Wading into battle
Australia’s involvement in the
Normandy beach landings

By Priscilla Alchin

As a chill, grey dawn broke over the English Channel on June 6, 1944, about 300 Australian officers and men in Royal Navy ships and boats were able to take a breather from the last few days’ heaving, violent seas and squalling rain.

There was still a strong tide, but the wind dropped below its earlier force five for a few hours and despite the light fog, a window of relatively peaceful weather moved in across the Channel and the Normandy coast.

The Australians were part of Operation Neptune, the maritime involvement in Operation Overlord...D-Day.

It was the largest and most complex amphibious operation in history.

Unfortunately, there is no official list of those Australians who served on the ships and landing craft during the D-Day landings.

British and Canadian forces were tasked with the landings at Gold, Juno and Sword beaches, with the US responsible for Utah and Omaha beaches.

There were several Australian officers on board the first attack line of landing craft. LEUT Lloyd Bott, First Lieutenant, on board MGB 502, was part of the 15th MGB Flotilla.

The Commanding Officer of MGB 502 was LCDR Peter Williams, RN.

In 1943 and 1944 he had taken MGB 502 and its crew on many operations on the German coast, running spies ashore in occupied territory and back across the Channel to England.

LCDR Williams was awarded the Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur at the 50th anniversary of D-Day in 1994.

One of the 10 Australians to receive this honour for the 60th anniversary is retired CDRE Dacre Smyth. The only Australian on board HMS Danae, a Dauntless class light cruiser, Dacre Smyth served as the Danae’s Gunnery Control Officer.

Commanding one of the British warships involved, the new Loch class frigate HMS Loch Killin, was LCDR Stanley Darling, RANR.

Fitted with the new Squid weapons control system, Loch Killin joined ships of the Second Escort Group, under CAPT Walker, RN.

The role of the Second Escort Group during the Normandy landings was to patrol the English Channel for U-boat activity.

They remained on station for a few days but no U-boats came through to the Channel so they were diverted to protect the western flank of the supply line.

The Squid was a formidable weapon in the war against the U-boat, capable of being preset to explode at a pre-determined depth.

LCDR Stanley’s major success with his new vessel and gear came on July 31, 1944, when the first U-boat to be destroyed by Squid was U333. This was closely followed by U736 on August 6.

LCDR Stanley Darling was awarded the DSC for courage, resolution and skill during the anti-U-boat operations and sinking of U333.

He received a Bar to his DSC for the August 6 sinking. Three RANVR Lieutenants were attached to the cruiser HMS Ajax. On D-Day, Ajax was involved with the bombardment of German positions ashore with her 6-inch guns.

The “tide” of the war in Europe was turned to the Allies’ advantage following the success of the Normandy landings and the eventual liberation of France.

The Allied navies delivered the troops ashore, albeit with several amphibious craft lost, and the peaceful weather turned to a fierce land battle.

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