Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy
Encyclopedia
The Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy involved hundreds of military personnel operating under British command. It has been estimated that as many as 3,000 Australian military personnel took part in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, including between 2,000 and 2,500 Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF) airmen in Australian and British Royal Air Force
units, approximately 500 members of the Royal Australian Navy
serving in Royal Navy
vessels and about a dozen Australian Army
officers attached to British Army
units. Australians also took part in the subsequent Battle of Normandy
during the northern summer of 1944. While these operations involved all the RAAF units stationed in the United Kingdom, Australian personnel only made up a small share of the Allied force.
, and most elements of the military were in Australia and the islands to its north. Nevertheless, substantial numbers of RAAF personnel were stationed in the United Kingdom (UK) and took part in operations against Germany. As of April 1944, about 1,500 Australians were posted to RAF units. In addition, ten RAAF squadrons were stationed in the UK. These included one regular RAAF unit, No.10 Squadron
, and nine Article XV squadrons
manned by graduates of the Empire Air Training Scheme
. While these Article XV squadrons were nominally Australian, most included a substantial proportion of personnel from Britain and other Commonwealth countries. The Australian air units came under the command of the RAF which had a strength of 306 squadrons in the UK at the time of the landings in Normandy. Few Australians were involved in planning the invasion.
All ten RAAF squadrons in the UK participated in the invasion of Europe. Three of the RAAF squadrons in the UK were assigned to the Second Tactical Air Force
(2TAF), which was to provide direct support to the Allied armies during the campaign in Europe. These units were No. 453 Squadron
, which was equipped with Spitfire
fighters, as well as No. 456
and No. 464 Squadrons
which flew Mosquito
aircraft. In addition, No. 460 Squadron
, No. 463 Squadron
, No. 466 Squadron
and No. 467 Squadron
s operated heavy bomber
s as part of RAF Bomber Command
. While the heavy bomber squadrons had been mainly used to raid German cities and industrial facilities, Bomber Command played an important role in attacking targets in France ahead of the invasion, and later provided direct support for ground troops during major offensives. Three other RAAF squadrons in the UK would also support operations in Normandy as part of Coastal Command
; No. 10 Squadron and No. 461 Squadrons
were equipped with Sunderland
flying boats and flew patrols of the waters around the UK and No. 455 Squadron
operated against German shipping using Beaufighter
strike aircraft.
In addition to the RAAF personnel operating as part the RAF in the UK, hundreds of RAN personnel were serving with the Royal Navy (RN) at the time of the Battle of Normandy. No Australian warships took part in the operation, however. Most of the Australian officers serving with the RN were members of the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR). About twelve Australian Army officers were also attached to British Army units which took part in the invasion; these officers had been posted to the UK to gain experience in amphibious warfare
ahead of planned Australian landings in the Pacific.
During early 1944 the Allies conducted a large scale air offensive against German positions and transport infrastructure in France in preparation for the D-Day landings at Normandy. The RAAF squadrons in the UK, and Australians posted to RAF units, participated in these attacks. In addition, Australian fighter pilots, including the night fighter
s of No. 456 Squadron, flew defensive patrols over the ports on the south coast of England where the invasion fleet was being gathered. During this period Coastal Command stepped up its efforts to sink German submarines which were operating near France, and succeeded in destroying six submarines within eleven days during May; Australian aircrew contributed to three of these sinkings.
batteries near the beaches on which Allied troops were to land. Each battery was targeted by approximately 100 heavy bombers, and all four Australian heavy bomber squadrons took part in the operation. No. 460 Squadron dispatched 26 aircraft, which were evenly split between attacking the batteries at Fontenay-Crisbecq and St Martin de Varreville. No. 466 Squadron provided 13 aircraft to the raid on batteries at Merville-Franceville Maisy, 14 aircraft from No. 463 Squadron struck Pointe du Hoe and a further 14 No. 467 Squadron bombers attacked batteries at Ouistreham
. Many RAAF aircrew posted to British squadrons also participated in this attack, and overall 14.8 percent of the 1,136 Bomber Command aircraft involved in the raid were either part of RAAF squadrons or were flown by Australians.
