List of Allied warships in the Normandy Landings

This is a list of warships which took part in the Normandy Landings on June 6th, 1944.

Battleships

Seven battleships took part: three British and four US:
* USS Arkansas, BB-33, eastern Omaha Beach (Arkansas Class, 26,100 tons, main armament: 12 - 12.5 inch guns) primarily in support of the US 29th Infantry Division.
* USS Texas, BB-35, western Omaha Beach (New York Class, 27,000 tons, main armament: 10 - 14.45 inch guns, Flagship of Rear Admiral C.F. Bryant) primarily in support of the US 1st Infantry Division.
* USS New York, BB-34, Utah Beach (New York Class, 27,000 tons, main armament: 10 - 14.45 inch guns).
* USS Nevada, BB-36, Utah Beach (damaged and beached to avoid sinking at Pearl Harbor, Nevada Class, 29,000 tons, main armament: 10 - 14.45 inch guns).
* HMS Nelson (1925, Rodney Class, 38,000 tons, main armament: 9 - 16 inch guns).
* HMS Ramillies (1915, Royal Sovereign Class, 33,500 tons, main armament: 8 - 15.42 inch gun).
* HMS Warspite (1913, Queen Elizabeth Class, 35,000 tons, main armament 8 - 15.42 inch guns).

Cruisers

Twenty-five cruisers (19 British and Commonwealth, 3 US, 2 Free French, 1 Polish and 1 Dutch), including:
* HMS "Ajax"
* HMS "Arethusa",
* HMS "Argonaut"
* USS "Augusta" (Flagship of Rear Admiral Kirk - Lt. General Omar Bradley embarked)
* HMS "Belfast" (Flagship of Rear Admiral Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton)
* HMS "Capetown"
* HMS "Ceres" (Flagship of U.S. Service Force)
* 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)
* USS "Tuscaloosa"

Destroyers and escorts

135 ships (eighty-five British and Dominion, 39 US, 7 Free French and 7 other Allied):
* HMCS "Algonquin" (Canadian)
* USS Amesbury"
* USS "Baldwin"
* USS "Barton"
* HMS "Bleasdale"
* HMS "Boadicea" (torpedoed and sunk 13 June)
* USS "Carmick"
* HMS "Cattistock"
* USS "Corry" (sunk during the invasion)
* HMS "Cottesmore"
* USS "Doyle"
* HMS "Eglinton"
* HMS "Faulknor"
* USS "Frankford"
* HMS "Fury" (mined 21 June and not repaired)
* HMS "Glaisdale"
* HMS "Grenville"
* USS "Harding"
* USS "Hobson"
* HMS "Jervis"
* HMS "Kelvin"
* HMS "Kempenfelt"
* HMCS "Kitchener" (Canadian)
* ORP "Krakowiak", (Polish, former HMS "Silverton")
* "La Combattante" (Free French, former HMS "Haldon")
* USS "Laffey"
* USS "McCook"
* HMS "Melbreak"
* HMS "Middleton"
* USS "Murphy"
* USS "O'Brien"
* HMS "Pytchley"
* USS "Satterlee"
* HMS "Saumarez"
* HMS "Scorpion"
* HMS "Scourge"
* HMS "Serapis"
* HMCS "Sioux" (Canadian)
* ORP "Slazak" (Polish)
* HMS "Stevenstone"
* HNoMS "Stord" (Norwegian)
* HNoMS "Svenner" (Norwegian, hit by German torpedo and sunk off Normandy at dawn, 6 June) [Investigations indicate that the "Svenner" may have been hit by an early version of a German anti-shipping missile (possibly a Fritz X, since there is little indication that German MTBs came at firing range and no accounts of German naval activity in the invasion area itself have been recorded. There have also been reports of German bombers releasing long, torpedo-like bombs, but from a very long distance, no way near firing-range. The most likely, though, is that it was hit by a torpedo, but accounts point in either direction.]

* HMS "Swift" (mined and sunk 24 June 1944 off Normandy)
* HMS "Talybont"
* HMS "Tanatside"
* USS "Thomson"
* HMS "Ulster"
* HMS "Ulysses"
* HMS "Undaunted"
* HMS "Undine"
* HMS "Urania"
* HMS "Urchin"
* HMS "Ursa"
* HMS "Venus"
* HMS "Verulam"
* HMS "Vigilant"
* HMS "Virago"
* HMS "Wrestler" (damaged by a mine and not repaired)

Other warships

508 ships (352 British, 154 US and 2 other Allied):
* USS "Bayfield", attack transport
* HMS "Centurion", old battleship sunk as a blockship in "Gooseberry" breakwater
* "Courbet", Free Naval French Forces, old battleship sunk as a blockship in "Gooseberry" breakwater
* USS "Charles Carroll" attack transport
* HNLMS "Flores", Dutch gunboat
* HNLMS "Soemba", Dutch gunboat
* HMS "Lawford", frigate (bombed and sunk}
* HMS "Roberts", monitor
* HMS "Bulolo", H.Q. ship The British 9th and 159th minesweeping flotillas and U.S. 7th Minesweeping Squadron provided minesweeping protection. A distant anti-submarine screen to the operation was provided by HMS "Onslow", "Offa", "Onslaught", "Oribi", "Melbreak" and "Brissenden". Additional protection from E-boats was provided by various Motor Gun Boat flotillas.

Notes and references