Original subtitles

[MISSILE ROARS]

\h\h\hNarrator: FOR CENTURIES, AN EXTRAORDINARY WAR HAS RAGED

ACROSS THE WORLD’S OCEANS, ABOVE AND BELOW THE WAVES.

\hMan: YOU COULD KILL HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WITH ONE BROADSIDE.

THESE WERE EXTREMELY POWERFUL \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWAR MACHINES.

Narrator: SHIPBUILDERS DESIGNED BIGGER AND FASTER VESSELS

TO OUTWIT AND CRUSH \h\hTHEIR OPPONENTS.

Man: THAT NATION THAT HAS THE MOST POWERFUL BATTLESHIP FLEET

CAN DESTROY THE ENEMY’S \h\h\h\hBATTLESHIP FLEET

AND THEREFORE CONTROL THE SEAS,

AND IF YOU CONTROL THE SEAS, \h\h\hYOU CONTROL THE WORLD.

Narrator: THEY CARRIED \hTERRIFYING WEAPONS.

Man: THIS WAS GONNA BE \h\h\h\hTHE FIRST TIME

THAT SOMEBODY HAD FIRED \h\h\hA TORPEDO IN ANGER

SINCE WORLD WAR II.

THEY NEEDED TO GET IT RIGHT.

Narrator: BUT SHIPS HAVE ALSO LIBERATED

AND RESCUED THOUSANDS.

Man: YOU COULD THINK \h\h\h\hOF GERDA III

AS BASICALLY A LIFEBOAT FOR PERSONS HUNTED BY THE NAZIS.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: AND INSPIRED MEN AND WOMEN

TO ACTS OF INCREDIBLE BRAVERY.

Man: I WILL TAKE YOU THERE NOW, TO YOUR CANNONS,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO YOUR DEATH, WE WILL SINK BEFORE SURRENDER.

Narrator: THESE VESSELS \h\h\h\hAND THEIR CREWS

HAVE SHAPED WORLD HISTORY.

\hMan: AS THE COMMANDING OFFICER OF A MISSILE-CARRYING SUBMARINE,

I WAS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE

FOR HELPING TO PREVENT \h\h\h\hWORLD WAR III.

[MISSILE ROARS]

Narrator: THIS TIME,

THE 6th OF JUNE 1944...

D-DAY.

Man: IT WAS THE MOST COMPLEX NAVAL OPERATION IN HISTORY.

\h\h\h\h\h\hMan: EVERY SHIP HAD TO LEAVE BY THE MINUTE,

BE IN EXACT POSITIONS \h\h\h\hBY THE MINUTE,

ALL THE WAY THROUGH.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: THE LIBERATION OF EUROPE

DEPENDED ON A REMARKABLE \h\h\hARMADA OF VESSELS.

Man: THE BIG BATTLESHIPS STARTED FIRING OVER THE TOP OF US,

\h\h\h\hAND THEY WERE LANDING ON THE BEACH,

WHICH WAS 300 YARDS \h\h\hAWAY FROM US.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: SOME WERE EXPERIMENTAL.

SOME, SIMPLY DANGEROUS.

Man: I CAN’T IMAGINE HOW ANYBODY

COULD RISK THEIR LIFE \h\h\hIN ONE OF THESE.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: THIS IS THE STORY OF THE SHIPS

THAT TURNED THE TIDE OF THE WAR

IN ONE MOMENTOUS DAY.

♪

[EXPLOSION]

♪

BY THE START OF 1944,

THE GERMANS KNOW AN INVASION \h\hOF EUROPE BY THE ALLIES

IS IMMINENT.

THEY JUST DON’T KNOW WHERE \hOR WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN.

THE GERMANS OCCUPY \hMOST OF EUROPE,

AND THOSE FORCED TO LIVE \h\h\hUNDER NAZI CONTROL

ARE DESPERATE TO BE LIBERATED.

SLAVE LABOR IS ENACTED ON A MONUMENTAL SCALE,

\hAND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXTERMINATED IN AUSCHWITZ

STANDS AT TWO MILLION \h\h\h\h\hAND RISING.

BY MAY 1944,

\hANNE FRANK WROTE FROM HER SECRET HIDEAWAY IN AMSTERDAM

THAT EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE POSSIBLE INVASION,

"DEBATING, MAKING BETS, \h\h\h\h\h\hAND HOPING."

IN FACT, THE ALLIES HAD BEEN \h\h\hARGUING FOR TWO YEARS

ABOUT WHERE D-DAY SHOULD TAKE PLACE.

\h\h\h\hA FAILED RAID ON THE PORT OF DIEPPE

IN AUGUST 1942

\h\h\hHAD SHOWN THEM WHERE NOT TO INVADE.

Andrew Gordon: EVERYONE ASSUMED THAT A SERIOUS-SIZED INVASION,

EITHER ENGLAND OR FRANCE,

WOULD NEED TO CAPTURE \h\h\h\hA WORKING PORT

SO THAT THE BACK END COULD BE \h\hSUPPLIED WITH MORE TROOPS,

WITH AMMUNITION, FOOD, \hALL THE REST OF IT--

VEHICLES.

AND SO ANY INVASION PLAN MUST INCLUDE THE CAPTURE OF A PORT.

NOW, FROM DIEPPE,

WE DREW THE CONCLUSION THAT IT CAN’T BE DONE.

THE GERMANS DREW THE CONCLUSION,

THIS PROVES WHAT THE ALLIES \h\h\h\h\h\hARE GOING TO DO.

Narrator: SINCE DIEPPE,

THE GERMANS HAD STRENGTHENED \h\hTHEIR COASTAL DEFENSES.

THE ATLANTIC WALL, \hAS IT WAS KNOWN,

\h\h\hWAS NOW STRONGER THAN EVER AROUND THE FRENCH CHANNEL PORTS.

THIS HELPED PERSUADE THE ALLIES TO LOOK ELSEWHERE.

\h\h\hTHEY IDENTIFIED A 60-MILE STRETCH OF COASTLINE IN NORMANDY

AS SUITABLE.

IT WAS FIVE HOURS BY BOAT \hFROM THE ENGLISH COAST,

BUT THE BEACHES WERE WIDE,

THE SAND WAS FIRM,

AND THE GERMAN DEFENSES \h\h\h\h\h\hWERE WEAKER.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hEric Grove: THE ALLIED PLAN WAS TO LAND

ACROSS A RELATIVELY BROAD FRONT

AND HOPEFULLY ADVANCE INLAND \h\h\h\h\hQUITE A LONG WAY.

\hNarrator: THE INVASION WAS CODENAMED OPERATION OVERLORD

AND WAS LED BY AMERICAN GENERAL DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER.

\h\h\hTHE INVASION’S SUCCESS RELIED ON THE ALLIES LANDING

\hOVER 150,000 MEN IN A SINGLE DAY--

D-DAY.

THE CRITICAL NAVAL OPERATION WOULD HAVE ITS OWN CODENAME,

OPERATION NEPTUNE,

AND WOULD BE OVERSEEN

\hBY BRITISH ADMIRAL SIR BERTRAM RAMSEY.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hGordon: HE WAS EISENHOWER’S SAILOR.

HE KIND OF KNEW WHAT WOULD BE \hA MISTAKE AND WHAT WOULDN’T.

Narrator: FIVE INVASION FORCES

WOULD SAIL FROM PORTS ALONG \h\h\hENGLAND’S SOUTH COAST.

\h\h\hAMERICAN FORCES WOULD HEAD FOR BEACHES

CODENAMED UTAH AND OMAHA.

THE BRITISH AND CANADIANS,

FOR GOLD, JUNO, AND SWORD.

