ifI may presume to say so, soexplicit that their successfulimplementation was assured."
NAVY NEWS, D-DAY SUPPLEMENT, JULY 1994 XXVII
Royal Navy cover for Prime Minister John Major as he arrives for the Beat Retreat Royal Navy cover for a veteran couple attending the Royal Garden Party,ceremony at HMS Excellent on June 4 ...
>r the Beat Retreat Hoyai Navy cover tor a veteran coupie attending me noyai uaraen rany.
They don't care whatthe weatherman says
L E A T H E R conditions could •IHmHi ^BHBHH^^HHBiB^HHiV^^^>"IIIIB"aVHHB^HPM^^BHI11^
A rain of memories for 71-year-old former petty officerJim Rennie (right) and former acting quartermastersergeant Chris Barber (74) as they stroll through thechairs placed for the Drumhead Service on SouthseaCommon.
WEATHER conditions couldnot have been much worse asthe Commemorative weekendbegan. Rain and wind sweptPortsmouth on June 3 and 4,reminiscent of the weatherwhich 50 years ago almost ledto the postponement of D-Day.
But the thousands of veter-ans who had made the pilgri-mage to the South Coast toattend the events, or merelyto witness them, remained un-deterred. A spot of foulweather was of little signifi-cance to those who had faceda more lethal storm in June1944.
On Sunday, June 5, theirfortitude was rewarded whena D-Day "window" of blue skyopened up to bathe the Drum-head Service and Review ofEmbarked Veterans in a coolbut glorious sunlight.
With a little help from their friends disabled veterans found no trouble in gettingaround for the Drumhead Service, while (below) a break in the bad weather allowedthis line-up for the camera. The standard bearers are (from left) Les Stafford, StanTrueman, Stan Skippings and Nick Townsend.
France and America. Also takingpart were the RM Corps of Drumsand the Queen's Colour Squadron ofthe RAF.
AEM Douglas Gorman, celebratinghis 19th birthday as the button boy inthe Window Ladder display, re-ceived the Queen's Shilling from theQueen Mother.
QUEEN Elizabeth the Queen Mothermeets veterans who braved thedownpour on Saturday, June 4, toattend the ceremony of Beat Retreatat HMS Excellent.
Also attending were the PrincessRoyal and Cdr Tim Lawrence.
Music was provided by bandsfrom the Royal Marines, Canada,
XXVIII NAVY NEWS, D-DAY SUPPLEMENT, JULY 1994
CONCORDESALUTE
CONCORDE passes overPlymouth Hoe as part ofa fly-past by more than120 aircraft. Among theplanes were Sea Harri-ers, Tornados, F111s,MiGs and a Spitfire.
Below the supersonicairliner is the Type 22 fri-gate HMS Sheffieldwhich fired a gun saluteto start Plymouth's com-memorative Parade of
Sail. More than 200 mili-tary, commercial and lei-sure vessels took part inthe spectacle in Plym-outh Sound.
The Lord Mayor, CllrWalter Ainsworth, tookthe salute with Flag Offi-cer Plymouth, Vice Ad-miral Sir Roy Newman,and the Commodore ofthe Royal Western YachtClub, Vice Admiral SirRobert Gerken.
Picture: Sgt Rick Brewer RAF
LEFT: American President BillClinton gets the point as thePrincess Royal and Cdr TimLawrence explain the navalevolutions they are watchingfrom HMY Britannia.
BELOW: With caps off andstanding to attention the navalpersonnel on board HMS Ed-inburgh honour those whodied at sea during the Nor-mandy campaign. Amongthose lining the side as awreath is cast into the sea isFlag Officer Surface Flotilla,Vice Admiral Mike Boyce, whoflew his flag in the Edinburghas leading officer of Britain'sseaborne commemoration.
BOTTOM: The view from HMSEdinburgh as a line of inter-national warships, with HMSAvenger in the foreground,pays homage in mid-Channel.
Pictureteam
THE Royal Navy's pho-tographic team cover-ing the D-Day commem-orations were: WO PaulW e l l i n g s , CPO AshAmliwala , CPO TelHarding, CPO SteveNewbury, PO AndyChetty, PO Paul Cowpe,PO Paul McCabe, POFez Parker, PO JeffRees, PO Dizzy de Sil-va, PO Iggy Smith, LADave Coombs, LA GaryDavies, LA Steve Lewis,LA Tony Power, LA Ter-ry Seward, LW PennyTaylor, LA Steve Wood,and Stu Reed.
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