D-DAY 70th ANNIVERSARY - MILITARY VEHICLES

D-DAY Operation Overlord 7Oth Anniversary Tuesday,6th June,1944 - Friday,6th June,2014.

D-DAY 70th ANNIVERSARY - MILITARY VEHICLES.

D-DAY Operation Overlord’s objective was to invade evil madman Hitler’s “Fortress Europe” and free Europe from Hitler and his evil ■■■■ regime.
The combined American,British and Canadian Allied Expeditionary Force Overlord Invasion of Normandy,France,the largest invasion in military history is well documented,including in Wikipedia:Here is an excerpt -
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II. The operation commenced on Tuesday 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day). A 1,200-aeroplane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving over 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than three million allied troops were in France by the end of August.

TruckNetUK is about lorries-motor trucks in all their various forms,which of course includes fascinating military vehicles,and I think its a good idea
to portray the indispensable role that military vehicles had in the above superlative military operation,in the way of both historic and present-day
preservation era photographs.And its a fitting tribute to everything about D-Day Operation Overlord and all the people that were involved,and is also a fitting tribute to the Historic Military Vehicle Enthusiasts and to the man who led the way on military vehicle history and preservation,Bart H.Vanderveen.
It is impossible to do the above subjects full justice with a mere handful of photographs,out of the many thousands -or millions - that have been taken both in war time and peace time,but I do hope that the following photographs in this thread will be evocative of the subjects and do them some justice :smiley:

D-DAY.The Overlord Embroidery,part of which depicts King George VI,General Eisenhower,Field Marshal Montgomery,Field Marshal Brooke & Winston Church visiting the invasion beaches.D-Day Museum,Portsmouth. 1:-

D-DAY.D-Day Operation Overlord,Omaha Beach,Normandy,France,an impressive panoramic photograph of the combined American,British and Canadian Allied Expeditionary Force Overlord Invasion,with loads of military vehicles:-

D-DAY OPERATION OVERLORD Map.The Allied Expeditionary Force landed on five beaches-,UTAH & OMAHA,Americans,SWORD & GOLD,British,JUNO,Canadians:-

D-DAY.Crawler-tracked cranes,and military freight motor trucks on board a freight ship on it’s way to Normandy,June 1944:-

D-DAY.A Churchill Tank coming to shore from a LST = Landing Ship Tank Freight Ship,on D-Day plus 1:-

D-DAY.GMC CCKW-353 Enclosed-cabbed 2.5-Ton Covered Fixedside-bodied 6x6 Freight Lorry,reversing on to a freight ship bound for Normandy at an English port,prior to D-Day:-

D-DAY.A convoy of American military lorries,including several GMC CCKW 2.5-Ton 6x6 General Service Freight Motor Trucks,moving off Omaha Beach and towards inland,a barrage balloon is overhead,in this evocative scene:-

D-DAY.An LST = Landing Ship Tank Freight Ship transports military freight motor trucks,jeeps and other motor vehicles to Normandy on D-Day.Note the curved white radar aerial in the foreground:-

D-DAY.Autocar M15A1 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage Half-Track being driven on to Omaha Beach,Normandy,France,D-Day or D-Day + whenever 1944:-

D-DAY.Ford GPW or Willys MB Quarter Ton 4x4 Jeep,loaded with everything - including the Kitchen Sink! :exclamation: :laughing: :-

D-DAY.A line-up of Allis-Chalmers HD10W M1 Heavy Tracked Tractor-Bulldozers,G98,on the beach.This photograph, and three others are by Arthur Akers:-

D-DAY.Freight transfer points,Omaha Beach,Wednesday,19th July,1944,GMC DUKW-353 2.5-Ton 6x6 Amphibious Motor Trucks were re-loaded on other lorries and transported to supply and ammunition depots:-

D-DAY.Diamond T 980 and 981 M20 6x4 Ballast Road Locomotives,G159,pulling M9 Drawbar Trailers -M19 Tank Transporter combinations in convoy:-

D-DAY.Omaha Beach,June 1944,a Crawler-Tracked Crane loading supplies on to military freight lorries,including a GMC CCKW 6x6 and a GMC AFKWX COE 6x6:-

D-DAY.GMC AFKWX-353 Open COE 2.5-Ton Covered Fixedside-bodied 6x6 Freight Lorry,taken in part in D-Day celebrations in France:-

D-DAY.Military vehicles,including a GMC AFKWX-353 Open COE 2.5-Ton,Fixedside-bodied,6x6 Freight Lorry on the right,go ashore on a Mulberry Harbour Roadway next to Omaha Beach,Friday,16th June,1944:-

D-DAY.These military vehicles have just recently landed on this beach,and include a Chevrolet CMP C8A,CMP 4x4 HUP Lorry,Ward LaFrance or Kenworth M1A1 6x6 HRV,possibly a White or Corbitt 6-Ton 6x6 Freight Lorry and a bulldozer:-