FROM MAY 1944,

\h\hSOUTHERN ENGLAND BECAME A VAST DEPOT.

THERE WERE SO MANY TRUCKS,

LOCAL PERSONNEL IN SOME TOWNS

WERE GIVEN AN EXTRA 15 MINUTES FOR LUNCH

JUST TO CROSS THE ROADS.

SUPPLIES WERE HIDDEN IN WOODS;

LANDING CRAFT HIDDEN UP CREEKS.

\hTHOUSANDS OF TROOPS WAITED FOR THE ORDER.

THEN, ON THE NIGHT OF JUNE 5th,

2,700 SHIPS

CARRYING THE LARGEST INVASION FORCE THE WORLD HAD EVER KNOWN

\h\h\hCONVERGED ON AN AREA SOUTH OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT

NICKNAMED "PICCADILLY CIRCUS."

FOR THOSE WHO WITNESSED IT, IT WAS AN IMPRESSIVE SIGHT.

Man: CLOSE UNDER THE HEADLAND

\h\h\h\hI LOOKED DOWN ON THE LANDING CRAFT.

\h\hI COULD SEE THE TROOPS IN BATTLE DRESS ON BOARD.

BEYOND THEM,

\h\h\hLINE AFTER LINE OF TANK LANDING CRAFT,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSIDE BY SIDE, ESCORTED BY MOTOR LAUNCHES.

\h\h\hOUT TO SEA, DESTROYERS AND FRIGATES TOOK UP THEIR STATIONS.

ON THE HORIZON, BATTLESHIPS \hAND HEAVY CRUISERS WAITED.

I SAID TO MY WIFE, "A LOT OF MEN ARE GOING TO DIE TONIGHT.

WE SHOULD PRAY FOR THEM."

Narrator: THERE WAS PLENTY \h\h\hTHAT COULD GO WRONG.

ONE OF EISENHOWER’S TEAM WROTE \h\h\hIN HIS DIARY THAT NIGHT:

\h\h\h\h\h"I’M VERY UNEASY ABOUT THE WHOLE OPERATION.

\hIT MAY BE THE MOST GHASTLY DISASTER OF THE WHOLE WAR."

THE SUCCESS OF D-DAY

\h\hAND THE ULTIMATE LIBERATION OF EUROPE

RELIED ON THE REMARKABLE \hCOLLECTION OF VESSELS

THAT GATHERED THAT NIGHT \hAT PICCADILLY CIRCUS.

♪

AS JUNE 6th ARRIVED, HOWEVER,

THERE WERE A FEW D-DAY VESSELS

THAT WERE NOWHERE NEAR \h\hTHE ISLE OF WIGHT.

\h\h\h30 FEET UNDERWATER, OFF THE COAST OF NORMANDY,

TEN MEN ARE EXISTING ON A DIET \h\h\hOF BAKED BEANS AND TEA.

\h\hTHEY ARE THE CREWS OF TWO MINI-SUBMARINES

KNOWN AS X-CRAFT.

♪

THE MEN IN SUBMARINES \h\h\h\hX-20 AND X-23

HAD BEEN WAITING FOR TWO DAYS.

THEIR JOB WAS TO ERECT \h\hA TELESCOPIC MAST

FITTED WITH GREEN LIGHTS \h\h\hAND A RADIO BEACON

\h\h\h\h\hTHAT WOULD GUIDE THE FIRST INVASION VESSELS

\hHEADING TO JUNO AND SWORD BEACHES.

\h\hGordon: THEY WERE THERE TO PROVIDE THE PRECISE NAVIGATION

\h\h\h\hTHAT A LANDING CRAFT EMERGING OUT OF THE DARKNESS

TOWARDS A BEACH

\h\hCOULDN’T EXPECT TO HAVE ON ITS OWN.

\h\h\h\hTHEY WERE THERE AS NAVIGATIONAL MARKERS.

Narrator: THE X-CRAFT HAD EACH BEEN TOWED ACROSS THE CHANNEL

BY AN ARMED TRAWLER.

NOW, UTTERLY ON THEIR OWN,

THEY WERE POWERED BY A DIESEL \h\h\hENGINE FROM A LONDON BUS

WHEN ON THE SURFACE,

AND BY BATTERY WHEN SUBMERGED.

A HATCH GAVE THE CREW \hACCESS TO THE DECK,

\hAND A "WET AND DRY" HATCH ALLOWED A DIVER IN AND OUT.

\h\h4-TON EXPLOSIVE CHARGES COULD BE FITTED AND RELEASED

FROM THE CONTROL ROOM.

\h\h\h\h\hTHE EXPLOSIVES WEREN’T NEEDED ON D-DAY,

BUT HAD BEEN USEFUL

IN CARRYING OUT THE X-CRAFT’S \h\h\h\h\h\hORIGINAL PURPOSE:

TO FIND AND SINK GERMAN WARSHIPS.

Alexandra Geary: THE NEED FOR SMALLER SUBMARINES CAME ABOUT

\h\h\hWITH THE LARGE GERMAN BATTLESHIPS LIKE THE TIRPITZ

HIDING IN NORWEGIAN FJORDS.

SO ESSENTIALLY, REALLY FAR AWAY FROM OPEN SEA,

AND THE BRITISH SHIPS COULDN’T GET TO THEM.

AND THEY PROTECTED THE HARBORS

\hWITH HUGE ANTI-TORPEDO AND ANTI-SUBMARINE NETS.

\h\h\h\h\h\hTHE X-CRAFT ALSO HAD THE CAPABILITY

OF CUTTING THROUGH THOSE NETS.

\h\hSO BY DEVELOPING A SMALLER SUBMARINE,

THAT ALLOWED US ACCESS \h\h\h\h\hTO THE SHIPS

THAT COULD POTENTIALLY \h\hCRIPPLE OUR NAVY.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: THE X-CRAFT HAD MANAGED

TO DROP EXPLOSIVE CHARGES \h\h\h\hUNDER THE TIRPITZ

AND DAMAGE HER.

\h\h\hBUT MANY SUBMARINE CREWS HAD BEEN LOST IN THE PROCESS.

THE MEN WAITING SILENTLY \hOFF THE NORMANDY COAST

IN EARLY JUNE 1944

WERE WELL AWARE OF THE DANGERS.

EARLIER THAT YEAR,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTHEY HAD TRAINED IN TOTAL SECRECY IN SCOTLAND,

UNTIL THE TIME CAME \h\h\hTO MOVE SOUTH.

\h\h\h\hJIM BOOTH WAS A CREW MEMBER OF X-23.

Jim Booth: WE STOPPED \h\hAT A PUB, I THINK,

TO HAVE LUNCH OR SOMETHING,

AND A CHAP SAID, "WHAT HAVE YOU GOT ON THAT LORRY, SAY?

LOOKS LIKE A MINI X-CRAFT, \h\h\h\h\h\h\hDOESN’T IT?"

I SAID, "WELL, IT DOES A BIT, \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hDOESN’T IT?"

\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: AS EARLY AS THE AFTERNOON OF JUNE 4th,

JIM AND HIS FELLOW CREW MEMBERS HAD BEEN IN POSITION

\h\hA QUARTER OF A MILE FROM THE NORMANDY SHORE.

THEY WERE SO CLOSE,

THEY COULD WATCH GERMAN SOLDIERS PLAYING WITH BEACH BALLS.

INSIDE THE X-CRAFT,

THEY WERE DRESSED AS FRENCH \hTAXI DRIVERS AND WORKMEN.

