The tale of one particular shell fired on D-Day.....

[Denis]

Again, these are just snaps with no skill whatever in their making. But they are a pictorial tale of something that I found...well..fascinating and wanted to keep.

 

The USS Nevada survived the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941. On the morning of the sixth of June 1944 she was designated to fire on beach defences on Utah Beach, this was the western end of the series of beaches chosen to mount the invasion of France by the allied forces .

 

She switched targets and fired on the German heavy gun battery at Azeville, three kilometres inland from the actual beach,at this point she was eight miles out to sea. Her first salvo from her fourteen inch diameter guns fell just behind the two western reinforced concrete casemates where the craters can still be seen today.

 

Two shells from her second salvo struck the casemate, one blowing a hole right through the light machine gun 'Tobruk' mount, the second entered the firing room of the casemate itself at a very low trajectory.

 

 

It drilled a hole through the rear wall of the firing room and entered the main command room of the huge bunker where it killed sixteen German soldiers. It had still not exploded. Their deaths caused by shock and the massive amount of concrete splinters that were hurled around inside the command room.

 

 

It bounced off the floor and exited through the inch thick armour plate that held the MG34 machine gun that pointed out of the rear of the command room for defence.

 

 

 

After creating its path through, it then glanced off the side of the metre thick inner blast wall that blew out at least half the width of the wall itself...it still didnt explode.

 

 

It then bounced and hit the right side of the blast wall and exited through the rear doorway and steel door, removing it completely, then the shell itself embedded itself standing on its nose five feet outside the rear entrance.

 

It laid there for 50 years until it was found when the gun battery was being cleaned up to open as a museum. It was finally detonated, and the remaining nose cone of the four foot long shell was placed back inside the casemate where it has first entered the room (pic 3). The plinth below shows when, and where it was found.

 

[Dennyboy]

Did the normandy beaches and museums this year, very sobering. Stood on Omaha beach and its like standing on graves it's so hard to explain. Did from Pegasus bridge right along to utah beach over 3 days.

[Denis]

I have been twice before Dennyboy, but my son and I did it this year together. We took our time and spent six days from 'Utah' beach to the Orne Canal & 'Pegasus'.

 

There is so much else to see inland as well, that by my reckoning it would take a good eight days to see all you can. This trip we finally got to hill112, hill 262, the Falaise pocket, and the lonely Tiger Tank that sits on the roadside at Vimoutier where it ran out of fuel escaping the carnage of the Falaise gap. Places like those I depicted, the 'Azeville Batterie', the 101st airborne museum at St Mere Eglise, Brecourt Manor, Tilly, The Suffolks Regt  objectives at 'Hillman' and 'Morris', plus the radar station at Douvres all go to tell a very compelling and sad story.

 

Strangely 'Omaha', despite the terror and terrible losses leaves me...well...a little underawed. Apart from the memorial in the sea and the museum there is little to actually see. The Canadian beach 'Juno' and its excellent museum wins hands down for emotional experience for me, I actually came out of there with tears on my face. And i have no emotional connection with Canada or the landings on their beach, it was just so well presented.

[Dennyboy]

Agree the Canadian museum and the one in caen (the really big one) got me going. I took my son who's 27 with me. I was about to have my op and i was on crutches so distance was limited. Might have to go back again. Omaha the day we went, there is miles of beach and there wasn't a soul on it, seemed eerie. Juno beach, i looked at those small gaps they had to run through almost certain to die or be seriously maimed and it makes you shiver. The precision dropping of the gliders at Pegasus as well marvelled me.

If you haven't been Bletchley park is a really good visit, absolutely fascinating i found it.

[NannyFerret]

That's really interesting Chro Thanks for sharing and also for your input Denny.
It's hard to imagine that these things were going on when I was just a baby.

My sister-in-law was older and remembered shouting "Bosch" at the Germans as they marched through France where she lived. She was only about 4 at the time.