~ MEMORIAL FUND ~
 
"COMBINED OPERATIONS - A NORMANDY BEACHHEAD"

Military artist, David A Thorp has generously gifted his painting "Combined Operations - a Normandy Beachhead" to the Combined Operations Memorial Fund. It is hoped to raffle the painting later in the year but meantime prints are available in various sizes including one limited edition run. All proceeds will go to the memorial fund. We hope to put the painting on public display in the UK.

73 three quarter size, full colour, numbered and signed limited edition prints are available in exchange for a donation to the memorial fund of £73.00 + P&P in recognition of the 73 years between the formation of Combined Operations in June 1940 and the dedication of the memorial in the summer of 2013, on a date to be announced. In accordance with the rules of the Fine Arts Society no further prints of this size will ever be produced. Full size, half size and quarter size prints, by area, are also be available. Details below.

Order a Print

Limited Edition (LE) print with title, legend, number and signature of the artist. Same for full size print less the number and signature.			Half size and quarter size prints with legend and veteran Harry Ashurst with his print. He saw two of the craft depicted in his LE print lying disabled on the beach.

The first set of dimensions provides the total size of the print including borders and the second set provides the image size. We're very happy to post prints to destinations outside the UK. Please e-mail your order and delivery address. We'll confirm postage before you submit payment.

Sizes	Dimensions (Cms)	Donation	P&P (UK)	Total
Full	85 x 67 / 75 x 55	£70.00	£7.00	£77.00
Three Quarter Limited Edition	74 x 59.3 / 64 x 47.3	£73.00	£6.00	£79.00
Half	65 x 49.5 / 55 x 37.5	£50.00	£5.00	£55.00
Quarter	47.5 x 39.5 / 37.5 x 27.5	£35.00	£4.00	£39.00
Artist's Proofs	Various Sizes	E-mail for Information

To pay by credit card, debit card or Paypal Account please click on the button opposite and follow the instructions. You don't need a Paypal account to use this method of payment.

To pay by personal cheque, bank cheque or postal order please make your cheque or postal order payable to the Combined Operations Memorial Fund, add your address to the reverse and send to Geoff Slee, COMF (Prints), 35 Auchingane, Edinburgh, EH10 7HU, UK. Purchases from overseas (non-UK) using this method of payment are welcome in British pounds. Please contact your local bank or postal services for details.

Whatever method you choose you will receive your print in a postal tube together with a receipt and, in the case of limited edition prints, a certificate of authenticity. For accounting and security reasons please don't send cash.

Many thanks for supporting the Combined Operations Memorial Fund.

Introduction  

The painting measures 750 mm by 550 mm and is set on the eastern flank of Sword beach early on D-Day morning between Riva Bella (Ouistreham) and Lion sur Mer. It does not portray a particular event but all the actions described did take place in the area over the space of a few hours. With the skill of the artist they are brought together in a seamless montage which is fully explained in a monochrome copy of the painting that bears a numbered legend with links to descriptions of the most significant elements.

It is impossible in a single painting to show the vast extent of Operation Neptune, the amphibious part of Operation Overlord, since its 5 landing beaches stretched around 50 miles (80k) to the west of Lion sur Mer. While British and Canadian forces were attacking Gold, Juno and Sword beaches, American forces faced major challenges of their own on Omaha and Utah beaches, the former because of the strength of German defences and cliffs at either end of the landing area and Utah because of the terrain inland of the beaches that favoured the defenders. The landscape was a maze of narrow lanes bordered by thick hedgerows and embankments. Although the painting, of necessity, concentrates on a small area of one beach the painting honours the memory of all land, sea and air forces from the UK, USA, Canada and all who served the Allied cause.

Six days after the events described in the painting, Churchill and his military advisers visited the Sword, Juno and Gold beaches. On returning to Downing Street Churchill sent a signal to Mountbatten, by then in Burma. It readily acknowledged the vital role he and Combined Operations had played in the operation and expressed the Nation's gratitude. David Thorp's painting captures the essence of what Churchill described as "this remarkable technique".

Today we visited the British and American Armies on the soil of France. We sailed through vast fleets of ships with landing-craft of many types pouring more men, vehicles and stores ashore. We saw clearly the manoeuvre in progress of rapid development. We have shared our secrets in common and helped each other all we could. We wish to tell you at this moment in your arduous campaign that we realise how much of this remarkable technique and therefore the success of the venture has its origin in developments effected by you and your staff of Combined Operations.