\h\h\h\h\h\hIF THEY DROWNED AND THEIR BODIES WERE FOUND,

NO ONE WOULD THINK THEY WERE \h\h\h\hBRITISH SUBMARINERS.

THAT NIGHT,

EXPECTING OPERATION NEPTUNE TO BE TAKING PLACE AT DAWN,

THE TWO X-CRAFT SURFACED

\hTO PICK UP A VITAL CODED RADIO MESSAGE.

IT WOULD BE PART OF THE BBC’S \h\h10 O’CLOCK NEWS BULLETIN.

Booth: THERE WERE TWO SIGNALS,

AND ONE OF THEM WAS BEING

THAT THE OPERATION’S \h\hNOT ON TOMORROW,

\h\h\hAND THE OTHER ONE WAS THAT IT WAS--SIMPLE AS THAT.

PLANNED LANGUAGE.

THEY CAME, SOMETHING LIKE,

\h\h\h"MRS. HUNTINGTON’S CAT HAD THREE KITTENS IN LITTLEHAMPTON,"

OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU SEE.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: BUT EISENHOWER HAD DECIDED

THE WEATHER WAS TOO BAD FOR A CHANNEL CROSSING.

D-DAY WAS DELAYED FOR 24 HOURS.

Booth: EVERYBODY’S SAYING, \h\h\h\hOH, GOD, YOU KNOW.

DOWN WE GO AGAIN.

\h\h\hGordon: WHEN D-DAY WAS POSTPONED FOR A DAY,

THESE POOR MEN HAD TO LIVE \h\hIN THIS TINY TIN CAN,

IN DISGUSTING CONDITIONS,

FOR A WHOLE 24 HOURS MORE.

Geary: TO BE INSIDE AN X-CRAFT,

THE ONLY WAY I CAN THINK \h\h\h\h\hTO DESCRIBE IT

IS ALMOST LIKE LIVING \hIN A BROOM CUPBOARD.

IT WAS AN EXTREMELY \h\h\hCRAMPED SPACE.

THEY HAD ONE SMALL BUNK, \h\h\h\hAND THAT WAS IT.

THEY HAD TO TAKE TURNS \h\h\h\h\hIN SLEEPING.

\h\h\hBooth: WELL, OF COURSE, YOU COULDN’T STAND UP ANYWHERE

EXCEPT IN THE PERISCOPE WELL.

\hMOST OF THE TIME I WAS SITTING DOWN, I SUPPOSE,

I SAT DOWN BY THE WHEEL.

\h\h\hAND THEN EVERYTHING WAS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS WET AND DAMP

AND THAT SORT OF THING,

SO IT WAS PRETTY, \hPRETTY HORRIBLE.

AND WE WERE YOUNG.

YOU DON’T COMPLAIN THEN, DO YOU, WHEN YOU’RE YOUNG?

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: ON THE NIGHT OF JUNE 5th,

THE CREWS SURFACED ONCE MORE.

THEY RECEIVED THE SIGNAL \h\h\h\h\h\hTHEY WANTED.

D-DAY WAS ON.

BY 4:30 THE FOLLOWING MORNING, \h\hTHE SUBS WERE IN POSITION.

\h\h\hTHE MASTS WERE RAISED AND RADIO BEACONS ACTIVATED.

♪

\h\h\hBooth: THEN THERE WAS THIS RATHER PREGNANT PAUSE.

\h\h\hWE WONDERED WHAT WAS HAPPENING

\h\h\hWHEN THERE WE WERE SITTING THERE, YOU KNOW,

LIKE BLOODY FOOLS OFF THE BEACH.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hYOU KNOW, RATHER FRIGHTENING, REALLY.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: BUT WHILE THE X-CRAFT WAITED,

OUT IN THE CHANNEL,

\h\hOPERATION NEPTUNE WAS ALREADY UNDERWAY.

SPECIALIZED BOATS \hWERE GATHERING,

\h\hREADY TO GUIDE THE INVASION FORCE

\hTHROUGH A MASSIVE FIELD OF FLOATING GERMAN MINES.

IN THE SUMMER OF 1944,

\h\h\h\h\hTHE FATE OF EUROPE DEPENDED ON THE ALLIED PLAN

TO LAND OVER 150,000 TROOPS \h\h\h\h\h\hIN JUST 24 HOURS

ON THE BEACHES OF NORMANDY.

JUNE 6th WAS D-DAY.

A KEY PART OF THE INVASION WAS \hTHE CROSS-CHANNEL OPERATION,

CODENAMED NEPTUNE.

HUNDREDS OF VESSELS-- \h\h\hSOME UNTESTED--

\h\h\hWOULD TRANSPORT THE TROOPS AND GUIDE THEM SAFELY TO SHORE.

BUT DEADLY GERMAN MINEFIELDS,

\h\hBEACH DEFENSES, AND SHORE BATTERIES

\h\hMEANT THAT SUCCESS WAS FAR FROM CERTAIN.

\h\h\h\hOUT IN THE CHANNEL, IN THE EARLY HOURS OF D-DAY,

WAS A TINY FLOTILLA OF VESSELS--

SOME OF THE UNSUNG HEROES \h\hOF OPERATION NEPTUNE.

THESE WERE THE HARBOR DEFENSE \h\hMOTOR LAUNCHES, OR HDMLs--

BUILT TO GUARD BRITISH PORTS

\h\hAGAINST THE THREAT OF GERMAN SUBMARINES.

TODAY, ONE HDML IS PRESERVED \h\h\hAND STILL SEAWORTHY--

HMS MEDUSA.

♪

MEDUSA WAS DESIGNED

TO EVADE SUBMARINES

USING TWO ENGINES

\h\h\h\hTHAT COULD BE INDEPENDENTLY OPERATED

FOR EXTRA TURNING POWER.

\h\h\h\h\hAlan Watson: THERE’S NO OTHER VESSEL IN THESE DAYS

THAT IS MANEUVERED \h\hLIKE THIS ONE.

IF YOU PUT ONE ENGINE AHEAD, \h\h\h\h\hONE ENGINE ASTERN,

AND THE HELM OVER,

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SPIN THE SHIP \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hON A SIXPENCE.

IT’S A BIT LIKE DRIVING \hA HIGH-PERFORMANCE CAR

ON A SKID PAN IN HEAVY RAIN \h\h\hAND MAYBE FOG AS WELL.

ON THE BRIDGE HERE,

WE DON’T HAVE DIRECT CONTROL \h\h\h\h\h\hOF THE ENGINES.

\h\h\h\h\hI’VE GOT TWO BRASS TELEGRAPHS HERE,

AND THERE’S A CHAP BELOW MY FEET DOWN IN THE ENGINE ROOM

WATCHING THE DIALS,

\h\h\h\h\hAND HE HAS TO HAVE HIS WITS ABOUT HIM AS WELL.

\h\hNarrator: THE HDMLs HAD ONE UNIQUE ATTRIBUTE

THAT WAS FOREMOST IN THE MINDS \h\h\h\hOF THE D-DAY PLANNERS.

THE BOATS WERE MADE OF WOOD,

UNDETECTABLE BY RADAR.

TO MAKE UP FOR THE LACK \h\h\hOF ARMOR PLATING,

HDMLs LIKE MEDUSA BOASTED \hSOME SERIOUS FIREPOWER.

Watson: THE MAIN ARMAMENT \h\h\h\h\h\hON THIS VESSEL

IS A 20-MILLIMETER OERLIKON.

A GOOD TEAM ON THERE CAN SHIFT 400 ROUNDS

OF HIGH-EXPLOSIVE SHELLS \h\h\h\h\h\hIN A MINUTE.

