Below is a list of ships responsible for bombarding targets at Utah Beach as part of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, the opening day of Operation Overlord. This force, code-named "Bombardment Group A", and commanded by Rear Admiral Morton Deyo, was a group of eighteen warships assigned to support the amphibious landings on Utah Beach on June 6, 1944 ("D-Day"); this was the opening day of Operation Overlord, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II.
It was part of US Navy Force U, which consisted of 865 ships under Rear Admiral Don P. Moon.[1] This was in turn part of the Western Naval Task Force, under Admiral Alan G Kirk.[2]
| Name | Type | National service | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | Battleship | US Navy | Captain P. M. Rhea[3] |
| Erebus | Monitor | Royal Navy | Captain J. S. Colquhoun[3] |
| Hawkins | Heavy cruiser | Royal Navy | Captain J. W. Josselyn[3] |
| Quincy | Heavy cruiser | US Navy | Captain E. M. Senn[4] |
| Tuscaloosa | Heavy cruiser | US Navy | Captain J. B. Waller; flagship of Rear Admiral Morton Deyo[3] |
| Black Prince | Light cruiser | Royal Navy | Captain D. M. Lees[3] |
| Enterprise | Light cruiser | Royal Navy | Captain H. T. Grant[3] |
| Soemba | Gunboat | Netherlands | Lt. Cmdr. H. H. Propper[3] |
| Butler | Destroyer | US Navy | Cmdr. M. Matthews[5] |
| Corry | Destroyer | US Navy | Lt. Cmdr. G. Hoffman[3] |
| Fitch | Destroyer | US Navy | Cmdr. K. Walpole[3] |
| Forrest | Destroyer | US Navy | Cmdr. Letts[3] |
| Gherardi | Destroyer | US Navy | Cmdr. M. Curtin[5] |
| Herndon | Destroyer | US Navy | Cmdr. G. Moore[3] |
| Hobson | Destroyer | US Navy | Lieutenant K. Loveland[3] |
| Shubrick | Destroyer | US Navy | Lt. Cmdr. W. Blenman[3] |
| Bates | Destroyer escort | US Navy | Lt. Cmdr. H. Wilmerding[5] |
| Rich | Destroyer escort | US Navy | Lt. Cmdr. E. Michel[5] |
| Hotham | Frigate | Royal Navy | A/Lt.Cdr. Sydney Ayles[6] |
| Tyler | Frigate | Royal Navy | Lt. Christopher H. Rankin[7] |
Citations
edit- ^ Balkoski 2005, pp. 64–65.
- ^ Churchill 1951, p. 594.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Balkoski 2005, p. 344.
- ^ "Quincy III (CA-71)". Naval History and Heritage Command, US Navy. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d Balkoski 2005, p. 345.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Hotham (K 583)". U-boat.net. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Tyler (K 576)". U-boat.net. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
Sources
edit- Balkoski, Joseph (2005). Utah Beach: The Amphibious Landing and Airborne Operations on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-0144-1.
- Churchill, Winston (1951) [1948]. Closing the Ring. The Second World War. Vol. V. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 396150.