(Signed) Arnold, Brooke, Churchill, King, Marshall, Smut.

Scene Setting

The painting depicts a landing on Sword beach between 7.30 am and 8.30 am (5.30 am to 6.30 am local time), an hour or so after the first assault troops ducked and dived as they tenaciously fought their way up the Normandy beaches that D-Day morning.

The German defences are still holding out  and the beach and its approaches are extremely hazardous as the lines of machine gun bullets striking the water, the huge explosion farther out to sea, the stretcher bearers going about their life-saving work and the blood stained water lapping the shore all testify. It was not a place to tarry unless your name was Bill Millin who, against HQ orders, piped Lord Lovat and his No 4 Commandos off their landing craft and then proceeded to march up and down the beach to the tune of "The Road to the Isles." The Germans could easily have shot Millin dead but they had no wish to kill someone who had clearly lost his mind!

There were five landing beaches, Sword being the most easterly, with Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah stretching out to the west for a distance of around 50 miles (80k). On D-Day alone around 6000 vessels crossed the Channel and over 100,000 men with their supplies and equipment were transported to Normandy. Around 800 RAF and USAF bombers dropped their payloads on selected targets inland of the beach areas and 13,000 paratroops were dropped behind enemy lines. All the while Allied fighters patrolled the skies in support of the invading force and to harass the enemy. 

The Painting

* COMBINED OPERATIONS – A NORMANDY BEACHHEAD * Normandy, early D-Day morning, June 6 1944. The co-ordinated sea, land and air operation to establish a beachhead from which to liberate Europe was gaining momentum, but the beaches and their approaches remained extremely hazardous.   The Action Explained. Click on the numbers for an explanation of the key events and actions or just scroll down the page and let the story unfold. [Print Friendly Version of Text. Print Friendly Copy of Numbered Painting].

This was the largest Combined Operation in history which is unlikely to be surpassed or repeated because of changes in the conduct of war since WW2. The objective was to land assault troops with their supplies and equipment in pre-planned designated places at the right time and in sufficient numbers to overwhelm the enemy. All other activity on land, sea and in the air was in support of this.

Because of the landing craft chosen to appear in this painting, the honour of representing the hundreds of thousands of Allied troops which landed on the Normandy beaches has fallen to the men of the 2^nd East Yorkshire Regiment of the 8^th Infantry Brigade of the 3^rd British Division and the Royal Marines.

The assault infantry are moving off the landing beach supported by a Bren Gun carrier [25] while a colour sergeant is holding aloft the battle flag [26] of the regiment. To carry the flag was neither expected nor required by regulations because of the risk of attracting the attention of snipers. Whatever motivated the colour sergeant that day his action was unselfish and courageous and no doubt promoted a spirit of camaraderie amongst the troops of the EYR.

At the water’s edge [18] further infantry are dashing ashore from LCAs^(a) that were lowered from the troopship SS Empire Battleaxe earlier that morning. Nearby, a Sherman tank [19] momentarily takes up a position in support of the landing troops before leaving the beach area. Meanwhile, more LCAs [10] from the ship are making their way to the beach. She carried in her davits the 18 craft of 537 LCA Flotilla each with a crew of 4 and space for 36 assault troops - a total of around 650 men on each full deployment of the craft. Her total capacity was 1195 fully equipped men. The Empire Battleaxe and many others ships destined for Sword beach that morning, set out from Spithead the previous evening arriving at their planned position at 5.30 hrs, two hours before H Hour.^(b) At the appointed time she lowered her LCAs into the water much as a modern ship would lower her lifeboats during an emergency at sea.

The build-up of troops and equipment was relentless and overpowering as LCAs 770, 429 and 778 [14] poured more troops onto the landing beach. Progress was made but at considerable cost in lives. Further east along the water's edge, lie the bodies of men [21] caught in a hail of gunfire as they landed. The bodies of others, who drowned or were fatally wounded before they reached the landing beach, are washing back and forth with the tide. No beach was free of such gory images and in places the sea turned red. The wounded on the beach are receiving attention from regimental medics [20] as a chaplain kneels in prayer over a man close to death. Stretcher bearers [24] are transporting casualties to the relative safety of cover provided by an embankment and parked vehicles.