ON THE BRIDGE WING BEHIND ME,

THERE’S TWO LIGHT-CALIBER MACHINE GUNS ON EACH SIDE,

AND THESE VESSELS WERE EXPECTED

TO GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE OPPOSITION AS WELL.

\h\h\h\hON THE BRIDGE, THERE’S TWO BUCKETS OF HAND GRENADES.

\h\hSO YOU WENT UP TO THE OTHER CHAP

\h\hAND CHUCKED ONE THROUGH THE WINDOW.

\h\hNarrator: THE MEN WHO TOOK THEIR CHANCES

ON A VESSEL DESIGNED FOR SUCH \h\h\hCLOSE-QUARTERS FIGHTING

\h\h\hWERE NICKNAMED CHURCHILL’S PIRATES.

\hDoug Withey: WE WERE NEVER DRESSED PROPERLY, YOU KNOW.

THE NAVY DIDN’T LIKE US,

\h\hAND WE WEREN’T REALLY FOND OF THE NAVY, EITHER.

Narrator: CHURCHILL’S PIRATES

WOULD HAVE A SPECIAL TASK \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hON D-DAY.

A GERMAN MINEFIELD STRETCHED

ALMOST THE ENTIRE LENGTH \h\h\h\hOF THE CHANNEL.

THE INVASION FLEET

\hCOULD ONLY PASS THROUGH THIS SEEMINGLY IMPENETRABLE BARRIER

ONCE DESIGNATED ROUTES \h\h\hHAD BEEN CLEARED

BY A FLEET OF MINESWEEPERS.

Watson: SO THE PLAN WAS

\hFOR EACH OF THE D-DAY BEACHES TO HAVE TWO NARROW CHANNELS CUT,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hONLY ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILE WIDE.

\h\h\h\h\hBUT OF COURSE THAT COULD ONLY BE DONE

RIGHT AT THE VERY LAST MOMENT

\h\hBECAUSE OTHERWISE IT GAVE THE GAME AWAY

AS TO WHERE THE INVASION WAS GOING TO TAKE PLACE.

SO IT COULD ONLY BE DONE \h\hIN THE NIGHT BEFORE.

Narrator: MEDUSA AND OTHER HDMLs WOULD STATION THEMSELVES

\h\h\h\hAT THE ENTRANCES TO THESE VITAL CHANNELS

SO THAT THE LANDING CRAFT \h\h\h\h\hAND LARGER SHIPS

WOULD SEE THE SAFE ROUTE IN.

Watson: I HAVE HERE \hONE OF THE CHARTS

\h\hFROM THE INSTRUCTION PACK FOR MEDUSA FOR HER D-DAY ROLE,

\hAND THIS IS THE GERMAN MINEFIELD THAT WAS LAID.

MEDUSA WAS AT POSITION FOUR, RIGHT AT THE ENTRANCE THERE,

AND ML1383, SISTER SHIP, AT NUMBER THREE CHANNEL.

Narrator: FOR THIS OPERATION,

\h\h\h\hMEDUSA WOULD BE OUTFITTED WITH EQUIPMENT

LIKE NO OTHER VESSEL BEFORE HER.

BUT FOR SECURITY,

\h\h\hMOST OF HER CREW WERE KEPT IN THE DARK

\hABOUT EXACTLY WHAT THAT EQUIPMENT DID.

\hWithey: WE HAD ALL THIS SECRET STUFF ON THE BOAT.

WE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT IT WAS.

\h\hI THINK THEIR IDEA WAS THAT IF WE DID GET CAUGHT,

WE COULDN’T TELL THEM ANYTHING ’CAUSE WE DIDN’T KNOW ANYWAY.

Narrator: ANOTHER PROBLEM \h\hFOR THE D-DAY PLANNERS

\hWAS THAT THE GERMANS HAD LEARNED HOW TO JAM

ROYAL NAVY NAVIGATION DEVICES,

KNOWN AS THE GEE SYSTEM.

BUT BY D-DAY, A NEW PIECE \hOF GEAR HAD BEEN DEVISED

\hTHAT THE GERMANS DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT.

IT WAS CALLED DECCA RADAR

AND WAS SWITCHED ON \hFOR THE FIRST TIME

ON JUNE 6th.

Watson: THIS SHIP WAS THE FIRST TO USE DECCA OPERATIONALLY,

AND AT THE TIME OF D-DAY,

\hTHERE WERE ONLY 20 SETS AVAILABLE.

\h\hNarrator: THE DECCA SYSTEM USED A NETWORK OF TRANSMITTERS

TO EMIT SIGNALS.

BY COMPARING THE TIME IT TOOK

\h\h\hFOR THE SIGNALS TO REACH THE RECEIVER,

YOU COULD ACCURATELY PLOT \hYOUR POSITION ON A MAP.

BUT OPERATING AHEAD \hOF THE MAIN FLEET,

MEDUSA WAS CAUGHT IN THE STORM

THAT HAD POSTPONED D-DAY \h\h\h\h\h\hBY 24 HOURS.

DESIGNED TO OPERATE \hIN CALMER WATERS,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTHE HDMLs STRUGGLED IN HIGH SEAS.

Withey: WE FOUND WE HAD TO \h\h\hFIGHT OUR WAY ACROSS

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBECAUSE, UH, YOU COULDN’T STEER A COURSE.

THE SHIP WOULDN’T ALLOW IT.

IT WAS HORRIFIC.

\h\h\hI THOUGHT WE WEREN’T GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS.

THIS IS GOING TO BE \h\hCURTAINS, LIKE.

Narrator: HAVING FOUND HER ASSIGNED POSITION

AT THE HEAD OF THE SAFE CHANNEL,

MEDUSA STRUGGLED NOT TO DRIFT \h\h\h\hFROM THAT VITAL SPOT.

Watson: THE IDEA OF HER STAYING ON THE STATION 30 HOURS,

WHICH SHE DID,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIN FOUL WEATHER, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHANNEL,

\hIT REALLY DOESN’T BEAR THINKING ABOUT.

Narrator: THEN FINALLY,

AS THE D-DAY INVASION FLEET \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hDREW NEAR,

THE MOMENT CAME FOR MEDUSA \h\h\hAND THE OTHER HDMLs

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO ACTIVATE THE UNTESTED DECCA RADAR.

Withey: AFTER 30 HOURS, UH,

A MESSAGE COMES THROUGH,

\h\h\h\h\hAND THE OFFICERS SWITCHED ON THE EQUIPMENT.

Narrator: IT WORKED.

\h\h\hBUT WITH VERY FEW DECCA SETS IN OPERATION,

\h\hTHE SHIPS HAD TO IMPROVISE AND PLAY "FOLLOW THE LEADER."

Withey: SO MANY SHIPS \hHAD THE EQUIPMENT ON

TO PICK THE BEAM UP,

AND THEY HAD ONE SHIP, WHICH WAS A LEAD SHIP,

\hAND ABOUT 10 OR 12 BOATS BEHIND, ALL FOLLOWING IT.

Watson: THE WHOLE D-DAY FLEET \hCONSISTED OF 6,000 VESSELS,

AND THEY WERE DEPENDENT ON PERHAPS 20 OF THESE.

Narrator: MEDUSA’S CREW NOW HAD A RINGSIDE SEAT

AS THE INVASION FLEET \h\h\hPASSED THEM BY.

\h\h\h\hSHE HAD SUCCESSFULLY CARRIED OUT HER VITAL ROLE.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hRESPONSIBILITY FOR THE OPERATION’S SUCCESS

\h\h\h\h\h\hNOW RESTED WITH THE BIGGEST SHIPS OF D-DAY.

