A German pilot abandons his Linse explosive motor boat. In theory it would now be radio controlled from a control boat following close behind, who would pick up the pilot. In practice, these boats were virtual suicide weapons used in the Battle of Normandy.
The Linse was one of a number of single manned weapons developed in 1943 and 1944 that were rushed to Normandy in the wake of the D-Day landings. Another was the Neger, a tiny submarine actually made from a torpedo, with an armed torpedo slung underneath it. Image
The Neger couldn’t dive – it’s Perspex dome just broke the surface. A slightly larger version, the Marder, eventually replaced it at Normandy. The stretched upper torpedo had space for a diving tank, allowing it to submerge. 📷BillyHill Image
Operating from Le Havre, these three weapons were used in a number of mass attacks against the Allied anchorages off the Normandy beaches. The first, on the night of 25/26 June was a fiasco. 9 Linse and 8 control boats failed to find any targets and all had to beach themselves.
The night of 5/6 July saw 26 Negers attack the Allied defensive 'Trout line' east of Sword with more success. 2 Auk class minesweepers, HMS Cato and Magic, were sunk with 51 lives lost. But 12 Negers failed to return.📷Auk class USS Chief, Naval History &Heritage Command 96996 Image
On the night of 2/3 August, a combined attack believed to involve 32 Linse and 50 Marder sank the destroyer HMS Quorn and minesweeper HMS Gairsay, whilst a liberty ship and a freighter were both badly damaged. 130 of Quorn's crew alone were lost. 📷IWM A7063 Image
In their final attack of that night, a wave of Linse powered towards the line of the Support Squadron Eastern Flank and at least two struck LCG 764 and she too was lost. 📷 IWM A23753 Image
But losses were heavy for the Germans, with up to 50% of the crews not returning that night. Another Linse attack on 8/9 August saw only 8 out of 28 Linse return, and the Allies only took 6 PoWs. A poor return having sunk no Allied vessels.
The final mass attack by 42 Marders was on 16/17 August. They succeeded in sinking LCF 1 and 2 Marders successfully torpedoed the French battleship Courbet. As Courbet had been deliberately sunk as a breakwater 2 months previously, this was a hollow victory. 📷Le Mémorial de Caen Image

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More from @SeaSpitfires

26 Mar
The D-Day map at Southwick house, showing the state of the amphibious assault on Normandy at 7.25am on 6 June. The big white stripe across the English Channel is a German minefield – ten safe channels were cleared through it by RN and RCN minesweepers just before the landings. Image
But that wasn't the end of the minesweeper's work. Immediately after the assault, the same flotillas went to work clearing the spaces between the channels and sweeping clear channels between the anchorages off the beaches. Image
But the Luftwaffe & Kriegsmarine were fighting back, laying new mines in the Bay of Seine almost nightly. In June alone, bombers attacked the anchorages off the beaches every single night except one, dive bombing ships & laying mines. 📷Dive bomb damage on HMS Bulolo, IWM A24001 Image
Read 10 tweets
25 Mar
US Patrol-Torpedo Boat PT 509 (left) stands by USS Tide after she struck a mine off Utah Beach on 7 June. Two months later, PT 509 would herself be sunk. 📷Naval History and Heritage Command 80-G-651677 Image
One flotilla of PT boats participated in D-Day & 2 more became operational very soon afterwards. Operating from Portland the 33 boats worked alongside the more numerous Motor Torpedo Boats of the Royal Navy & Royal Canadian Navy in the English Channel. 📷Library & Archives Canada Image
Portsmouth Command fielded no less than 14 flotillas of Coastal Forces during the Battle for Normandy. Their boats shielded the flanks of the invasion forces on D-Day and guarded the swept channels to the beaches for the weeks afterwards. 📷IWM A24047 Image
Read 10 tweets
1 Mar
A WW2 Combined Operations beach assault. This 2 min film has been doing the rounds for a while, described variously as Exercise Fabius (1944), Commando training and even Dieppe (1942). In fact it's none of those - it appears to be @RAF_Regiment training in 1943. 📽️ Unknown
I've tried to find this film in various places, but haven't yet found its original source or context. But there are numerous clues as to its location. Beach hardening mats, and in the background, the unmistakable pier of an embarkation hard.
In the film, several piers/dolphins are visible, and combined with the tree lined hill just inland, this is definitely Stokes Bay in Gosport. But, looking west, there's no evidence of Mulberry Phoenix construction which began in December 1943.
Read 11 tweets
28 Jan
Hugely enjoyable chat with @James1940 and @almurray on @WeHaveWaysPod today. Lots of chat about some of my favourite subjects - we were going to talk about Coastal Forces but almost immediately got side-tracked by landing Craft and D-Day! play.acast.com/s/wehaveways/2…
As some of you know my archaeological speciality is concrete, which sounds easy (or dull) but is really quite fascinating. To listen to two concrete specialists nerds) discussing WWII concrete, check out this @CITiZAN1 discussion with @ckolonko and myself.
The number of vessels involved is phenomenal. Some 7,000 vessels of all types were involved, although the exact number varies according to source (Official History on left, Admiralty Staff History on right). These are assigned numbers: I'm working on the exact number that sailed.
Read 22 tweets
26 Jan
#OTD in 1945, Operation Sankey, an amphibious landing on the small island of Cheduba in Burma (now Munaung in Myanmar) took place. It is notable for using an otherwise little known landing craft - the unlikely looking Landing Craft Personnel (Medium) or LCP (M). 📷IWM A27467 Image
Sankey was support for Operation Matador, the landing on the neighbouring island of Ramree that had gone ahead on 21 January. Fighting on Ramree would last for 5 weeks, but Sankey would prove to be a much quicker operation. 📷Google. ImageImage
Matador was well supported, using Landing Craft Assault, Landing Craft Mechanised and even one of these, the Australian Landing Craft (or ALC) 120. This is the only photo I've seen of one of these. A rare beast. 📷IWM SE 2247 Image
Read 17 tweets
5 Jan
As we're back in lockdown, here's a chart for you all. Think you know your Normandy beaches? There were far more important names out at sea.
In answer to some of the questions I've been asked, I compiled this from four separate charts, contained in the Admiralty staff history and the navigation orders issued to #LCT7074. The zones are areas of navigation, patrol and exclusion. Scallops for example, was a minefield.
Mason was a patrol line for PT boats. Mountain was an area where RN MTBs had free reign and any other vessels found in it were expected to be hostile (until the Cotentin Peninsula was liberated of course). #MGB81 is possibly returning from Mountain in this photo. 📷IWM A24047
Read 8 tweets

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