D-Day Landing Craft (eBook)

APA:

‘Auxiliary Personnel, Attack’, a troop transport ship (US Navy).

AVRE:

Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers, a British Churchill tank converted for specialist engineering roles.

Beach/Beach Area/Beach Sector:

In 1944 terminology, Utah and Omaha were areas rather than beaches; a beach was much smaller, such as Uncle Red in Utah Area. However, this book follows the now commonly accepted usage of describing five landing beaches and referring to smaller areas as beaches or sectors.

Bow door:

Another name for the ramp at the front of landing craft, which was dropped to allow the troops on board to go ashore. Ramp is generally used here.

Breaching team:

On Anglo-Canadian beaches, specialist tanks which were landed around H-Hour to clear routes through beach obstacles and off the beach, working with obstacle clearance personnel on foot.

Broach-to:

When a vessel is swung side-on to a beach by wind or currents, in which position it might need assistance to get off the beach again.

BUCO:

Build Up Control Organisation.

COSSAC:

Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander.

D−1, D+1 (etc.):

One day before or after D-Day.

D-Day:

The day on which a military operation begins. Here, it is of course used to mean 6 June 1944.

DD tank:

An amphibious tank, used on all five beaches on D-Day.

DSOAG:

Deputy Senior Naval Officer, Assault Group; the naval commander controlling a section of the landings. At Gold Beach, King Green and King Red each had a DSOAG.

DUKW:

A US-designed amphibious truck.

Eastern Task Force (ETF):

The naval forces for Gold, Juno and Sword beaches.

ETOUSA:

European Theater of Operations (US Army).

FDT:

Fighter Direction Tender; an LST converted for controlling fighter aircraft.

First lieutenant:

The second-in-command of a British or Commonwealth landing craft; a role rather than a rank.

Flotilla:

In the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy, a unit of typically up to twelve craft (or up to sixteen for those not involved in the assault). A flotilla was led by a flotilla officer, with a small support staff. In US forces, a flotilla was a larger unit, formed from two or more twelve-craft groups.

FOO:

Forward Observation Officer (British); an artillery officer and his team controlling gunfire.

Force:

Forces U, O, G, J and S were the naval forces that delivered the assault troops to the five beaches. The initial of each force matched the first letter of each beach: Force U was for Utah Beach. Forces B and L were the follow-up forces for the western (US) and eastern (Anglo-Canadian) beaches respectively and arrived later on D-Day.

GAT:

Gap Assault Team. A combined US Navy and US Army team for beach obstacle clearance.

Group:

This term was used with a variety of meanings: a convoy of landing craft that crossed the English Channel together (sometimes one convoy was divided into multiple groups); an Assault Group was a larger formation of all craft operating off a beach sector; for US forces, a unit of around twelve craft.

H−1, H+1 (etc.):

The time before or after H-Hour, for a particular beach. Unless stated, the time is in minutes.

H-Hour:

The time at which the assault landings began, which varied across the five D-Day beaches.

HQ:

Headquarters.

Kedge anchor, kedge hook:

The anchor on the stern of a landing craft, dropped as the vessel approached the beach and used for unbeaching.

Knots:

Nautical measure of speed, in nautical miles per hour. A nautical mile is 1.15 miles; one knot is 1.15 miles per hour.

Launching Position:

The location at sea at which amphibious DD tanks were to be launched from the LCTs carrying them.

LBE:

Landing Barge, Emergency Repair.

LBF:

Landing Barge, Flak.

LBK:

Landing Barge, Kitchen.

LBO:

Landing Barge, Oil.

LBV:

Landing Barge, Vehicle.

LBW:

Landing Barge, Water.

LCA:

Landing Craft, Assault.

LCA(HR):

Landing Craft, Assault (Hedgerow).

LCA(OC):

Landing Craft, Assault (Obstacle Clearance). A craft carrying British LCOCU obstacle clearance personnel.

LCC:

Landing Craft, Control.

LCE:

Landing Craft, Emergency Repair.

LCF:

Landing Craft, Flak.

LCG(L):

Landing Craft, Gun (Large).

LCH:

Landing Craft, Headquarters.

LCI(L):

Landing Craft, Infantry (Large).

LCI(S):

Landing Craft, Infantry (Small).

LCM:

Landing Craft, Mechanised.

LCOCU:

Landing Craft Obstacle Clearance Unit (an obstacle-clearance team, not a type of landing craft).

LCP(L), LCP(Sy) or LCP(R):

Landing Craft, Personnel (Large), (Survey) or (Ramped).

LCS(L):

Landing Craft, Support (Large).

LCS(M):

Landing Craft, Support (Medium).

LCS(S):

Landing Craft, Support (Small).

LCT:

Landing Craft, Tank. Where there is a number in brackets following, the number indicates the ‘mark’ of the variant of LCT. For example, LCT(3) means LCT Mk.3 (Mark 3).

LCT(A):

A modified LCT(5) with additional armour in places – hence ‘A’ for Armoured – and a ramped platform near the bow so two tanks could fire from the craft.

LCT(AVRE):

Landing Craft, Tank (carrying Churchill AVRE tanks and other obstacle clearance forces). This was a role determined by the load carried, not a type of LCT.

LCT(CB):

‘CB’ stood for ‘Concrete Buster’, which referred to the Sherman Firefly tank carried by each craft on a ramped platform near the bow on D-Day, so the Firefly’s 17-pounder gun could be fired from the LCT to destroy concrete bunkers. Like the LCT(A), it was a modified LCT(5), but lacked the former’s extra armour.

LCT(DD):

Landing Craft, Tank (carrying DD amphibious tanks). This was a role determined by the load carried, not a type of LCT.

LCT(HE):

Similar to the LCT(A), it was an LCT(5) with a ramped platform near the bow, from which two tanks could fire. It lacked the additional armour applied to the LCT(A). ‘HE’ indicated that the craft...