Ahoy mates. D-Day is upon us. Let us take time to remember all the brave souls that fought and died that day.

Here is a brief report on the naval side of Operation Neptune.

Operation Neptune was the term for the naval side of Operation Overlord and the Allied invasion of Normandy, such as transporting the soldiers from England, landing them, and providing fire-support. Neptune took place on Gold Beach, Juno Beach, Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sword Beach and Utah Beach. Neptune began on June 6, 1944 and was considered complete on June 30, 1944.

The primary ground-force participants in the landings that began Operation Neptune were nine divisions drawn from the American, British and Canadian armies. During subsequent weeks more units were landed as reinforcements.
The Invasion Fleet was drawn from eight different navies, comprising 6,939 vessels (1,213 warships, 4,126 transport vessels (landing ships and landing craft) and 1,600 support vessels which included a number of merchant vessels).
The overall commander of the Allied Naval Expeditionary Force, providing close protection and bombardment at the beaches, was Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay who had been responsible for the planning of the invasion of North Africa in 1942 and one of the two fleets carrying troops for the invasion of Sicily in the following year. The Allied Naval Expeditionary Force was divided into two Naval Task Forces: Western (Rear-Admiral Alan G Kirk) and Eastern (Rear-Admiral Sir Philip Vian – another veteran of the Italian landings).
The warships provided cover for the transports against the enemy whether in the form of surface warships, submarines or as an aerial attack and give support to the landings through shore bombardment. These ships included the Allied Task Force "O".

Allied warships
Battleships
Six battleships took part: three British and three US:
USS Arkansas, HMS Nelson, USS Nevada, HMS Ramillies, USS Texas (Flagship of Rear Admiral C.F. Bryant) and the HMS Warspite.

Cruisers
Twenty-three cruisers (17 British and Commonwealth, 3 US, 2 Free French, 1 Polish and 1 Dutch), including:
HMS Ajax, HMS Arethusa, HMS Argonaut, USS Augusta, HMS Belfast (Flagship of Rear Admiral Dalrymple-Hamilton), HMS Danae, HMS Diadem, HMS Durban (used as a blockship in "Gooseberry" breakwater), ORP Dragon (Polish, damaged in July and then used as a blockship in "Gooseberry" breakwater), HMS Emerald, HMS Enterprise, HMS Frobisher, Georges Leygues (Free French), HMS Glasgow, HMS Mauritius (Flagship of Rear Admiral Patterson), Montcalm (Free French, Flagship of Rear Admiral Jaujard), HMS Orion, USS Quincy, HMS Scylla (Admiral Vian's flagship, mined and seriously damaged, out of action until after the war)
HNMLS Sumatra (Dutch, decommissioned due to crew shortages and losing her guns to HNMLS Flores and Soemba, used as blockship in"Gooseberry" breakwater) and the USS Tuscaloosa.

Rounding out the fleet were 135 Destroyers & escorts (eighty-five British and Dominion, 39 US, 7 Free French and 7 other Allied.)
The British 9th and 159th minesweeping flotillas and U.S. 7th Minesweeping Squadron provided minesweeping protection.
An anti-submarine screen to the force was provided by HMS Onslow, Offa, Onslaught, Oribi, Melbreak and Brissenden.

A small part of this operation was Operation Gambit, when British midget submarines (X-Craft) supplied navigation beacons to guide landing craft.

Naval screen
An important part of Neptune was the isolation of the invasion routes and beaches from any intervention by the German Navy – the Kriegsmarine. The responsibility for this was assigned to the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. There were two principal perceived German naval threats. The first was surface attack by German capital ships from anchorages in Scandinavia and the Baltic. This didn't materialise since, by mid-1944, the battleships were damaged and the cruisers were used for training and the Kriegsmarine's fuel allocation had been cut by a third. The inactivity may also have resulted from Hitler's disillusion with the Kriegsmarine. In any case, the Royal Navy had strong forces available to repel any attempts and the Kiel Canal area was mined (Operation Bravado), as a precaution.
The second perceived major threat was that of U-boats transferred from the Atlantic. Air surveillance from three escort carriers and RAF Coastal Command maintained a cordon well west of Land's End. Few U-boats were spotted and most of the escort groups were moved nearer to the landings.
Further efforts were made to seal the Western Approaches against German naval forces from Brittany and the Bay of Biscay. Minefields were laid (Operation Maple) to force enemy ships away from air protection where they could be attacked by Allied destroyer flotillas. Again, enemy activity was minor, but on 4 July four German destroyers were either sunk or forced back to Brest.
The Straits of Dover were closed by minefields, naval and air patrols, radar, and effective bombing raids on enemy ports. Local German naval forces were small, but could be reinforced from the Baltic. Their efforts, however, were concentrated on protecting the Pas de Calais against expected landings there and no attempt was made to force the blockade.
The screening operation destroyed few German ships, but the objective was achieved. There were no U-boat attacks against Allied shipping and few attempts by surface ships.