Overhead, Lancaster bombers [01] are making their way inland from the beaches to bomb heavy gun emplacements, enemy strong-points, fuel and ammunition dumps, troop concentrations, radar and communications facilities and HQ buildings; mostly targets in support of the advancing land forces. In the run up to D-Day their primary purpose had been to destroy rail and road routes into Normandy to delay the arrival of enemy reinforcements, although their area of operation was more extensive than necessary to confuse the enemy. In this way the Allied plans for the invasion of Normandy were not compromised. After D-Day the heavy bombers increasingly returned to operations against strategic targets with the exception of the largest fixed defensive installations that impeded the Allied advance in the battle grounds.

Air cover was provided by the RAF and USAF. The patrolling Spitfire [02] is one of hundreds of Allied fighter aircraft of many types that took to the air that day. Once the beachhead had been secured and the Allied Armies had moved inland, fighters operated in support of the troops using the 'cab rank' arrangement described below. As it happened the Luftwaffe were conspicuously absent for much of D-Day and when they finally made an appearance they were very few in number.

The versatile Mosquito light/medium bomber [03] was used in many different roles. Here, it is responding to a request from the advancing troops for support to clear an enemy strong point, successfully avoiding the flashes of anti-aircraft flak in the process. Later, when Army and RAF "Forward Air Controllers" were operating on or near the front line with RAF radio equipment, requests for air support were channelled through them. 'Mossies' were called upon so regularly that they circled in the forward areas like taxi cabs cruising for a fare to allow them to respond very quickly to any request for assistance.

Barrage Balloons [04] were attached to many craft to deter low level strafing and bombing attacks by enemy planes. Although not clearly visible in the painting, the tethering cables were lethal obstacles to low flying aircraft. However, not everyone aboard the landing craft felt they were a power for good. Some believed the balloons could be used by enemy observers to pin-point the location of their craft for the targeting the enemy's big guns located miles inland.

On the horizon far out to sea [05] battleships, cruisers and destroyers had completed their shelling of the beach area but they remained on station to shell predetermined targets inland of the beaches or specific targets identified by observers and the advancing troops. LCT(R)s^(C) had already fired their salvos onto the beaches in advance of the landing troops to soften up the enemy defences and salvos of spigot bombs had been fired from LCA(HR)s^(d) specially adapted craft to clear exit routes from the beaches of mines.  HQ ships of many types also occupied these waters at varying distances as they received information on the progress of the invasion and intelligence on enemy activity. Much of the information came from the three Fighter Direction Tenders, converted LSTs^(e) bristling with radio aerials and rotating radar gantries. The main HQ ship off Sword, HMS Largs, used this information to call on the support of the RAF and the Navy's big guns while the smaller HQ craft controlled the flow of landing craft to and from the beaches according to need and priorities .

The 2^nd East Yorkshires were supported by ‘swimming tanks’, more properly called DD or Duplex Drive tanks [13]. They were Sherman tanks of ‘B’ Squadron of the 13^th/18^th Hussars of the 27^th Armoured Brigade carried by Mk3 LCTs of the 14th LCT Flotilla of E Squadron Landing Craft under the command of Acting Commander Kenneth Sellar RN. Prior to launching, their floatation skirts were raised and secured in place to provide sufficient buoyancy for the tanks to ‘swim’ ashore under their own power transmitted through two propellers. They were launched about 5000 metres from shore and on reaching the beach the propeller mechanism was detached and the tank proceeded along the beach in the conventional manner.

LCT(A) 2433 [12] of the 100^th LCT(A)(HE)^(f) Flotilla was hit as it approached the beach by an errant rocket fired from a LCT(R) further out to sea. 2433's bow door sustained damage but she still managed to successfully unload her cargo and withdraw from the beach. One DD tank was sunk after being rammed by an LCT^(g) while those on LCT 467 were landed directly onto the beach after the leading tank damaged its flotation skirt and could not be launched.

The  Mk 5 LCT(A)^(h) 2052 [16] and 2191 [17] were built in the USA and crewed by the Royal Navy. They were also part of the 100^th LCT(A)(HE) Flotilla of Assault Group S3 Support Squadron out of Portsmouth. There were originally 8 craft in the Flotilla but only 6  reached their destination, including 2052 and 2191, the other two having broken down. They were transporting the 5^th Independent Battery of the Royal Marine Armoured Support Group with their Centaur and Sherman tanks. Both LCTs received direct hits from an enemy mobile 88mm gun and became total losses. Fortunately, in both cases their tanks had already been off-loaded.

