The Strange Tanks That Helped Win D Day

bbc.com ^ | June 6, 2016 | Stephen Dowling & Nigel Hawtin

[Iron Munro]

When allied forces landed on the Normandy beaches on D-Day, they did so alongside a fleet of bizarre tanks with very special roles – brought into life by an eccentric British commander.

On 19 August 1942, Allied armies put their plan for an invasion of Occupied Europe to the ultimate test – by landing troops on the beaches and trying to capture a French port.

[wally_bert]

Necessity is the mother of invention.

[tumblindice]

The Brits called them “Funnies”.

[Timocrat]

what about the “Rhinos” for cutting through the hedgerows in Normandy.

[mad_as_he$$]

The Sherman DD was a disaster. Most crews drown in the sea.

[Roccus]

what about the “Rhinos” for cutting through the hedgerows in Normandy.

IIRC, those started out as DIY field adaptations. Necessity is the mother of invention.

[mad_as_he$$]

As I recall the Rinos were a field engineered solution that came after D-day.

[Roccus]

LOL

“field engineered solution” is a much more eloquent discription than mine.

[LS]

The “ducks,” or tanks that were to float ashore with skirts, only worked in relatively calm water. Many of them on D-Day went into the water and went straight to the bottom. The crews insisted on going anyway, knowing they were needed ashore.

[Timocrat]

IIRC, those started out as DIY field adaptations.

You're right . It was only after D day when the Allies got into the bocage country and tanks were getting hit in their " soft underbelly" that the Rhinos got built.

[tumblindice]

They covered arc welders and Shermans with tents so they could work `round the clock and welded steel `teeth’ to the fronts of the Shermans so the tanks could cut through the hedgerows.
The Germans had our guys channeled into fields of fire. (Something like San Jose police and Trump rally participants.)

[MNJohnnie]

Those came after D-Day

[MNJohnnie]

The DDs worked fine and helped clear the beaches everywhere but Omaha. At Omaha the tide and weather conditions were wrong so that all the DDs got swamped.

[DUMBGRUNT]

Early AVLBs and M88s, and much more!

[sdpatriot]

awesome post thank you!

Dad was in a hospital on D-day so missed going in with his fellow paratroopers. he went in later and fought and was wounded in the battle of the bulge.... D-day was always a solemn and respected day in our home..... God Bless those amazingly brave young men......

[Enchante]

Not entirely accurate.... the DDs off Omaha Beach were indeed a disaster because they were launched 3 miles out in high (6 foot) seas. On Sword and Utah beaches there was some success. Overall, a majority of the DDs that were launched at sea made it to shore. although with a fearsome casualty rate.

DD (Duplex Drive) Sherman Swimming Tank

Ten tank battalions were distributed among British, Canadian, and American forces for the D-Day assault on Normandy. On Sword, and Utah Beaches, the majority of the DD tanks successfully swam to shore. On Gold Beach the tanks were brought directly to the shore by landing craft due to high seas. On Juno Beach, only some of the tanks were launched because of high seas. But on Omaha Beach, 27 of the 29 DD tanks sank at sea in six foot waves, after being launched three miles from the beach.

In the entire D-day operation, 290 DD tanks were used. Out of those, 120 were launched at sea, for which at least 42 sank. Approximately 140 DD tanks were launched in very shallow water or directly on the shore. The American DD tanks suffered 38% loss due to sinking, versus the British and Canadian which lost 31% due to sinking. The difference was that the American losses were all concentrated in one battalion.2

Over-all, the DD tank was considered the most successful of all the specialist tanks used during the Normandy landings. It was used used again in the invasion of southern France, the crossing of the Rhine in Germany, the crossing of the West Sheldt in the Netherlands, the crossing of the Elb in central Germany, and on the Italian Front.

[archy]

The Sherman DD was a disaster. Most crews drown in the sea.

At Omaha Beach, yes. The seas were choppier there, and a cowardly Navy ship commander had the tanks sent out from far enough back that he and his ship would be in less danger.

At Utah it was VERY different: the 70th Armored battalion was attached to the 8th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division, and most of their DD swimming Shermans made it- some were lost, but not all, and the 70th Armor hit the wrong beach right alongside the troops who'd come to shore in the wrong place. Even better: among the first 70th Armored tanks ashore were their C Company bulldozer tanks, who set to burying German mortar and machinegun positions under tons of sand, saving their bog and coax machinegun and main gun ammo for more interesting targets...like antitank gun positions. The 70th's A Compant lost four Shermans when their LCT hit a mine, but B and C Companies were essentially intact. The battalion's D Company, equipped with highspeed M5 light tanks, didn't land until H-Hour + 260 hours; their mission was to hook up with the undersupplied 101 Airborne's paratroopers and resupply and reinforce- not *relieve* or *rescue* them. On D-Day+2 the medium tank companies assisted the 8th Infantry Regiment consolidated the beachhead by clearing the pockets of German resistance in and around Ste. Mère Église and linked up with the 82nd Airborne Division; this is the part of the reason the 70th is the most decorated tank battalion in the US Army, and has sometimes been unofficially refereed to as the 70th Armored Battalion [Airborne].

Additionally: direct naval gun support was better at Utah, two destroyers nearly grounding their vessels in order to get in close and dump 5-inch [122mm] direct fire into the German positions.

70th Armor's DD Shermans going ashore at Utah Beach, 06 June 1944. Not quite all of them made it.

[Iron Munro]

Dad was in a hospital on D-day so missed going in with his fellow paratroopers. he went in later and fought and was wounded in the battle of the bulge.... D-day was always a solemn and respected day in our home..... God Bless those amazingly brave young men...... Thanks for your comments.

[B4Ranch]

ping

[archy]

ping

Thanks, pal. See #17 above.