Naval bombardment
Warships provided supporting fire for the land forces. During Neptune, it was given a high importance, using ships from battleships to destroyers and landing craft. For example, the Canadians at Juno beach had fire support many times greater than they had had at Dieppe in 1942. The old battleships HMS Ramillies and Warspite and the monitor HMS Roberts were used to suppress shore batteries east of the Orne; cruisers targeted shore batteries at Ver-sur-Mer and Moulineaux; eleven destroyers for local fire support. In addition, there were modified landing-craft: eight Landing Craft Gun, each with two 4.7-inch guns; four Landing Craft Support with automatic cannon; eight Landing Craft Tank (Support), each with a single salvo of 1,100 5-inch rockets; eight Landing Craft Assault (Hedgerow), each with twenty-four bombs intended to detonate beach mines prematurely. Twenty-four Landing Craft Tank carried Priest self-propelled howitzers which also fired while they were on the run-in to the beach. Similar arrangements existed at other beaches.
Fire support went beyond the suppression of shore defences overlooking landing beaches and was also used to break up enemy concentrations as the troops moved inland. This was particularly noted in German reports: Field-Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt reported that
... The enemy had deployed very strong Naval forces off the shores of the bridgehead. These can be used as quickly mobile, constantly available artillery, at points where they are necessary as defence against our attacks or as support for enemy attacks. During the day their fire is skillfully directed by . . . plane observers, and by advanced ground fire spotters. Because of the high rapid-fire capacity of Naval guns they play an important part in the battle within their range. The movement of tanks by day, in open country, within the range of these naval guns is hardly possible.

Although many references state that Operation Neptune refers to the naval operations in support of Operation Overlord, the most reliable references make it clear that Overlord refers to the establishment of a large-scale lodgement in Normandy, and that Neptune refers to the landing phase; i.e. Neptune was the first part of Overlord. According to the D-day museum:
"The armed forces use codenames to refer to the planning and execution of specific military operations. Operation Overlord was the codename for the Allied invasion of north-west Europe. The assault phase of Operation Overlord was known as Operation Neptune. (...) Operation Neptune began on D-Day (6 June 1944) and ended on 30 June 1944. By this time, the Allies had established a firm foothold in Normandy. Operation Overlord also began on D-Day, and continued until Allied forces crossed the River Seine on 19 August 1944."

To expand on the naval operation "Operation Neptune" the Western Task Force.

During the night of 5th/6th June Force U (Rear-Adm Moon on the HQ ship Bayfield) and Force O (Rear-Adm Hall on the HQ ship Ancon) approach 'Utah' and 'Omaha'. The convoy's consist of 16 attack transports, 1 LSD, 106 LST's, 1 LSR, 15 LCC's, 93 LCI's, 350 LCT's, 34 LCS's, 94 LCA's, 189 LCVP's, 38 LCS(S)s, 54 LCP's and for fire support 9 LCG's, 11 LCF's, 14 LCT(R)s, 2 LCS(M)s and 36 LCS(S)s.

The support force for 'Utah' comprises Force A (Rear-Adm Deyo) with USS Nevada, HMS Erebus, USS Tuscaloosa, USS Quincy, HMS Hawkins, HMS Black Prince and HMS Enterprise.The Dutch gunboat Soemba, the destroyers USS Hobson, USS Fitch, USS Forrest, USS Corry, USS Butler Shubrick, USS Herndon and USS Gherardi plus the destroyer escorts USS Bates and USS Rich.

The support force for 'Omaha' comprises Force C (Rear-Adm Bryant) with USS Texas, USS Arkansas, HMS Glasgow, the French cruisers Montcalm and Georges Leygues plus the destroyers USS McCook, USS McCormick, USS Doyle, USS Baldwin, USS Harding, USS Satterlee, USS Thompson, USS Emmons, HMS Melbreak, HMS Tanatside and HMS Talybont

The following are available as a reserve force for the 'Western Task Force' HMS Nelson, HMS Bellona plus destroyers USS Somers, USS Davis and USS Jouett plus the French frigates La Surprise and La Decouverte.

On 6th June 23250 troops landed in 'Utah' and 34250 troops landed in the 'Omaha' sectors.

I'll add the Eastern Task Force tomorrow.

Very nice break down of the forces Luciano.
I'm looking forward to the Western Task Force.

Thanks for posting this Kenny. I have been watching Band of Brothers this past week and that always leaves me with a profound respect for what these men must have gone through 64 years ago.

Cheers,
Jim

Hey all,
Good article Gator.I also have "band of Brothers",great film and it does give you an idea what things were like back then.

You're welcome guys.

One of the more interesting stories of D-Day was of the US destroyers that got in a gun duel with the German artillery. The tin cans push up as far as they could and slugged it out in support of the ground troops.

Here are some awesome photos and paintings from the US Navy.

D-Day

Ok now for the Eastern Task Force.

