An unusual photograph of JUNO Beach is of a P-47 Thunderbolt (42-76279) from 365th Fighter Bomber Group 386th Fighter Squadron U.S. Army Air Force beached close to the sea wall on JUNO Beach. How did it get there? The aircraft was flown by 2nd Lieutentant John Alfred Weese who crash landed into the sea off St Aubin sur Mer on 10th June 1944. Sadly Weese was killed in the attempt. Weese's body was recovered [...]
Ardenne Abbey Massacre. June 1944 On 7th, 8th and 17th June 1944, in the immediate aftermath of D-Day, twenty Canadian soldiers were executed by the Germans at the Abbaye d'Ardenne, a massive collection of medieval buildings including an early gothic church, a chateau and farm buildings at Villons les Buissons which today is a suburb of the modern city of Caen. The Abbaye d'Ardenne had been taken over as the headquarters of 25th Panzer [...]
Click the words "Last Post" in blue below to view the video. Last PostColour Sergeant Bugler Russell Piner from the Royal Marines School of Music and Staff Sergeant Bryan McKinney from West Point Military Academy have collaborated to create a Last Post video that encapsulates a shared ethos: understated excellence, mutual respect and profound appreciation for those who have paid the ultimate price serving their country. ’Lest We Forget’ Posted by The Bands of HM [...]
Musée Pegasus Memorial, Centaur Infantry Support Tank. Centaur Infantry Support tank, fitted with a 95mm Howitzer and not an anti-tank gun, Centaurs were used by the Royal Marines in the close support role. This particular tank stood for many years opposite the Cafe Gondrée at Benouville, the first French house to be liberated in Operation Deadstick, part of Operation Tonga which was the opening act in the Allied Normandy Invasion late at night on 5 [...]
During our tours we often refer to this very effective German weapon which played havoc with the Allied landings, particularly at OMAHA Beach and Hillman. This firing demonstration took place at Dellwood Park in Lockport, Illinois on 8 September 2013, by 5th Company GrossDeutschland. The MG-42 (a shortened form Maschinengewehr 42, or "machine gun 42") is a Mauser 7.92 x 57mm gemeral purpose machine gun, most noted for its high cyclic rate and its consequent [...]
Glenn, Bing and Ranee, the parachuting dogs of D-Day The dogs wore their own parachutes and were trained to jump after bones/treats. It would appear that they were not distressed by the experience and after a few practice jumps they would often exit the aircraft without coaxing. During D-day and the battle for Normandy, British airborne forces used parachuting dogs. They were trained to sniff out landmines, booby [...]
Among the Best D-Day Tours of Normandy TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence We are delighted to receive a TripAdvisor certificate of Excellence. This isn't something we sought or applied for, it was awarded to us based on the quality of the reviews our tours have received on TripAdvisor. We're delighted with it. We work hard to make sure every client gets the best tour possible and we are always gratified when we receive a good review [...]
There were four concrete casemates at the battery which housed the guns. The guns were found to be smaller than intelligence reports suggested. However the 100mm Czech guns could still inflict serious casualties to troops landing on SWORD Beach,. Parachute Regiment's heroic D-Day attack on Merville Battery The battle fought by 9th Battalion Parachute Regiment to silence the German artillery battery at Merville during the early hours of D-Day [...]
Piper Bill Millin and "The Road to the Isles Bill Millin's Statue at Colleville-Montgomery overlooks SWORD Beach where he landed on D-Day At the age of 21 yrs Piper Bill Millin was the personal piper of Lord Lovatt Fraser whose Commando Brigade landed on SWORD Beach on D-Day. Millin was the only British soldier to wear the Kilt on D-Day and although officially not allowed to play the [...]