LCT(A) 2191 lost half her crew with others severely wounded. LCT(A) 2052 did not fair much better. Their coxswain was killed at his station in the wheelhouse and other crew members were also severely wounded. The dead from both craft are buried in Hermanville cemetery. Full story here.

Mk4 LCT 947⁽ⁱ⁾ [15] was ‘Leader’ of the 45^th LCT(AVRE)^(j) Flotilla assigned to the 5^th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers. Only one tank managed to disembark LCT 947 that morning. The second tank in line carried Commander Royal Engineers, Lt Col ADB Cocks. As the tank moved forward the LCT took three direct hits in her bows. The tank lurched sideways and stopped in its tracks blocking the exit. Despite frantic efforts by engineers and the forecastle party, it proved impossible to move the tank out of the way so the remaining tanks on board could not disembark. A greater explosion soon followed when pipes packed with dynamite on board a neighbouring AVRE 'Carpet–Layer'^(k), exploded. The blast killed Lt Col Cocks and the tank commander. Despite the damage, LCT 947 turned about and returned to England with most of her original cargo and the bodies of the men who had been killed aboard that morning.

LCI(S) 519^(l) [08] was ‘Leader’ of the 200^th LCI(S) Flotilla out of Warsash on the River Hamble. She carried the 200^th Flotilla Officer, Lt Commander Rupert Curtis and Commandos of the 1^st Special Service Brigade. Amongst them were the Commanding Officer of No 4 Commando, Brigadier Lord Simon Lovat and his piper Bill Millin.[22] Both of them waded ashore, Millin wearing his kilt and playing the bagpipes and Lord Lovat wearing a ‘Tam o' Shanter’^(m) with his white Commando sweater under his battledress tunic, although, on the day, his tunic would, undoubtedly, have been fastened! (A memorial to Bill Millin will be dedicated in 2013. Donations of any size are very welcome. Click here).

Another craft of the 200^th LCI(S) Flotilla was the LCI(S) 524. [06] She had beached under fire and took casualties after landing her Commandos. Having successfully withdrawn from the beach she received a direct hit in her high octane tanks. The craft disintegrated and the fuel ignited setting the sea ablaze. Survivors struggling in the sea were picked up by a US Navy coastguard cutter but despite this 8 members of her crew were lost.

Also in view are LCI(S) 506 [09] and nearby LCI(S) 531 lying on her side. Although originally part of the 201st Flotilla these craft were assigned to the 200th LCI(S) Flotilla on D-Day. 506 was badly damaged but managed to take off the crew of LCI(S) 531 which was sinking.

At the rear of LCT(A) 2433 is the American built LCI(L) 269⁽ⁿ⁾ [11] procured under the Lend Lease arrangements with the USA. She was fitted with communications and radar equipment and re-designated LCH 269.^(o)  Her role during the assault was to direct the flow of landing craft to and from Queen Red beach.

Because of their considerable experience of recovering downed pilots and air crew, particularly from the waters around the south coast of England, the RAF Search and Rescue Launch 2687 [07] patrols off the beach in search of men in the water.

The beaches were heavily defended by gun emplacements, pill boxes and beach obstacles, the latter designed to obstruct and impede the progress of landing craft as they approached their predetermined landing areas or, in the case of those obstacles primed with powerful mines, to destroy or disable the craft. Other obstacles placed above the waterline had a similar purpose but were aimed at tanks and other mechanised vehicles and the assault troops. An armoured bulldozer [23] is clearing an area of the beach of steel tetrahedron shaped girders.

The Royal Marine sniper [27] may well have had a German officer in his sights whose elimination would add to the confusion and bewilderment spreading amongst the German troops defending the landing area. The Royal Marines were reputed to be amongst the best of snipers since they had a tradition of sniping from the cross trees of sailing ships centuries before. They had continued with sniper training when most warring nations abandoned it during periods of peace.

Makeshift signs [28] to warn of mine fields and other hard to see dangers were hastily erected. The skull and crossbones captured the attention of passing troops and vehicle drivers, while the direction and distance of the danger, scrawled underneath, provided the vital information they needed, in this case about mines.

Further Reading

 There are a number of pages on this website that provide additional information of possible interest. 