Australians posted to RAF units also landed paratrooper
s in Normandy and took part in diversionary operations. On the night of 5/6 June several Australian aircrew served in heavy bombers that dropped "Window" chaff to simulate convoys headed for the Pas de Calais region of France in an attempt to deceive the Germans of the Allies' true intentions. Other Australians served in aircraft that dropped dummy paratroopers and jammed German radar
. One Australian pilot posted to No. 139 Squadron RAF
took part in the 'intruder' bombing raids on western Germany and the low countries that sought to divert German aircraft away from Normandy. Australian aircrew also served aboard the transport aircraft of No. 38 Group RAF
and No. 46 Group RAF, which flew the British 6th Airborne Division from the UK to Normandy on the night of 5/6 June. About 14 percent of the transport aircraft in No. 38 Group were piloted by Australians, though the proportion of Australians in No. 46 Group was much lower. There were no completely Australian aircrews in either group. Air Commodore Frank Bladin
, a RAAF officer who had previously led the North-Western Area command in Australia, was the Senior Air Staff Officer for No. 38 Group and helped plan its operations on D-Day.
Australian aircrew supported the fighting on 6 June. No. 453 Squadron was one of the 171 Allied squadrons allocated to defend the invasion fleet and beachhead from German aircraft and provide close air support to the Allied troops during daylight hours, and No. 456 Squadron formed part of the force that provided air defence at night. In addition, about 200 Australian pilots were spread across the dozens of RAF fighter and fighter-bomber units that supported the landings. A small number of Australian aircrew also served in 2TAF's light bomber squadrons, which saw combat over France. On 6 June, No. 453 Squadron was one of 36 squadrons that provided low-altitude air defence for the fleet and landing force. Many of the squadron's pilots flew several sorties during the day, though they did not encounter any German aircraft. The three Australian squadrons assigned to Coastal Command flew only a small number of sorties on 6 June as few German submarine
s or torpedo boats put to sea.
In addition to the RAAF contribution to D Day, about 500 Australian served on board RN ships involved in the operation. While most formed part of the crew of RN warships, several Australian officers commanded flotillas of landing craft and other Australians commanded individual landing craft. Some of the warships with Australian crew members that supported the landings were (which had three RANVR officers on board), , , , , and .
By the end of D-Day, the Allied forces had made a successful landing in Normandy and were poised to continue the advance. The total number of Australians killed on 6 June was 14, of whom 12 were RAAF airmen and two were members of the RAN. The fighting in Normandy continued until August 1944, when the Allies made a successful breakout and rapidly liberated most of France and reached the German border. Australian airmen supported this campaign.
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Australian airmen were involved in Allied efforts to delay German reinforcements from reaching Normandy. On the night of 6/7 June, 20 Mosquitos from No. 464 Squadron were dispatched to attack German road convoys and trains in northern France. The four Australian heavy bomber squadrons also participated in raids on French towns on this night; while those conducted by No. 463, No. 466 and No. 467 Squadrons mainly targeted railway facilities in the towns, No. 460 Squadron formed part of an attack on Vire
which sought to destroy the town in order to prevent the Germans from using the roads which passed through it. Following these raids, Bomber Command continued to target railway infrastructure in France in an attempt to disrupt the movement of German reinforcements to Normandy. The command operated intensively during the week after the invasion, and some Australian aircrew flew raids on consecutive nights during this period. Bomber Command made a further 16 raids against railway facilities in France between 13 and 30 June, of which six involved RAAF squadrons. No. 464 Squadron also operated against German vehicles travelling at night and bombed railway yards, and flew 75 sorties between the nights of 7/8 and 12/13 June. Overall, the squadron conducted attacks on 13 nights during June.
Australians also contributed to the defence of the Allied beachhead against German air and naval attacks. No. 453 Squadron and the Australian fighter pilots in RAF units continued to fly patrols over the beachhead in the week after D-Day, but only rarely encountered German aircraft. From 11 June the squadron's aircraft frequently operated from airfields which had been built at Normandy, and on the 25th of the month it moved from the UK to Advanced Landing Ground B11 within the beachhead. By late June, No. 453 Squadron and the other RAF Spitfire units were regularly attacking German positions in Normandy as well as providing air defence for the Allied forces in the area. A small number of Australians posted to RAF squadrons equipped with Hawker Typhoon
fighter-bombers also attacked German vehicles and positions in direct support of the Allied ground troops. No. 456 Squadron, which was one of four night fighter squadrons assigned to protect the beachhead, frequently met German aircraft and shot down twelve of them in the week after the landing.