\hTO TAKE THE FIVE INVASION BEACHES,

THE ALLIES WOULD HAVE TO DEAL \h\h\h\hWITH THE DEADLY MENACE

OF THE ATLANTIC WALL.

A STRING OF FORMIDABLE \h\h\hGERMAN DEFENSES

\hWOULD NEED TO BE PUT OUT OF ACTION

BEFORE THE VAST NUMBER OF TROOPS COULD LAND.

THIS VITAL TASK WAS GIVEN \hTO THE ALLIED WARSHIPS.

AT DAWN ON THE MORNING \h\h\h\h\hOF JUNE 6th,

SCORES OF WARSHIPS \hWERE IN POSITION

\h\h\hSIX MILES OFF THE NORMANDY COAST.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAT 5:27, THE BOMBARDMENT BEGAN.

[GUNS BOOMING]

FOR THE X-CRAFT CREWS,

WAITING JUST OFFSHORE

WITH THEIR NAVIGATION LIGHTS \h\hAND BEACONS SWITCHED ON,

THIS WAS THEIR FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE TRUE SCALE OF D-DAY.

[BOOMING]

Booth: THE BIG BATTLESHIPS

\h\h\hSTARTED FIRING OVER THE TOP OF US,

AND THAT WAS A SPECTACULAR \h\h\h\h\hSOUND AND NOISE.

\h\hI MEAN, IT DID LITERALLY WHISTLE.

\hAND THEY WERE LANDING ON THE BEACH, YOU KNOW,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWHICH WAS 300 YARDS AWAY FROM US.

[EXPLOSIONS]

Narrator: ONE OF THE FIRST SHIPS TO OPEN FIRE

IS NOW IN MORE PEACEFUL \h\h\h\h\hSURROUNDINGS.

\hTHIS IS THE ROYAL NAVY’S LIGHT CRUISER HMS BELFAST.

♪

INCLUDED IN BELFAST’S ARMAMENT

WERE 12 6-INCH GUNS

USED TO TARGET GUN BATTERIES ABOVE GOLD AND JUNO BEACHES.

THE BLAST OF THESE GUNS \hWAS A REASSURING SOUND

\h\hFOR THE NERVOUS TROOPS NOW HEADING FOR THE SHORE.

TO THE WEST, THE MOST HEAVILY DEFENDED OF THE FIVE BEACHES,

OMAHA,

WAS BEING BOMBARDED BY A VETERAN OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR--

THE BATTLESHIP USS TEXAS.

\h\hAndy Smith: TEXAS IS ONE OF THE LAST REMAINING SHIPS

IN THE WORLD

THAT SERVED IN BOTH WORLD WAR I

AND WORLD WAR II.

THERE’S A HANDFUL,

BUT SHE’S REALLY THE BIGGEST, \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBADDEST ONE.

♪

Narrator: THE TEXAS IS ARMED \h\h\hWITH 10 14-INCH GUNS,

CAPABLE OF SENDING 1,500-POUND SHELLS

UP TO 12 MILES.

Smith: THE PROCESS OF FIRING THIS GUN

\h\h\h\h\h\hINVOLVED GETTING ONE OF THE ROUNDS, PER GUN,

AND FOUR POWDER BAGS \h\h\hUP AND LOADED.

\h\h\hTHE POWDER BAGS ARE 105 POUNDS APIECE.

THEY WERE MANHANDLED \h\h\h\hBY SAILORS.

SO, GET THE ROUND UP THROUGH \hTHIS ELEVATOR RIGHT HERE.

\hAND THEN IT ROLLS INTO A LITTLE TRAY,

AND THEN THEY HAVE A POWDER RAM

\h\h\hTHAT PUSHES THAT ROUND ALL THE WAY INTO THE BREECH.

NEXT COMES THE FOUR POWDER BAGS, AND THEY’RE PUSHED IN.

\h\hTHEY ACTUALLY USED THE OLD RAMMING STICKS

\hTHAT YOU’LL SEE FROM 18th-CENTURY CANNONS.

\h\h\h\hONCE THAT WAS DONE, THEY WOULD CLOSE THE BREECH

AND BE READY TO FIRE.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: UNLIKE ARTILLERY ON LAND,

WARSHIPS HAD TO CONTEND WITH THE ROLLING OCEAN.

ACCURACY WAS DIFFICULT.

BUT TEXAS HAD THE TECHNOLOGY \hTO DEAL WITH THAT PROBLEM.

\hSmith: NO MATTER WHAT YOU FIGURED OUT TO FIRE,

YOU HAD TO BASICALLY WAIT UNTIL THE SHIP WAS LEVEL.

SO, WHEN THEY WOULD PULL \hTHE TRIGGERS TO FIRE,

THERE WAS ONE LITTLE SWITCH THAT WAITED UNTIL THE SHIP GOT LEVEL,

AND THAT WOULD CLOSE THE CIRCUIT AND FIRE THE GUNS.

THAT WAY YOU WEREN’T FIRING INTO THE WATER OR TOO HIGH.

[GUN FIRES]

Narrator: IN 1944,

THE SHIP’S BOMBARDMENT \h\h\h\h\hOF THE COAST

LAY THE GROUND FOR THE INVASION OF OMAHA BEACH.

Man: AS DAWN BEGAN TO BREAK,

WE RECEIVED THE SIGNAL AND HEADED INTO SHORE.

I REMEMBER THE BATTLESHIP TEXAS

FIRING BROADSIDE AFTER BROADSIDE INLAND WHEN WE WERE CLOSE BY.

\hIT WAS GOD-AWFUL, TERRIBLE EXPLOSIONS,

MUZZLE BLASTS IN OUR EARS \h\h\h\h\hWHEN THEY FIRED.

THE SMOKE RING PASSED US BY,

\h\h\h\hAND IT WAS LIKE THE FUNNEL OF A TORNADO,

GROWING LARGER AND LARGER \hAND FINALLY DISSIPATING.

\hWE ACTUALLY FELT THE MUZZLE BLAST.

[GUNS FIRING]

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: IN THE EARLY MORNING OF D-DAY,

A FLEET OF WARSHIPS ANCHORED \h\h\hOFF THE NORMANDY COAST

BOMBARDED THE GERMAN DEFENSES \hKNOWN AS THE ATLANTIC WALL.

[BOOM]

\h\hA SUCCESSFUL BOMBARDMENT WOULD SAVE HUNDREDS OF LIVES

\h\h\h\hWHEN THE TROOPS LATER SCRAMBLED ASHORE.

BUT DID THE SHIPS ACHIEVE \h\h\h\h\hTHEIR VITAL AIM?

THE CLUES CAN STILL BE FOUND

\h\h\hBEHIND BEACHES LIKE UTAH AND OMAHA.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTHE MAISY BATTERY STILL BEARS THE SCARS OF D-DAY.

Gary Sterne: ON D-DAY, IT WAS THREE SEPARATE GUN BATTERIES,

AND THEIR SOLE PURPOSE

WAS TO REPEL ANY INVASION FORCES COMING TOWARDS THE COAST.

SO YOU HAVE A LONG-RANGE BATTERY WHICH COULD HIT THE SHIPS,

AND A SMALLER-RANGE BATTERY \hWHICH COULD HIT THE BEACH.

IT WAS DESIGNED TO FIRE AT SHIPS

TO STOP THEM SUPPORTING \hTHE INFANTRY LANDING,

AND IT DID A VERY GOOD JOB \h\h\h\h\hFOR THREE DAYS.

