France 44
- Submitted by: coniston1234
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- Category: History
- Date Submitted: 04/15/2014 12:51 PM
- Pages: 9
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As dawn broke on June 6, 1944, the Allied invasion fleet became visible crossing the choppy waters of the English Channel to France. None of those who took part in D-Day, whether soldier, sailor, or airman, would ever forget the sight. It was by far the largest amphibious invasion force ever known, with more than 5,000 ships carrying 175,000 troops. The view from the air was breathtaking. Many pilots said later that the sea was packed so full of ships that it almost looked as if you could walk to France.
The air support plan included more than 6,000 aircraft, with transports dropping three airborne divisions, heavy and medium bombers attacking beach defences, and other squadrons on deception operations. Typhoon and P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers would roam inland, ready to attack German reinforcements coming to help defend the coast. Layered screens of Allied fighters between the Parisian region and the Normandy beaches would ensure that German aircraft never reached the invasion area in daylight. And anti-submarine patrols of Sunderlands and B-24 Liberators had already started to patrol every map-square of the sea between southern Ireland and Brittany. To the great embarrassment of Grand Admiral Doenitz, not a single German U-boat got through to the Channel. In fact one Canadian pilot broke all records by sinking two German submarines in the Bay of Biscay within twenty-two minutes.
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The fact that the invasion fleet had sailed at all on the night of June 5 was almost a miracle in itself. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allied supreme commander, had faced a terrible dilemma. On June 2 his meteorologists had warned of a bad storm. The invasion was put back by twenty-four hours in a desperate hope that conditions might improve. Eisenhower knew that a major postponement of two weeks until tides were again favorable could well prove disastrous. To disembark all those soldiers from their landing ships and then re-embark them later would have...
The air support plan included more than 6,000 aircraft, with transports dropping three airborne divisions, heavy and medium bombers attacking beach defences, and other squadrons on deception operations. Typhoon and P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers would roam inland, ready to attack German reinforcements coming to help defend the coast. Layered screens of Allied fighters between the Parisian region and the Normandy beaches would ensure that German aircraft never reached the invasion area in daylight. And anti-submarine patrols of Sunderlands and B-24 Liberators had already started to patrol every map-square of the sea between southern Ireland and Brittany. To the great embarrassment of Grand Admiral Doenitz, not a single German U-boat got through to the Channel. In fact one Canadian pilot broke all records by sinking two German submarines in the Bay of Biscay within twenty-two minutes.
Hide Full Essay
The fact that the invasion fleet had sailed at all on the night of June 5 was almost a miracle in itself. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allied supreme commander, had faced a terrible dilemma. On June 2 his meteorologists had warned of a bad storm. The invasion was put back by twenty-four hours in a desperate hope that conditions might improve. Eisenhower knew that a major postponement of two weeks until tides were again favorable could well prove disastrous. To disembark all those soldiers from their landing ships and then re-embark them later would have...