Following the invasion, German submarines and surface warships sortied to attack the Allied fleet and the Australian members of Coastal Command participated in attacks on these vessels. While the Sunderlands of No. 10 and No. 461 Squadrons attacked a number of submarines and E-boats in the week after D-Day, they did not achieve any sinkings. The aircrew of two of the British B-24 Liberators which sank German submarines during this period included Australian personnel, however, and Australians were on board several of the other British aircraft which flew anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols. In addition, No. 455 Squadron took part in attacks on E-boats operating near Normandy and German shipping travelling through the English Channel. The two Australian flying boat squadrons operated intensively throughout June, but did not sink any German ships or submarines. No. 460 Squadron and Australians in other Bomber Command units also took part in heavy bomber raids on E-Boat bases at Le Havre
and Boulogne on the nights of 14/15 June and 15/16 June respectively.
, as well as the city itself. The Australian contribution to this raid included 20 Lancasters from No. 460 Squadron and 14 Halifaxes
from No. 466 Squadron as well as aircrew in RAF squadrons. One of No. 460 Squadon's aircraft made a crash landing within the Allied beachhead after being damaged by German anti-aircraft guns, but its crew survived and were evacuated to the UK. While the attack devastated Caen, the ground troops were only able to capture the northern half of the city when they advanced on 8 July. All four Australian heavy bomber squadrons participated in a series of attacks on German positions on 18 July as part of Operation Goodwood
, but this offensive also failed to result in a breakthrough. On 30 July No. 463, No. 466 and No. 467 Squadrons contributed aircraft to another major bombardment of German positions near Caumont
ahead of Operation Bluecoat
; 693 heavy bombers were involved in this attack, of which 39 were from the Australian squadrons, but many were unable to drop their bombs due to cloud over the target area. All four Australian heavy bomber squadrons were involved in the next major bombardment, which took place on the night of 7/8 August to support Operation Totalize, but many did not drop their bombs as cloud and smoke obscured the target area. The four squadrons again attacked German Army positions on 14 August in support of Operation Tractable
. By this time the Allied armies had successfully broken out of Normandy, and no further heavy bomber attacks were required.
Australians also continued to be involved in the Allied air attacks which sought to disrupt the movement of German troops and supplies to Normandy during July and August. As well as supporting the ground forces in Normandy and bombing V-1 flying bomb launch facilities in northern France, Bomber Command attacked railway facilities in France during July and August, and at least one of the Australian squadrons participated in 15 of the 25 raids conducted against these targets. No. 464 Squadron also flew more than 350 sorties during July and 400 in August against transport infrastructure in France and convoys of German vehicles. These operations, which were generally conducted at night, cost the unit three aircraft.
No. 453 Squadron operated from Normandy during July and August and mainly patrolled behind the German front line in search of motor transport to attack. It occasionally encountered German aircraft during this period and shot down several Me 109
and Fw 190
fighters. The squadron flew 727 sorties during July, but lost several of its Spitfires to German anti-aircraft guns. No. 453 Squadron continued to operate against German transport during August, and moved to an airfield near Lingèvres
on the 13th of the month. This airfield was attacked by a German aircraft the next day, resulting in the death of one Australian pilot and another three wounded. The squadron experienced considerable success during the Allied break-out, and claimed to have destroyed dozens of German vehicles during August. While No. 456 Squadron operated over Normandy in early July, from the 6th of the month it was transferred to defensive duties in the UK as part of efforts to shoot down V-1 flying bombs.
