The contribution of landing craft and their crews to the 1944 Normandy campaign was enormous, and often overlooked. Most of the more than 132,000 Allied troops who landed on the beaches on D-Day came ashore from landing craft. The book examines why so many different types of landing craft were used in the operation; how they were built in both the UK and North America, over several years and with many competing war production requirements and operational needs. In the lead up to D-Day the Allies never seemed to have enough landing craft, their availability and production regularly discussed by top Allied leaders. This account is essential to anyone who wants to fully understand the course of D-Day, and the nature of Allied preparations for the campaign.
"'This is a superb book … Andrew Whitmarsh has produced a meticulously researched narrative that combines stories of personal sacrifice, bravery and achievement with a rigorous study of the development and use of the amphibious assault force that played such a fundamental role in the success of the D-Day landings. His text is a model of clear expression and coherent organisation … One of the best
DR SIMON TREW, former head of the Department of War Studies, Royal Military Academy Sandhu
"'... uniquely brings together, in one place, hard to find information about the history of landing craft from conception to delivery and the myriad of constructional and organisational processes in between. By itself that is quite an achievement but, uniquely in my experience, the narrative includes observations from the veterans who manned the craft.'"