D-Day

D-Day Assault Convoy G6

Acknowledgements

In October 2011, like many hundreds before him, David Thorp e-mailed the Combined Ops website for information and this ordinary event turned out to have extraordinary consequences. E-mails were exchanged and somehow a routine business transaction for a simple, small sketch of troops landing on a beach, metamorphosed into a 750mm by 550mm full colour painting gifted to the memorial fund! It rapidly acquired a life of its own and with the assistance of Tony Chapman, erstwhile archivist and historian for the LST and Landing Craft Association, the painting took shape over the following five months.

 From the outset the educational value of the painting was paramount. Combined amphibious operations are complex in nature and difficult to understand but this well presented painting provides an easy to follow visual explanation with supplementary notes particularly for the benefit of younger generations. Sadly, it cannot include all the actions that occurred earlier, later or in other places. Most notable amongst these were the glider pilots and their assault troops and parachutists who landed behind enemy lines hours before the main landings.

Words are barely adequate to describe the time and effort David Thorp has devoted to this project. His meticulous approach to detail guided by the expertise and knowledge of Tony Chapman, archivist and historian of the LST and Landing Craft Association, allows us to use the painting as an educational resource especially suited to younger generations who are separated from these momentous events by 60 years or more. The Memorial Fund will no doubt greatly benefit from the generosity of time and expertise of these gentlemen.

Click here for David Thorp's website. 

Subtext Notes

 (a). LCA. Landing Craft Assault.

Purpose; To carry troops on mother ships to the area of the landing beaches. The fully laden LCAs were then lowered into the water on davits much as a modern day lifeboat. Depending on their size, mother ships could carry between 6 and 20 LCAs.

Specification; Size 41ft x 10ft, Speed 10 kn, Carrying Capacity 35 men.

Other Information; Built between 1940 and 1944 these wooden craft had a well to carry troops. The sides were partially armoured against small arms fire. Early flotillas were manned by RN officers and ratings but by the end of 1943 Royal Marine (RM) flotillas began to form. By the end of the war 350 LCAs had been listed as lost.

(b). H Hour. The time of the initial assault landings for a particular beach. The times varied a little to  allow for the progress of the tide along the Normandy coast.

(c). LCT (R). Landing Craft Tank (Rocket).

Purpose; To bombard enemy positions on and near the landing beaches with a devastating and intense barrage of rocket propelled bombs in advance of the first wave of landing troops.

Specification; Size 192ft x 32 ft. Speed 10.5 kn. Armaments, Arrays of rocket launchers for Rocket Projectile 3 inch (RP 3) weighing 60 lbs.

Other Information; LCT(R)s were LCTs with their tank decks covered over to take the rocket launchers. The full set of launchers was in excess of 1,000 and reloads totalling 5,000 rockets were kept below. The firepower was claimed to deliver, over a short period, the equivalent fire power of 200 destroyers.

(d). LCA (HR). Landing Craft Assault (Hedgerow).

Purpose; To clear the beaches of land mines prior to the landing of Royal Engineers who completed the task. To achieve their objective the mortars were fired as a widely spread salvo onto the landing beaches. They exploded a few feet above the beach creating a shock wave over a wide area sufficient to detonate land mines hidden in the sand.

Specification; Size 41ft x 10ft; Speed 10 kn; Armaments 24 Spigot Mortars.

Other Information; Adapted LCAs with reinforced floors, these craft carried four rows each of six spigot mortars loosely based on the Royal Navy's Hedgehog anti-submarine weapon. To achieve the element of surprise the weapon was top secret until used on the Normandy beaches. On the UK/Canadian beaches there were 18 craft off ‘Juno 2' and 'Gold’ beaches and 9 off ‘Sword’ beach. They were open to the elements and not designed for long journeys in the open sea especially in rough conditions but, nonetheless they were towed across the Channel by larger craft such as LCTs which carried the assault teams of Royal Engineers.

(e). LST. Landing Ship Tank.

Purpose; There were a number of different types and marks of this heavy duty landing ships. In its basic form it carried tanks, lorries etc and their crews. 

Specification; Size 390ft x 49ft; Speed 17 kn; Carrying Capacity 13 x 40 ton tanks or 20 x 25 ton tanks + 26 loaded 3 ton trucks + 193men although nn infinite number of other combinations of tanks, vehicles & men were  possible.

Other Information; Adaptations included the Fighter Direction Tenders.  m,

(f). LCT(HE). Landing Craft Tank (High Explosive)

Purpose, Tank transporter. 

Specification, Same as (h) but without the armour plating.