The Australian flying boat squadrons assigned to Coastal Command also continued to support the invasion during July and August. On 8 July a No. 10 Squadron Sunderland sank the German submarine U-243 130 miles (209.2 km) south-west of Brest
. Overall, No. 10 Squadron flew 56 patrols during July and No. 461 Squadron conducted 67, most of which were made at night. One of No. 461 Squadron's Sunderlands damaged the submarine U-385 150 miles (241.4 km) south of Brest on 10 August, and it was sunk the next day by . On 13 August another No. 461 Squadron Sunderland attacked and sank U-270. No. 10 Squadron flew a similar number of patrols to those it had conducted during August, but did not encounter any submarines. No. 455 Squadron took part in attacks on German shipping travelling off Holland and in the North Sea
during July and August, but these were not directly related to supporting the invasion.
cemeteries in the Normandy region. These include men killed in the region prior to the invasion and those who died during the fighting in 1944. Of the 44 Australian graves, 17 are located at the Bayeux War Cemetery, six at Saint-Désir de Lisieux, five at Banneville-la-Campagne, four at the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetary, three at each of Douvres la Délivrande and Hermanville-sur-Mer and one each at Ranville, Ryes-Nazenville, Saint-Manvieu-Norrey and Tilly-sur-Seulles. The Bayeux Memorial, which lists the names of Commonwealth personnel killed in Normandy with no known grave, does not include any Australians. The most recent burial of an Australian serviceman in Normandy took place in April 2011 when No. 453 Squadron pilot Lieutenant Henry Lacy Smith was interred at Ranville War Cemetery. Smith had drowned when his Spitfire crash-landed in the River Orne on 11 June 1944, but his body was not recovered until November 2010.
The Australian involvement in the Battle of Normandy has also been commemorated through memorials and official state visits. In 2004, Australian Prime Minister John Howard
attended the ceremonies in France which marked 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. 'Normandy' is one of the 47 battle sites recorded on the Australian War Memorial, London
. When the Mémorial de Caen
opened in 1988, the flagpoles outside the museum commemorating the countries which participated in the battle did not include an Australian flag. Former No. 453 Squadron pilot Colin Leith campaigned to have an Australian flag added, and this was achieved on 1 May 1998.
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
(RAAF) airmen in Australian and British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
units, approximately 500 members of the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
serving in Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
vessels and about a dozen Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
officers attached to British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
units. Australians also took part in the subsequent Battle of Normandy
Battle of Normandy
The Invasion of Normandy was the invasion and establishment of Allied forces in Normandy, France, during Operation Overlord in World War II. It was the largest amphibious operation in history...
during the northern summer of 1944. While these operations involved all the RAAF units stationed in the United Kingdom, Australian personnel only made up a small share of the Allied force.
Background
In 1944 Australia's war effort was focused on the Pacific WarPacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, and most elements of the military were in Australia and the islands to its north. Nevertheless, substantial numbers of RAAF personnel were stationed in the United Kingdom (UK) and took part in operations against Germany. As of April 1944, about 1,500 Australians were posted to RAF units. In addition, ten RAAF squadrons were stationed in the UK. These included one regular RAAF unit, No.10 Squadron
No. 10 Squadron RAAF
No. 10 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol squadron based at RAAF Base Edinburgh. The Squadron was first formed in 1939 and has seen active service in World War II, East Timor, the War on Terrorism and the 2003 Gulf War.-Second World War:...
, and nine Article XV squadrons
Article XV squadrons
Article XV squadrons were Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand air force squadrons formed from graduates of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , during World War II....
manned by graduates of the Empire Air Training Scheme
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...
. While these Article XV squadrons were nominally Australian, most included a substantial proportion of personnel from Britain and other Commonwealth countries. The Australian air units came under the command of the RAF which had a strength of 306 squadrons in the UK at the time of the landings in Normandy. Few Australians were involved in planning the invasion.
All ten RAAF squadrons in the UK participated in the invasion of Europe. Three of the RAAF squadrons in the UK were assigned to the Second Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
(2TAF), which was to provide direct support to the Allied armies during the campaign in Europe. These units were No. 453 Squadron
No. 453 Squadron RAAF
No. 453 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force air traffic control unit. It was first was formed at Bankstown in New South Wales on 23 May 1941 during World War II and was disbanded in March 1942 after suffering heavy losses in combat during the Battle of Malaya...
