This fourth volume of a comprehensive five-part work on D-Day covers
every aspect of aerial operations on and behind the beaches at 'Omaha'
and 'Utah' beaches on 6 June 1944. It might be imagined that the passing
years would blunt the outlines of the experience but the D-Day veterans
do not forget. Their accounts convey the chaos, terror and hysteria as
the first salvos of German fire clanged off the landing craft, in
language that is all the more powerful for its terseness and simplicity.
The landings at 'Omaha', which were vital to connect the US, troops at
'Utah' Beach with the British and Canadian beaches to the east were an
unmitigated disaster with an estimated 3,000 killed, wounded and
missing. The highest number of casualties of all the beaches, they were
the greatest American losses in one battle since the Battle of Antietam
Creek in the American Civil War in September 1862.
The situation on the beach was chaotic as troops were pinned down by
enemy fire and had to take cover behind mined beach defenses. As things
progressed, it was an accumulation of individual acts of self-sacrifice
and gallantry, which opened up an exit and a seaborne bombardment by the
task force, saw tenuous footholds finally gained by early afternoon. In
stark contrast to Omaha, an almost textbook landing was made at Utah;
the air bombardment was effective and a strong current actually landed
the 4th Infantry Division 2,000 yards south of their intended target
where the beach was less heavily defended.
This account analyses each aspect of the aerial operation, noting how
events on the ground and in the sea impacted upon pilots endeavors in
the skies. Evocative images supplement the text effectively to create a
real sense of what it was like for the pilots of D-Day, the individuals
who made such a contribution to the Allied war effort in the Second
World War.