Other Information, Both British and USA craft were part of the initial assault with their cargo of tanks having the capability of firing on enemy defensive positions while approaching the landing beaches.

(g). LCT. Landing Craft Tank;

Purpose; A number of different marks or types were manufactured that were smaller and lighter than LSTs but with a similar purpose.

Specification; Size 192ft x 31ft; Speed 10.5 kn; Carrying Capacity 5 x 40 ton tanks or 10 x 25 ton tanks + men or any combination; Armaments 2 x 2 pr or 2 x Oerliken rapid fire cannon.

Other Information; Carrying capacity figures are approximate and indicative since an infinite number of different loads could be arranged.

(h). Mk 5 LCT(A). Mark 5 Landing Craft Tank (Armoured).

Purpose; Similar in purpose to the LCT but smaller and with added 2" armoured plate over the superstructure to the rear. On British craft they carried two Centaur tanks with 95mm howitzers mounted on a raised platform to fire on enemy strong-points as they approached the beaches.

Specification; Size 117ft x 32.8ft Speed 8kn;

Other Information; Carrying capacity - an infinite number of different loads could be arranged from troops to tanks and lorries or any combination thereof.

(i). Mk 4 LCT. Mark 4 Landing Craft Tank.

Purpose. The mainstay of the Royal Navy in ferrying troops, tanks, lorries and supplies from the UK to the landing beaches. 864 were built from 1942 to 45 with 39 reported as lost at the end of the war.

Specification. Size 187 x 39; Speed 9.5kn;

Other Information. Carrying capacity varied since an infinite number of different loads could be arranged.

(j). LCT (AVRE). Landing Craft Tank (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers).

Purpose. The LCT(AVRE) was an LCT carrying Hobart's Funnies (tanks adapted for beach clearance). Otherwise see (i) above.

(k). AVRE Carpet Layer. To minimise the risk of bottlenecks in the movement of vehicles on the landing beaches the AVRE Carpet Layer was developed by Hobart to lay a roadway over otherwise non-traversable terrain or barbed wire obstacles. At the front of the vehicle a steel frame carried a canvas/Hessian mat wound on a large bobbin. On approaching soft ground the 10 foot wide mat was fed under the tank's tracks and as the tank moved forward, the mat was laid down. To remove obstacles and natural features such as large sand dunes, the AVRE Carpet Layers carried pipes filled with dynamite. They were forced into the obstacle and detonated. The Carpet layer carried a crew of 5 and was armed with a Petard 290 mm spigot mortar as well as one 7.92 mm Besa machine gun. Once beyond the problem soil the carpet-laying frame with bobbin was removed allowing the tank to undertake its conventional duties.

(l). LCI(S). Landing Craft Infantry (Small).

Purpose. The transport of troops from friendly shores to enemy defended beaches.

Specification. Size 105 x 22; Speed 13.5; Carrying Capacity 96 fully equipped men; Armaments 2 x Oerliken rapid fire cannon.

Other Information. These wooden craft were built in 1943 and carried pennant numbers in the range from 501-600. The hull, deck and sides carried bullet proof plating. On D-Day 3 flotillas of LCI(S) were present on the Normandy beaches, they being the 200^th and 201^st on Sword beach assigned with Brigadier Lord Simon Lovat’s Commandos, the near 200 strong force of Lieutenant Philippe Kieffer’s Free French Commando and 41 Royal Marine Commando. To the westward, on Juno beach the craft of 202 Flotilla were assigned delivering the men of 48 Royal Marine Commando to St Aubin sur Mer at the eastern extreme of Juno beach. By the war’s end 8 craft had been recorded as ‘War Losses’ they being HMLCI(S) 511, 512, 517, 524, 531, 532, 537 and 540........5 of which being in Normandy.

(m). Tam o' Shanter. A Scottish bonnet, often tartan with a pom pom at its centre.

(n). LCI(L). Landing Craft Infantry (Large)

Purpose. The transport of troops from friendly shores to enemy held defended beaches.

Specification. Size 160 x 23.7; Speed 14kn; Carrying Capacity 190 men + 50 men on the upper deck for very short passage in good weather. Armaments 4 x Oerliken rapid fire cannon.

Other Information. Sides and bulwark built of bullet proof plating.

(o). LCH. Landing Craft Headquarters

Purpose. Command and Control.

Specification. American LCI(L) conversions.

Other Information. The craft  carrying communication personnel who took over the troop space which was not required on such craft.

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