, which was equipped with Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
fighters, as well as No. 456
No. 456 Squadron RAAF
No. 456 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force night fighter squadron, active over Europe during World War II.-History:No. 456 Squadron was formed on 30 June 1941 at RAF Valley, Isle of Anglesey, Wales in the United Kingdom under the Empire Air Training Scheme as a night fighter squadron,...
and No. 464 Squadrons
No. 464 Squadron RAAF
No. 464 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force bomber squadron during World War II.-History:The Squadron was officially formed on 1 September 1942 at RAF Feltwell, Norfolk in the United Kingdom, under the Empire Air Training Scheme. No...
which flew Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
aircraft. In addition, No. 460 Squadron
No. 460 Squadron RAAF
No. 460 Squadron is an Royal Australian Air Force intelligence unit active within the Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation . It was first formed as a heavy bomber squadron during World War II on November 15, 1941 and disbanded on 10 October 1945 after seeing extensive combat over Europe. The...
, No. 463 Squadron
No. 463 Squadron RAAF
No. 463 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force heavy bomber squadron during World War II. The squadron was formed in the United Kingdom on 25 November 1943 from personnel and aircraft allocated from No. 467 Squadron RAAF. The Squadron was equipped with Avro Lancaster bombers and flew its...
, No. 466 Squadron
No. 466 Squadron RAAF
No. 466 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force bomber squadron during World War II.-History:The squadron was formed at RAF Driffield in Yorkshire, England on 10 October 1942, under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme. The majority of its original personnel were from British...
and No. 467 Squadron
No. 467 Squadron RAAF
No. 467 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force bomber squadron during World War II, active in the European Theater of Operations as an Article XV Squadron under command of the Royal Air Force.-History:No...
s operated heavy bomber
Heavy bomber
A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
s as part of RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
. While the heavy bomber squadrons had been mainly used to raid German cities and industrial facilities, Bomber Command played an important role in attacking targets in France ahead of the invasion, and later provided direct support for ground troops during major offensives. Three other RAAF squadrons in the UK would also support operations in Normandy as part of Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
; No. 10 Squadron and No. 461 Squadrons
No. 461 Squadron RAAF
No. 461 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol squadron of World War II which operated under Royal Air Force control flying in Europe and over the Atlantic. The Squadron was formed in 1942 and was disbanded in 1945.-Squadron history:...
were equipped with Sunderland
Short Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....
flying boats and flew patrols of the waters around the UK and No. 455 Squadron
No. 455 Squadron RAAF
No. 455 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force torpedo bomber squadron during World War II and became famous as part of the so-called ANZAC Strike Wing.-History:No. 455 Squadron was formed at Williamtown, New South Wales on 23 May 1941...
operated against German shipping using Beaufighter
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
strike aircraft.
In addition to the RAAF personnel operating as part the RAF in the UK, hundreds of RAN personnel were serving with the Royal Navy (RN) at the time of the Battle of Normandy. No Australian warships took part in the operation, however. Most of the Australian officers serving with the RN were members of the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR). About twelve Australian Army officers were also attached to British Army units which took part in the invasion; these officers had been posted to the UK to gain experience in amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
ahead of planned Australian landings in the Pacific.
During early 1944 the Allies conducted a large scale air offensive against German positions and transport infrastructure in France in preparation for the D-Day landings at Normandy. The RAAF squadrons in the UK, and Australians posted to RAF units, participated in these attacks. In addition, Australian fighter pilots, including the night fighter
Night fighter
A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...
s of No. 456 Squadron, flew defensive patrols over the ports on the south coast of England where the invasion fleet was being gathered. During this period Coastal Command stepped up its efforts to sink German submarines which were operating near France, and succeeded in destroying six submarines within eleven days during May; Australian aircrew contributed to three of these sinkings.
Australians at D-Day
On the night of 5/6 June, and in the early hours of 6 June, Bomber Command conducted precision attacks on ten German coastal artilleryCoastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
batteries near the beaches on which Allied troops were to land. Each battery was targeted by approximately 100 heavy bombers, and all four Australian heavy bomber squadrons took part in the operation. No. 460 Squadron dispatched 26 aircraft, which were evenly split between attacking the batteries at Fontenay-Crisbecq and St Martin de Varreville. No. 466 Squadron provided 13 aircraft to the raid on batteries at Merville-Franceville Maisy, 14 aircraft from No. 463 Squadron struck Pointe du Hoe and a further 14 No. 467 Squadron bombers attacked batteries at Ouistreham
Ouistreham
Ouistreham is a commune in the Calvados department' in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft and a ferry-harbour. It serves as the port of the city of Caen. The town is about the mouth of the Canal de Caen à la...