Narrator: THE MAISY BATTERY \hWAS DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND

EVERYTHING THE ALLIES \h\hCOULD THROW AT IT,

FROM A BOMB-PROOF PERSONNEL BUILDING

\h\h\hTO A REINFORCED CONCRETE HEADQUARTERS.

\h\hSterne: THE SERIOUS SIZE OF THE CONCRETE AND THE STRUCTURE--

IT WAS A COMBAT BUILDING.

\h\h\h\hIT WAS DESIGNED TO PROTECT THE OCCUPANTS

DURING THE COMBAT SITUATION,

AND D-DAY WAS JUST THAT.

♪

SO HERE YOU HAVE A SOLID \hCONCRETE CONSTRUCTION,

3 OR 4 METERS THICK,

AND THEN THEY’VE COATED IT HERE WITH A BLACK BITUMEN

TO WATERPROOF IT.

THIS IS 70-ODD YEARS OLD,

\hAND IT’S STILL AS GOOD AS THE DAY IT WAS MADE,

BECAUSE IT REALLY, REALLY IS \hIMPERVIOUS TO BOMBARDMENT.

Narrator: THE COMPLEXITY \h\h\h\h\hOF THE BATTERY

MADE IT A DIFFICULT TARGET FOR \hTHE ALLIED SHIPS TO DESTROY.

\h\h\h\hNOT ONLY DID THE BATTERY SURVIVE,

\hIT TURNED THE TABLES ON THE INVASION FLEET.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSterne: IN ONE PARTICULAR INSTANCE

THERE’S A NAVAL REPORT SAYING, \h\h\h\h\hFROM THE U.S. NAVY,

THAT WE ARE BEING FIRED UPON \hBY THE BATTERIES AT MAISY,

WE’RE GONNA HAVE TO REVERSE OUT AND GO FURTHER OUT TO SEA

TO GET OUT OF ITS RANGE.

\h\hNarrator: THE ALLIES’ INITIAL NAVAL BOMBARDMENT

WAS ONLY A PARTIAL SUCCESS,

\h\h\h\hAND MANY GERMAN GUN BATTERIES SURVIVED.

\h\h\h\h\h\hDESPITE THIS, HUNDREDS OF LANDING CRAFT

CARRYING TENS OF THOUSANDS \h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF SOLDIERS

CONTINUED TO MAKE THEIR WAY \h\h\h\h\hTOWARDS THE SHORE.

JUST AHEAD OF THEM, THOUGH,

THE ALLIES WERE ABOUT TO REVEAL THEIR BIGGEST SURPRISE.

AT 6:25 A.M. ON D-DAY,

VESSELS EMERGED FROM THE WATER

\hTHAT WERE UNLIKE ANYTHING EVER USED IN THE HISTORY OF WARFARE.

THESE WERE DUPLEX DRIVES--

TANKS THAT SWAM.

♪

\h\h\h\h\h\hTHIS IS ONE OF THE VERY FEW DUPLEX DRIVES

TO SURVIVE THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

THIS STRANGE TANK WAS DEVELOPED AFTER A NATIONAL HUMILIATION

TWO YEARS EARLIER.

THE 1942 ALLIED RAID ON DIEPPE \h\hHAD BEEN A COSTLY FAILURE,

\h\hPARTLY DUE TO A LACK OF SUPPORTING FIREPOWER.

\hTHE STRATEGY AT D-DAY WOULD BE VERY DIFFERENT.

John Pearson: THE IDEA WAS

THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TANKS \h\h\hCOMING UP THE BEACH

ALONG WITH THE VERY FIRST \h\h\h\hWAVE OF INFANTRY,

\h\hWHICH MEANT OF COURSE THAT THE TANKS THEMSELVES

HAD TO BE AMPHIBIOUS.

\h\hNarrator: IT TOOK CONSIDERABLE INGENUITY

\hTO COME UP WITH A TANK THAT COULD MAKE ITS OWN WAY ASHORE.

\hAN INVENTOR NAMED NICHOLAS STRAUSSLER

BELIEVED HE HAD THE ANSWER.

\h\hHIS COMPANY BUILT BOTH COLLAPSIBLE BOATS

AND ARMORED VEHICLES.

\hSTRAUSSLER BUILT A PROTOTYPE BY ADAPTING A VALENTINE TANK,

THE WORKHORSE OF THE BRITISH \h\h\hNORTH AFRICA CAMPAIGN.

HIS CREATION WAS GIVEN THE NAME DUPLEX DRIVE--DD FOR SHORT--

BECAUSE IT COULD BE POWERED \h\h\h\hBY THE DUAL METHODS

OF PROPELLERS OR TRACKS.

THE TANK HAD TO FIT ON A LANDING CRAFT,

SO ANY FLOTATION DEVICE \h\h\hHAD TO BE COMPACT.

\h\h\h\hSTRAUSSLER CAME UP WITH AN INGENIOUS SCREEN.

\h\hPearson: THE SCREEN IS ATTACHED TO THE HULL,

\h\h\hAND BELOW THE SCREEN, THE HULL IS MADE WATERPROOF

\h\h\h\h\hWITH VARIOUS MASTIC-TYPE MATERIALS.

\h\h\hIT’S INFLATED WITH COMPRESSED AIR,

THESE BECOME RIGID, \h\hLIFT THE FRAMES,

\h\h\hAND THE CANVAS ACTS AS A BARRIER TO THE WATER,

AND THE MACHINE FLOATS,

WITH THE TOP OF THE TURRET

\h\h\h\hJUST ABOUT LEVEL WITH THE WATER SURFACE.

WHEN YOU’RE AFLOAT...

YOU HAVE THAT EXTENSION PIPE,

WHICH BLOWS THE SMOKE \hOUT FROM THE SCREEN.

THERE’S A DRAIN HERE.

\h\h\h\h\h\hIT RUNS DOWN TO THE REAR OF THE TANK,

\h\h\hAND ANY WATER THAT COMES INSIDE THE SCREEN

EVENTUALLY GOES DOWN,

\h\h\h\h\hGOES TO THE REAR, WHERE THERE’S A BILGE PUMP.

\h\hTHE DRIVER IS THE ONE WHO REALLY NEEDS TO BE COURAGEOUS,

BECAUSE HE’S DOWN \hINSIDE THE HULL,

UNDER THE WATER SURFACE.

HE’S THE ONE WHO’S GONNA GO DOWN IN THE VEHICLE IF IT SINKS.

Narrator: THERE WAS ADDITIONAL \h\h\h\hDANGER FOR THE DRIVER.

IF THE TANK MADE IT TO SHORE, \hTHE SCREEN BLOCKED HIS VIEW.

AGAIN, THE DESIGNERS \h\hHAD A SOLUTION.

Pearson: THERE’S A SMALL BUT VITAL FITTING HERE,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWHICH HAS GOT A RUBBER BULB ON THE INSIDE,

WHICH THE DRIVER CAN SEE.

AND WHEN THIS IS IN WATER,

THAT BULB IS INFLATED \h\h\hLIKE A BALLOON.

WHEN THE WATER LEVEL \hDROPS BELOW THERE,

THE BULB DEFLATES

AND THE DRIVER KNOWS THAT HE’S THEN SUFFICIENTLY ON DRY LAND

TO DROP THE SCREEN.

Narrator: AT FIRST,

\h\h\h\hTANK CREWS PRACTICED ON THE CALM WATER OF INLAND LAKES.

THEN THEY MOVED TO THE SOLENT,

\h\h\hA 20-MILE STRAIT OFF THE ISLE OF WIGHT.

Pearson: SOMETIMES THE CREWS \h\h\h\hARRIVED ON THE BEACH

\h\h\h\h\hWITH THE DRIVER UP TO HIS CHEST IN WATER,

THE THING JUST ABOUT AFLOAT.

