D-Day, 6 June 1944, the beginning of Operation Neptune. On this morning, 69 years ago, the Allies landed approximately 156,000 troops in Normandy. The American forces landed numbered 73,000 of them; 23,250 on Utah Beach, 34,250 on Omaha Beach, and 15,500 airborne troops with the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions. In the British and Canadian sector, 83,115 troops were landed (61,715 of them British): 24,970 on Gold Beach, 21,400 on Juno Beach, 28,845 on Sword Beach, as well as 7,900 airborne troops. 11,590 aircraft were available to support the landings. On D-Day, Allied aircraft flew 14,674 sorties, and 127 aircraft were lost. In the airborne landings on both flanks of the beaches, 2,395 aircraft and 867 gliders of the RAF and USAAF were used on D-Day. Operation Neptune involved huge naval forces, including 6,939 vessels: 1,213 naval combat ships, 4,126 landing ships and landing craft, 736 ancillary craft and 864 merchant vessels. Some 195,700 personnel were assigned to Operation Neptune; 52,889 US, 112,824 British, and 4,988 from other Allied countries. By the end of 11 June 1944 (D + 5), 326,547 troops, 54,186 vehicles and 104,428 tons of supplies had been landed on the beaches. No one knows the exact numbers on D-Day, but it is estimated that there was between 9,000 and 10,000 Allied casualties.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 10:32:48 +0000
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