. Many RAAF aircrew posted to British squadrons also participated in this attack, and overall 14.8 percent of the 1,136 Bomber Command aircraft involved in the raid were either part of RAAF squadrons or were flown by Australians.
Australians posted to RAF units also landed paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
s in Normandy and took part in diversionary operations. On the night of 5/6 June several Australian aircrew served in heavy bombers that dropped "Window" chaff to simulate convoys headed for the Pas de Calais region of France in an attempt to deceive the Germans of the Allies' true intentions. Other Australians served in aircraft that dropped dummy paratroopers and jammed German radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
. One Australian pilot posted to No. 139 Squadron RAF
No. 139 Squadron RAF
No. 139 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was fighter unit in World War I and a bomber unit from World War II until the 1960s.-Formation and World War I:...
took part in the 'intruder' bombing raids on western Germany and the low countries that sought to divert German aircraft away from Normandy. Australian aircrew also served aboard the transport aircraft of No. 38 Group RAF
No. 38 Group RAF
No 38 Group RAF was formed on 6 November 1943 from nine squadrons as part of Fighter Command. It was finally disbanded on 1 April 2000.-History:...
and No. 46 Group RAF, which flew the British 6th Airborne Division from the UK to Normandy on the night of 5/6 June. About 14 percent of the transport aircraft in No. 38 Group were piloted by Australians, though the proportion of Australians in No. 46 Group was much lower. There were no completely Australian aircrews in either group. Air Commodore Frank Bladin
Frank Bladin
Air Vice Marshal Francis Masson Bladin, CB, CBE was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . Born in rural Victoria, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1920. Bladin transferred from the Army to the Air Force in 1923, and learned to fly at RAAF Point Cook,...
, a RAAF officer who had previously led the North-Western Area command in Australia, was the Senior Air Staff Officer for No. 38 Group and helped plan its operations on D-Day.
Australian aircrew supported the fighting on 6 June. No. 453 Squadron was one of the 171 Allied squadrons allocated to defend the invasion fleet and beachhead from German aircraft and provide close air support to the Allied troops during daylight hours, and No. 456 Squadron formed part of the force that provided air defence at night. In addition, about 200 Australian pilots were spread across the dozens of RAF fighter and fighter-bomber units that supported the landings. A small number of Australian aircrew also served in 2TAF's light bomber squadrons, which saw combat over France. On 6 June, No. 453 Squadron was one of 36 squadrons that provided low-altitude air defence for the fleet and landing force. Many of the squadron's pilots flew several sorties during the day, though they did not encounter any German aircraft. The three Australian squadrons assigned to Coastal Command flew only a small number of sorties on 6 June as few German submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s or torpedo boats put to sea.
In addition to the RAAF contribution to D Day, about 500 Australian served on board RN ships involved in the operation. While most formed part of the crew of RN warships, several Australian officers commanded flotillas of landing craft and other Australians commanded individual landing craft. Some of the warships with Australian crew members that supported the landings were (which had three RANVR officers on board), , , , , and .
By the end of D-Day, the Allied forces had made a successful landing in Normandy and were poised to continue the advance. The total number of Australians killed on 6 June was 14, of whom 12 were RAAF airmen and two were members of the RAN. The fighting in Normandy continued until August 1944, when the Allies made a successful breakout and rapidly liberated most of France and reached the German border. Australian airmen supported this campaign.
June
Vire
Vire is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.- History :In 1123, Henri I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy, had a redoubt constructed on a rocky hill top, which was surrounded by the Vire river...
which sought to destroy the town in order to prevent the Germans from using the roads which passed through it. Following these raids, Bomber Command continued to target railway infrastructure in France in an attempt to disrupt the movement of German reinforcements to Normandy. The command operated intensively during the week after the invasion, and some Australian aircrew flew raids on consecutive nights during this period. Bomber Command made a further 16 raids against railway facilities in France between 13 and 30 June, of which six involved RAAF squadrons. No. 464 Squadron also operated against German vehicles travelling at night and bombed railway yards, and flew 75 sorties between the nights of 7/8 and 12/13 June. Overall, the squadron conducted attacks on 13 nights during June.
