What happened after D Day ?

[Pteranadon]

G

Gold-Beach - 5x 'Resistance Nest' defensive positions in 5 miles.
Utah Beach - 9x 'Resistance Nest' defensive positions in 5 miles.

The main reasons were a. Not wanting to burden themselves with the logistical burden of a new range of vehicles, b. No time to develop similar vehicles base on a US chassis and c. Not Invented Here.

Read Steve Zaloga's paper in the JMH.

“Debunking an Omaha Beach Legend: The Use of ‘Armored Funnies’ on D-Day,” by Steven J. Zaloga, Journal of Military History 85:1 (January 2021): 134–62
Why were casualties on Omaha Beach on D-Day so high? Many accounts assert that the unusually high casualties suffered can be traced to the U.S. Army’s refusal to employ specialized tanks developed by the British army, nicknamed “Armored Funnies.” This article examines the roots of this legend and details American and British plans for employing specialized tank support for Operation Neptune in June 1944. It concludes that the U.S. Army did not refuse to employ the Armored Funnies, but that delivery of some of these specialized tanks did not occur in time due to British shortages. This episode highlights the difficulty of attempting to harmonize military equipment and tactics in time-constrained joint operations. Journal of Military History | The Society for Military History

 

[Itainthalfhotmum]

A little bit of info on the DD's used at Omaha beach. barbaraeng

 

[Chef]

G

Gold-Beach - 5x 'Resistance Nest' defensive positions in 5 miles.
Utah Beach - 9x 'Resistance Nest' defensive positions in 5 miles.

The main reasons were a. Not wanting to burden themselves with the logistical burden of a new range of vehicles, b. No time to develop similar vehicles base on a US chassis and c. Not Invented Here.

Wasn't there also a slightly different mindset? With the experience of WWI the British were more aware of the impact of BFO casualty lists in the long term. The Americans less so. That was a view given by my history teacher back in the 70s.

We did wonder why the Americans , who are great innovators and at the time far more mechanically minded than most nations should reject machines in favour of men.

 

[Pteranadon]

Wasn't there also a slightly different mindset? With the experience of WWI the British were more aware of the impact of BFO casualty lists in the long term. The Americans less so. That was a view given by my history teacher back in the 70s.

We did wonder why the Americans , who are great innovators and at the time far more mechanically minded than most nations should reject machines in favour of men.

The British and Canadians also had the recent experience of El Alamein and Dieppe which focused minds on the problem of protecting engineers while they demolished obstacles, breached minefields and crossed gaps.

 

[Chef]

The British and Canadians also had the recent experience of El Alamein and Dieppe which focused minds on the problem of protecting engineers while they demolished obstacles, breached minefields and crossed gaps.

I'd forgotten that people were learning from previous experience in the same war as well.

 

[Signalman]

Read Steve Zaloga's paper in the JMH.

Cheers @Pteranadon ! I can't open the link from here, but will have a read later. I love a bit of Zaloga.

 

[PhotEx]

And yet they used "funny's" in the shape of the DD's ....Well, I say used, sunk might be a better description

and DD’s were just normal ‘gun tanks’.

 

[MoleBath]

Second World War Veteran Bill Wright's Duplex Drive swimming Sherman Tank that he crewed to cross the Rhine River is now preserved at the Tank Museum Bovington, England. At the age of 19, Radio Operator, Bill Wright from B Squadron, of the Staffordshire Yeomanry, embarked on his first action of the Second World War. He and the rest of his crew landed on Sword Beach, at 10.30am in a Sherman tank prepared for deep wading. Bill remembered 'We were conscious we were making history'.

Having survived the Normandy battles, Bill returned to England with his regiment to train on Duplex Drive Sherman Tanks at Fritton Lake, near Great Yarmouth. In October 1944 he took part in the amphibious landing on South Beveland in the Scheldt estuary, which opened up the port of Antwerp to Allied shipping. This involved a 'swim' of seven miles in the open estuary, a record for DD tanks which still stands.

His last major action was the Rhine crossing in March 1945, again in a Sherman DD.