~ POST WW2 COMBINED OPS
~
TRAINING 1947 to 1950
Amphibious landing training exercises continued
after the war in this case at Ekernforde in
Schleswick Holstein in northern Germany in early 1948.
Background
I joined the Army RASC (DUKW) section
from D-Day
until 1950. I did several jobs with DUKWs (amphibious front wheel drive
utility trucks) prior to starting at the
training school in Eckernforde. It was In 1947 that I first attended the Amphibious training school at Eckenforde
north Germany where we practiced landing craft operations with LSTs (Landing
Ship Tank) and LCTs (Landing Craft Tank) generally
but mainly with LCT 4099 and an LST named SUVERLA(?.) The photos that follow
were taken during training exercises with these craft, mainly in loading and
unloading.
All the photos were taken on Combined Operations manoeuvres at Ekernforde in
Schleswick Holstein in northern Germany in early 1948. I'm not certain if the
Combined Operations Insignia was still worn at this time. It was certainly in
use at the Rhine crossing in Germany when LCIs (Landing Craft Infantry) were transported
overland on tank transporter trailers to
the banks of the River Rhine. This was on the 23 rd of March 1945.
What happened to the boats or crew as we went forward I don't know.
As the Sergeant in charge one of my last
jobs was to take three DUKWs down to Hamburg where we loaded Sunderland flying
boats with supplies on the river Elbe as part of the Berlin airlift operation
of 1948 -1949. The Russians had closed the land corridor to Berlin and the
airlift was the only way to supply those sectors of Berlin under the control
of the United States, the UK and France. I was later put on detail to go to Korea, but I'd had enough of war, so I
came home.
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