Australians also contributed to the defence of the Allied beachhead against German air and naval attacks. No. 453 Squadron and the Australian fighter pilots in RAF units continued to fly patrols over the beachhead in the week after D-Day, but only rarely encountered German aircraft. From 11 June the squadron's aircraft frequently operated from airfields which had been built at Normandy, and on the 25th of the month it moved from the UK to Advanced Landing Ground B11 within the beachhead. By late June, No. 453 Squadron and the other RAF Spitfire units were regularly attacking German positions in Normandy as well as providing air defence for the Allied forces in the area. A small number of Australians posted to RAF squadrons equipped with Hawker Typhoon
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. While the Typhoon was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, and a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, several design problems were encountered, and the Typhoon never completely satisfied...
fighter-bombers also attacked German vehicles and positions in direct support of the Allied ground troops. No. 456 Squadron, which was one of four night fighter squadrons assigned to protect the beachhead, frequently met German aircraft and shot down twelve of them in the week after the landing.
Following the invasion, German submarines and surface warships sortied to attack the Allied fleet and the Australian members of Coastal Command participated in attacks on these vessels. While the Sunderlands of No. 10 and No. 461 Squadrons attacked a number of submarines and E-boats in the week after D-Day, they did not achieve any sinkings. The aircrew of two of the British B-24 Liberators which sank German submarines during this period included Australian personnel, however, and Australians were on board several of the other British aircraft which flew anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols. In addition, No. 455 Squadron took part in attacks on E-boats operating near Normandy and German shipping travelling through the English Channel. The two Australian flying boat squadrons operated intensively throughout June, but did not sink any German ships or submarines. No. 460 Squadron and Australians in other Bomber Command units also took part in heavy bomber raids on E-Boat bases at Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
and Boulogne on the nights of 14/15 June and 15/16 June respectively.
July and August
By July the Allied armies were having difficulty advancing against the German forces in Normandy. In an attempt to create a breakthrough, the Allied air commanders decided to use heavy bombers to attack German positions. The first of these attacks was made on 7 July by 467 Bomber Command aircraft and targeted German forces near CaenCaen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
, as well as the city itself. The Australian contribution to this raid included 20 Lancasters from No. 460 Squadron and 14 Halifaxes
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
from No. 466 Squadron as well as aircrew in RAF squadrons. One of No. 460 Squadon's aircraft made a crash landing within the Allied beachhead after being damaged by German anti-aircraft guns, but its crew survived and were evacuated to the UK. While the attack devastated Caen, the ground troops were only able to capture the northern half of the city when they advanced on 8 July. All four Australian heavy bomber squadrons participated in a series of attacks on German positions on 18 July as part of Operation Goodwood
Operation Goodwood
Operation Goodwood was an attack launched on 18 July 1944, during the Second World War, by the British army to the east of the city of Caen...
, but this offensive also failed to result in a breakthrough. On 30 July No. 463, No. 466 and No. 467 Squadrons contributed aircraft to another major bombardment of German positions near Caumont
Caumont-sur-Orne
Caumont-sur-Orne is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
ahead of Operation Bluecoat
Operation Bluecoat
Operation Bluecoat was an attack by the British Second Army at the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War, from 30 July – 7 August 1944. The geographical objectives of the attack were to secure the key road junction of Vire and the high ground of Mont Pinçon...
; 693 heavy bombers were involved in this attack, of which 39 were from the Australian squadrons, but many were unable to drop their bombs due to cloud over the target area. All four Australian heavy bomber squadrons were involved in the next major bombardment, which took place on the night of 7/8 August to support Operation Totalize, but many did not drop their bombs as cloud and smoke obscured the target area. The four squadrons again attacked German Army positions on 14 August in support of Operation Tractable
Operation Tractable
Operation Tractable was the final offensive conducted by Canadian and Polish Army troops as part of the Battle of Normandy. The goal of this operation was to capture the strategically important French town of Falaise, and following that, the smaller towns of Trun and Chambois...
. By this time the Allied armies had successfully broken out of Normandy, and no further heavy bomber attacks were required.