Narrator: SEVERAL CREWS \h\h\hWERE NOT SO LUCKY.

AT LEAST 10 DD TANKS

ARE KNOWN TO HAVE SUNK OFF THE BRITISH COAST

DURING TRAINING EXERCISES.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hPearson: I CAN’T IMAGINE HOW ANYBODY

COULD RISK THEIR LIFE \h\h\hIN ONE OF THESE.

\hYOU’RE ACTUALLY HANGING BELOW THE WATER SURFACE IN A STEEL BOX

WHICH IS SUPPORTED \hONLY ON CANVAS.

Narrator: BY JUNE 1944,

\h\hMOST DUPLEX DRIVES WERE NOW MODIFIED AMERICAN SHERMAN TANKS.

THE NORMANDY INVASION

WOULD SEE THEM USED IN BATTLE \h\h\h\h\hFOR THE FIRST TIME.

THE NIGHT BEFORE D-DAY,

TANK LANDING SHIPS, OR LSTs,

\hCARRIED 290 DDs ACROSS THE CHANNEL

AND CLOSE TO THE NORMANDY COAST.

THE FINAL FEW THOUSAND YARDS

\h\h\h\hWOULD BE UP TO THE TANKS THEMSELVES.

\h\hCraig Symonds: IT WAS A GOOD IDEA

BECAUSE IT COULD GET TANKS ASHORE

BEFORE YOU HAD TO RISK \h\h\h\h\hTHE BIG LSTs

\h\h\hUNDER THE ARTILLERY OF GERMAN SHORE BATTERIES.

\h\hNarrator: AT 5:50 THE FOLLOWING MORNING,

\h\h\h\hTHE FIRST 29 DD TANKS WERE LAUNCHED BY THE AMERICANS

OFF OMAHA BEACH.

Pearson: GUNFIRE, SHOTS, \hCASUALTIES, BOMBING...

\h\h\h\h\h\hIT WOULD BE A TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE.

[EXPLOSION]

Narrator: THEN TERROR \hTURNED TO DISASTER.

THE TANKS HAD BEEN LAUNCHED \h\hALMOST THREE MILES OUT,

AND THE SEA WAS ROUGH.

\h\h\h\h\hWAVES OFF OMAHA REACHED 6 FEET IN HEIGHT.

27 OF THOSE FIRST 29 TANKS \h\h\h\hSANK LIKE STONES.

Symonds: THE PROBLEM WAS \h\hTHE WEATHER WAS SUCH

THAT THEY COULD NOT FUNCTION.

THEY WERE FINE IN THE TESTS \h\h\h\h\h\hIN STILL WATER,

BUT THIS WAS NOT STILL WATER,

\h\h\h\h\h\hAND MOST OF THEM WENT STRAIGHT TO THE BOTTOM

WITH THEIR CREWS INSIDE

AND NEVER MADE IT TO SHORE.

Narrator: ON THE BRITISH \hAND CANADIAN BEACHES,

THERE WAS GREATER SUCCESS.

Pearson: THE BRITISH BROUGHT \hTHEM MUCH CLOSER INSHORE,

AND THEY LOST ONES AND TWOS,

AND, UM, THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL

\h\h\h\h\hIN THE SENSE THAT THE TROOPS HAD HEAVY SUPPORT

WITH THEIR INITIAL CONTACT \h\h\h\hWITH THE GERMANS.

Man: ON THE BEACH I GAVE ORDERS TO DEFLATE THE CANVAS SKIRT,

AND WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

WILL ALWAYS REMAIN VIVID \h\h\h\h\hIN MY MEMORY.

THE GERMAN MACHINE GUNNERS \h\h\h\h\h\h\hIN THE DUNES

WERE ABSOLUTELY STUPEFIED TO SEE A TANK EMERGING FROM THE SEA.

SOME OF THEM RAN AWAY,

\hSOME JUST STOOD AND STARED, UNABLE TO BELIEVE THEIR EYES.

\h\hWE MOWED THEM DOWN LIKE THEY WERE CORN ON THE COBS.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: RACING TOWARDS THE COASTLINE,

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ALLIED SOLDIERS

PREPARED TO STORM THE BEACHES.

ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 6, 1944,

\h\h\hNEARLY 3,000 VESSELS WERE GETTING INTO POSITION

OFF THE NORMANDY BEACHES.

\hTHE D-DAY INVASION WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN.

AND UNTIL FRENCH SOIL \h\h\h\h\hWAS REACHED,

THE FATE OF THOUSANDS OF MEN

RESTED WITH THEIR LANDING CRAFT VEHICLE AND PERSONNEL--

THE HUNDREDS OF BOATS \h\h\hKNOWN AS LCVPs.

\h\hTHE MOST FAMOUS OF THE D-DAY VESSELS

WAS ALSO AMONG THE SMALLEST.

\h\h\hAND ITS ORIGINS LAY 5,000 MILES AWAY,

IN THE WETLANDS OF LOUISIANA.

THE LCVP WAS DESIGNED \h\hBY ANDREW HIGGINS.

\h\h\h\hBY 1944, IT WAS SAID HIS SHIPS WERE SO IMPORTANT,

ADOLF HITLER CALLED HIM \h\h\h\h"THE NEW NOAH."

HIGGINS SUPPOSEDLY HAD \h\h\h\hAN ARMED GUARD

OUTSIDE HIS NEW ORLEANS HOME

\h\h\h\hTO PROTECT HIM FROM GERMAN ASSASSINS.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSymonds: ANDREW JACKSON HIGGINS

WAS AN INTERESTING PERSONALITY.

\h\h\hHE HAD CREATED SHALLOW-DRAFT BOATS,

WHICH HE CALLED EUREKA BOATS,

FOR TRAPPERS WHO WORKED IN THE LOUISIANA BAYOUS.

AND THE U.S. MARINES SAW THESE AND SAID,

OH, THESE WOULD BE INTERESTING,

AND ORDERED A BUNCH OF THEM.

ORIGINALLY, THEY WERE \hSIMPLY PLYWOOD BOXES

WITH AN EXTERNAL MOTOR, \h\h\h\h\h36-FEET LONG,

\h\h\hTHEY COULD HOLD 36 SOLDIERS AT A TIME,

WHO WOULD CLIMB OUT \h\hOVER THE THWARTS

AND THEN RUN ASHORE.

Narrator: BY 1943,

\hTHE DESIGN FEATURED A MORE SOPHISTICATED EXIT STRATEGY.

FOR THE GIs, THEY WERE KNOWN \h\hSIMPLY AS HIGGINS BOATS.

♪

\hTHE LCVP WAS DESIGNED TO PUSH UP ONTO BEACHES,

PROTECTING ITS OCCUPANTS WITH \hITS BULLET-PROOF FRONT RAMP,

UNTIL THE TIME CAME \h\hFOR IT TO DROP.

[THUD]

BUT IT WASN’T DESIGNED

\h\h\hFOR THE ROUGH SEAS OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL.

MOST OF THE INVASION TROOPS \h\h\h\h\hWERE IN BAD SHAPE

AS THEY APPROACHED THE SHORE.

\h\h\hGordon: SOME OF THESE BOYS HAD BEEN IN THEIR LANDING CRAFT

FOR MANY, MANY, MANY HOURS.

SOME OF THEM WOULD NOW BE \h\h\h\h\hBEYOND SEASICK--

\h\h\h\h\hSOME OF THEM PROBABLY TO THE POINT,

\hTHEY WERE SO SICK, ACTUALLY, THEY’D ALMOST GIVEN UP CARING.