Force G (Gold) (Commodore Douglas-Pennant on the HQ ship Bulolo), Force J (Juno) ( Commodore Oliver on the HQ ship Hilary) and Force S (Sword) (Rear-Adm Talbot on the HQ ship Largs) approach Gold, Juno and Sword. The convoys consist of 37 LSI, 130 LST, 2 LSR, 1 LSD, 11 LCC, 116 LCI, 39 LCI(S), 487 LCT, 66 LCS, 408 LCA, 73 LCS(S), 90 LCP and 10 LCP(S).
For fire support there are 16 LCG(L), 22 LCT(R), 14 LCS(L), 24 LCS(M), 18 LCF, 45 LCA(H) and 103 LCT with armament.

The support force for Gold is Force K (Capt Longley-Cook) consisting HMS Argonaut, HMS Orion, HMS Ajax and HMS Emerald, the Dutch gunboat Flores plus the destroyers HMS Grenville, HMS Ulster, HMS Ulysses, HMS Undaunted, HMS Undine, HMS Urania, HMS Urchin, HMS Ursa, HMS Jervis, HMS Cattistock, HMS Cottesmore, HMS Pytchley and the Polish destroyer Krakowiak.

The support force for Juno is Force E (Rear-Adm Dalrymple-Hamilton) comprising HMS Belfast, HMS Diadem and the destroyers HMS Faulknor, HMS Fury, HMS Kempenfelt, HMS Venus, HMS Vigilant, HMCS Algonquin, HMCS Sioux, HMS Stevenstone, HMS Bleasdale, the Norwegian Glaisdale and the French La Combattanta.

The support force for Sword is Force D (Rear-Adm Patterson) comprising HMS Warspite, HMS Ramillies, HMS Roberts (monitor), HMS Mauritius, HMS Arethusa, HMS Frobisher, HMS Danae and the Polish cruiser Dragon plus the destroyers HMS Saumarez, HMS Scorpion, HMS Scourge, HMS Serapis, HMS Swift, HMS Verulam, HMS Virago, HMS Kelvin, HMS Middleton, HMS Eglinton, the Norwegian Stord and Svenner and the Polish Slazak.

Six destroyers, four sloops, eight frigates, seventeen corvettes and twenty one trawlers are deployed to escort the G, J and S convoys. HMS Rodney and HMS Sirius form the reserve for the 'Eastern Task Force'

On the 6th of June 24970 troops landed at Gold, 21400 troops landed at Juno and 28845 troops landed in the Sword sector.

The follow-up wave and covering forces will be added tomorrow.

Ciao
Luciano

Don't forget the US Coast Guard! I gave a speech about a local (to Seattle) man wednesday who captained ]LCI(L)-95 at Normandy.

A lot of the landing craft coxwains were Coasties too.

A lot of the LCVPs in general were crewed in total by the USCG... so more than just the COX.

Well sorry for the delay, got tied up with work - The Follow-up wave and covering force.

The first follow-up wave is escorted by:

Force B (Commodore Edgar) comprising the destroyers USS Rodman, USS Ellyson, USS Hambleton, HMS Boadicea, HMS Volunteer, HMS Vimy, HMS Brissenden, HMS Wensleydale and the corvettes HMS Azalea, HMS Bluebell and HMCS Kitchener are deployed in the West while:

Force L (Rear-Adm Parry) comprising the destroyer HMS Cotswold, the escort destroyer HMS Vivacious, the frigates HMS Chelmer and HMS Halsted plus the corvettes HMS Clematis, HMS Godetia, HMS Mignonette, HMS Narcissus and HMS Oxlip together with three A/S trawlers 49 LST, 19 LCI(L) and 53 LCT(3) are deployed to the East.

The Western Channel covering force consists of the destroyers HMS Tartar, HMS Ashanti, HMCS Haida, HMS Eskimo, HMS Javelin, HMCS Huron and the Polish Blyskawica and Piorun, a group of frigates and eight groups of coastal forces with MTB/PT's and MGB's.

The Eastern covering force is undertaken by the destroyers HMS Onslow, HMS Onslaught, HMS Offa, HMS Oribi, HMS Obedient, HMS Orwell, HMS Isis and HMS Impulsive plus seven groups of coastal forces.

In all the total number of naval vessels employed is seven battleships, two monitors, 23 cruisers, three gunboats, 105 destroyers and 1073 smaller ships add to this the 3467 heavy bombers, 1645 medium, light and torpedo bombers, 5409 fighters and 2316 transports deployed by the airforces.
To guard against the U-boat threat No.19 Group RAF Coastal Command is reinforced and the following are deployed under C-in-C Western Approaches, the escort carriers HMS Vindex, HMS Tracker and HMS Activity, three destroyer groups and seven frigate escort groups in overlapping patrols

The Germans.
On the 6th of June the German navy had five torpedo boats, 34 S-boats (5 non-operational), 163 minesweepers and motor minesweepers, 57 patrol boats and 42 gun carriers in the Channel area.
While on the Atlantic coast from Brest to Bayonne the following were available five destroyers, one torpedo boat, 146 minesweepers and motor minesweepers and 59 patrol boats.

The U-boat action will be added shortly.
Ciao
Luciano