Australians also continued to be involved in the Allied air attacks which sought to disrupt the movement of German troops and supplies to Normandy during July and August. As well as supporting the ground forces in Normandy and bombing V-1 flying bomb launch facilities in northern France, Bomber Command attacked railway facilities in France during July and August, and at least one of the Australian squadrons participated in 15 of the 25 raids conducted against these targets. No. 464 Squadron also flew more than 350 sorties during July and 400 in August against transport infrastructure in France and convoys of German vehicles. These operations, which were generally conducted at night, cost the unit three aircraft.
No. 453 Squadron operated from Normandy during July and August and mainly patrolled behind the German front line in search of motor transport to attack. It occasionally encountered German aircraft during this period and shot down several Me 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
and Fw 190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
fighters. The squadron flew 727 sorties during July, but lost several of its Spitfires to German anti-aircraft guns. No. 453 Squadron continued to operate against German transport during August, and moved to an airfield near Lingèvres
Lingèvres
-References:*...
on the 13th of the month. This airfield was attacked by a German aircraft the next day, resulting in the death of one Australian pilot and another three wounded. The squadron experienced considerable success during the Allied break-out, and claimed to have destroyed dozens of German vehicles during August. While No. 456 Squadron operated over Normandy in early July, from the 6th of the month it was transferred to defensive duties in the UK as part of efforts to shoot down V-1 flying bombs.
The Australian flying boat squadrons assigned to Coastal Command also continued to support the invasion during July and August. On 8 July a No. 10 Squadron Sunderland sank the German submarine U-243 130 miles (209.2 km) south-west of Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
. Overall, No. 10 Squadron flew 56 patrols during July and No. 461 Squadron conducted 67, most of which were made at night. One of No. 461 Squadron's Sunderlands damaged the submarine U-385 150 miles (241.4 km) south of Brest on 10 August, and it was sunk the next day by . On 13 August another No. 461 Squadron Sunderland attacked and sank U-270. No. 10 Squadron flew a similar number of patrols to those it had conducted during August, but did not encounter any submarines. No. 455 Squadron took part in attacks on German shipping travelling off Holland and in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
during July and August, but these were not directly related to supporting the invasion.
Aftermath
Forty-four Australians are buried in Commonwealth War Graves CommissionCommonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
cemeteries in the Normandy region. These include men killed in the region prior to the invasion and those who died during the fighting in 1944. Of the 44 Australian graves, 17 are located at the Bayeux War Cemetery, six at Saint-Désir de Lisieux, five at Banneville-la-Campagne, four at the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetary, three at each of Douvres la Délivrande and Hermanville-sur-Mer and one each at Ranville, Ryes-Nazenville, Saint-Manvieu-Norrey and Tilly-sur-Seulles. The Bayeux Memorial, which lists the names of Commonwealth personnel killed in Normandy with no known grave, does not include any Australians. The most recent burial of an Australian serviceman in Normandy took place in April 2011 when No. 453 Squadron pilot Lieutenant Henry Lacy Smith was interred at Ranville War Cemetery. Smith had drowned when his Spitfire crash-landed in the River Orne on 11 June 1944, but his body was not recovered until November 2010.
The Australian involvement in the Battle of Normandy has also been commemorated through memorials and official state visits. In 2004, Australian Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
attended the ceremonies in France which marked 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. 'Normandy' is one of the 47 battle sites recorded on the Australian War Memorial, London
Australian War Memorial, London
The Australian War Memorial is a war memorial to the 102,000 Australian dead of the First and Second World Wars at Hyde Park Corner in London, at the southernmost corner of the traffic island around the Wellington Arch, at the junction of Grosvenor Place and Wellington Place.The memorial is a...
. When the Mémorial de Caen
Mémorial de Caen
The Mémorial de Caen is a museum and war memorial in Caen, Normandy, France commemorating the Second World War and the Battle for Caen. The building and grounds are located in the northern suburbs of the city of Caen on the site of an old blockhouse...
opened in 1988, the flagpoles outside the museum commemorating the countries which participated in the battle did not include an Australian flag. Former No. 453 Squadron pilot Colin Leith campaigned to have an Australian flag added, and this was achieved on 1 May 1998.