Man: LOADED DOWN LIKE PACK MULES,

WE WERE BOUNCED AROUND \h\h\hAND THROWN ABOUT

WHILE THROWING UP EVERYTHING \h\h\h\hWE’D EATEN FOR DAYS.

\h\h\h\h\h\hSCARED AS HELL AND SICKER THAN THE DEVIL,

WE WERE DRENCHED WITH SALTWATER

WITH EVERY DIP AND BOB \hOF THE LANDING BOAT.

Narrator: THE LCVP WASN’T THE ONLY HIGGINS DESIGN AT D-DAY.

THE U.S. NAVY HAD ASKED HIM TO PRODUCE A SIMILAR VESSEL,

\h\hWHICH WOULD GIVE DIRECT BEACH ACCESS

TO A STANDARD TANK.

THIS TIME,

HIGGINS TOOK HIS INSPIRATION \h\h\h\hFROM A RIVER BARGE.

HIS MEN PULLED IT APART,

GAVE IT A RAMP,

AND ONLY THREE DAYS LATER,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hDEMONSTRATED ITS PROTOTYPE TO THE NAVY.

\h\h\h\h\hTHE RESULT WAS THE LANDING CRAFT TANK.

THE NAVY WAS SO IMPRESSED \h\h\h\h\h\h\hWITH THE LCT

THAT MORE AND MORE \h\hWERE DEMANDED.

\h\h\h\h\h\hSO HIGGINS TOOK OVER THE STREETS AROUND HIS FACTORY.

\h\h\h\h\hLANDING CRAFT WERE EVEN BUILT ON THE PAVEMENT.

BUT HIGGINS’ RELATIONSHIP \h\h\h\hWITH THE U.S. NAVY

COULD BE FICKLE.

HE WAS A MAN WHO WAS USED TO \h\hGETTING WHAT HE WANTED.

\h\hSymonds: HE OFTEN FEUDED WITH THE NAVY,

WHICH HE THOUGHT CLOSED-MINDED AND NOT, NOT VERY INNOVATIVE.

IT WOULDN’T ACCEPT MANY OF HIS IDEAS.

BUT, NEVERTHELESS, THEY MANAGED TO GET ALONG ENOUGH

SO THAT HE COULD PRODUCE \h\h\h\h5,000 OR 10,000

\h\hOF THESE HIGGINS BOATS FOR THE VARIOUS INVASIONS,

NOT ONLY AT NORMANDY AND D-DAY,

\hBUT THE MANY INVASIONS ON THE ISLANDS IN THE PACIFIC AS WELL.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: ALONGSIDE THE LCVPs AND LCTs

WERE MANY DIFFERENT TYPES \h\h\h\hOF LANDING CRAFT.

\h\h\h\h\hSOME CARRIED 120,000 TONS OF CARGO,

SOME CARRIED MORE THAN ONE TANK,

AND SOME, OVER 200 SOLDIERS.

AND FOR TWO DAYS, THESE VESSELS WAITED FOR THE X-CRAFT CREWS

TO GUIDE THEM SAFELY

\h\h\h\hTO THE BRITISH AND CANADIAN BEACHES.

\hBooth: WE REALIZED THAT IT WAS SO EASY

FOR ALL THOSE TANK LANDING CRAFT TO HAVE HIT THE WRONG BEACH,

HAVING COME ACROSS THE CHANNEL.

\h\hIT’S A VERY STRONG TIDE UP AND DOWN, EAST AND WEST,

\h\h\h\h\hAND THEY HAD TO CROSS NORTH AND SOUTH, OF ALL THINGS,

AND THEY HAD NO NAVIGATION \h\hEQUIPMENT TO SPEAK OF.

JUST HIT THE WRONG BEACH, AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN...

I MEAN, THEY WOULD PROBABLY HAVE WON IN THE END, GOT ASHORE,

BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CERTAINLY A LOT MORE CASUALTIES.

Narrator: THE HIGGINS BOATS \h\h\h\h\h\hWERE SUCCESSFUL

IN BRINGING TROOPS TO THE BEACH.

\h\h\h\hBUT THEY OFFERED ONLY LIMITED PROTECTION.

THE MEN WHO LANDED \h\hAT OMAHA BEACH

AT 6:30 A.M. ON D-DAY

FACED DANGER ON ALL SIDES.

Gordon: ONCE THE RAMP GOES DOWN, YOU’RE FACED WITH SURF,

\hAND THE LANDING CRAFT IS STILL MOVING FORWARD.

\hUM, ONE MISSED STEP, IT COULD RUN OVER YOU.

\h\hTHERE’S WATER SPOUTING WITH MACHINE-GUN BULLETS.

\h\h\h\hYOU HAVE A BACKPACK WHICH IS WEIGHING YOU DOWN.

YOU STAGGER INTO THE SURF,

YOU’VE GOT TO GET ACROSS \h\h\h\h\h\hTHAT BEACH,

AND YOU’VE GOT TO DO IT IN THE MACHINE-GUN FIRE.

[GUNFIRE]

BUT YOU CAN IMAGINE \h\h\hTHE CASUALTIES

AND THE DROWNINGS.

\hAND EVEN SOME OF THOSE WHO WERE THERE, I GUESS,

SPENT THE REST OF THEIR LIVES

JUST AMAZED THAT THEY DID IT \h\h\h\h\h\h\hAND SURVIVED.

I THINK IT’S QUITE \h\hEXTRAORDINARY.

QUITE EXTRAORDINARY.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: DESPITE THE CASUALTIES,

D-DAY WAS A SUCCESS.

BEACHHEADS WERE SECURED ALONG THE 50-MILE FRONT.

BY MIDNIGHT,

\h\h\hOPERATION NEPTUNE HAD BROUGHT 150,000 MEN,

9,000 VEHICLES,

\h\h\h\hAND 2,000 TONS OF SUPPLIES TO FRANCE.

IT WAS THE CRITICAL START NEEDED

THAT WOULD SET UP OPERATION OVERLORD

AND THE LIBERATION OF EUROPE.

\hSymonds: THE KEY TO HAVING MARITIME POWER, NAVAL POWER,

IS NOT THAT YOU CAN DEPOSIT \h100, 150,000, 200,000 MEN

ON A DEFENDED BEACH

AND SEIZE THAT BEACH.

YOU THEN HAVE TO SUPPLY THEM.

YOU HAVE TO BRING THEM \hAMMUNITION AND FOOD

AND WATER AND SUSTENANCE,

AND YOU HAVE TO REINFORCE THEM

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAND BRING IN ANOTHER 100,000, 200,000,

\h500,000, A MILLION, A MILLION AND A HALF,

AND YOU HAVE TO DO IT \hON A CONSTANT BASIS,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL,

DAY AFTER DAY, WEEK AFTER WEEK, MONTH AFTER MONTH,

AND IT’S THAT CAPABILITY THAT IS REALLY STUNNING.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: D-DAY IS RIGHTLY REMEMBERED

FOR THE BRAVE TROOPS

WHO BATTLED FOR A FOOTHOLD \hON THE NORMANDY BEACHES.

\h\h\h\h\hBUT THEIR HEROISM WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE

\h\h\h\h\hWITHOUT THE YEARS OF PLANNING AND PREPARATION

THAT BROUGHT THEM THERE.

\h\h\h\h\hTHE DIVERSE AND INGENIOUS VESSELS

\h\hTHAT BRAVELY CROSSED THE CHANNEL ON JUNE 6th

CHANGED THE COURSE OF THE WAR.

\hD-DAY REMAINS AN EVENT UNPARALLELED IN HISTORY.