D-DAY.GMC CCKW-353 Open-cabbed 2.5-Ton 6x6 Covered Fixedside-bodied Freight Lorry,PSK 493,with double front wheels for extra traction and safety:-

D-DAY.After D-Day,Normandy beaches virtually became freight distribution depots where vital supplies were off-loaded from ships and loaded on to military lorries which transported the freight to the fighting front and other places:-

D-DAY.Chevrolet CMP CGT,CMP No.13-cabbed 4x4 Field Artillery Tractor,CH1384404.AA.3.9. HVP 580,Ontario,Canada.1944:-

D-DAY.D-Day,Operation OVERLORD,Tuesday,6th June,1944,and a mass landing on Juno Beach,Normandy,of Canadian Army military vehicles,including Humber FWD and Ford CMP & Chevrolet CMP No.13 4x4 Lorries:-

D-DAY.Chevrolet CMP C60,CMP No.13-cabbed,3-Ton Covered Fixedside-bodied 4x4 General Service Freight Lorry,at Pont L’Eveque,circa 10 miles from Deauville,D-Day plus 4:-

D-DAY.Bedford QLR 3-Ton,Wireless House Boxvan-bodied,4x4 Radio Communications Lorry,L560114, DSV 847:-

D-DAY.Gliders were used,towed by military aeroplanes,to transport and land hundreds of airborne troops in Normandy.Some gliders also transported Jeeps and other light vehicles:-

D-DAY.GMC CCKW-353 F-3 Open-cabbed,2.5-Ton 6x6 Aeroplane Refueller Tanker Lorry,G508,and a GMC CCKW 6x6 Lorry,what could be another aeroplane refueller,on the beach after landing from the freight ship:-

D-DAY.GMC DUKW-353 2.5-Ton 6x6 Amphibious Lorry transporting General Eisenhower,General Marshall,Admiral King and other USA-British Combined Chiefs of Staff,visiting the Normandy beachhead on Wednesday,12th June,1944. 1:-

D-DAY.Humber F.W.D. 4x4 Heavy Utility Motorcar,RAF 35777,B’5,3, RBD 883. Austin K2 4x2 Ambulance in the background:-

D-DAY.A British Army Leyland Retriever 3-Ton 6x4 Bridging-bodied Lorry and Ford GPW or Willys MB 4x4 Jeep crossing over the British-held Pegasus Bridge on D-Day +1,Wedneday.7th June,1944:-

D-DAY.FORD WOA2 V8 4x2 HEAVY UTILITY MOTORCAR WW2 ALLIED MILITARY VEHICLE:-

D-DAY.GMC DUKW-353 2.5-Ton 6x6 Amphibious Lorry,with a WW2 reenactment group. D=1942 model year,U=amphibious-amphibian,K=all wheel drive,W=dual rear axles:-

D-DAY.Chevrolet CMP C8A,1C5,AMB-1,HUA,CMP No.13-cabbed,8-15 CWT 4x4 Heavy Utility Ambulance,Serial No.3884515552, CA4236751,169, 550 CPC.DOC-NEE-DORA.Built on Tuesday,14th September,1943,Contract LV1512 for the Canadian Army:-

D-DAY.Chevrolet CMP C8A,1C9,PUTR-2,HUP,CMP No.13-cabbed,8-15 CWT 4x4 Heavy Utility Personnel Lorry,Serial No.3844536858,HXU 734,JUMBO.1944. Overhead view:-

D-DAY.Chevrolet CMP C8A HUA,550 CPC and Chevrolet CMP C8A HUP,HXU 734 with their restorer and then owner,the late,great Bart Hartmannus Vanderveen:-

D-DAY.Chevrolet CMP C8A,1C9,PUTR-2,HUP,CMP No.13-cabbed,8-15 CWT 4x4 Heavy Utility Personnel Lorry,Serial No.3844536858,HXU 734,JUMBO.1944. NA3T:-

D-DAY.Chevrolet CMP C8A Heavy Utility 4x4 Lorry full front view,beautiful:-

D-DAY.Autocar-Diamond T-International-White Half Track,GMC CCKW 6x6 Freight Lorry and a Jeep and crews on Omaha Beach,rehersing the commemorations for the D-Day 70th Anniversary on Friday,6th June,2014:-

D-DAY.Pacific TR-1 M25 Dragon Wagon 6x6 Tractive Unit Tank Recovery-Transporter Motor Truck,G160,USA 545618,JUDY MACO:-

D-DAY.Historic World War Two Military Vehicle Street Parade in Isigny-Sur-Mer,France,2013,commemerating and celebrating D-Day.Sherman Tank:-

D-DAY.Ford CMP F60L ,CMP No.13-cabbed,3-Ton Covered Fixedside-bodied 4x4 Lorry,L 4999795:-

D-DAY.AEC Matador O853 MAT,Covered Fixedside-bodied,4x4 Medium Artillery Tractor,pulling a 3.7-Inch Gun through Caen,France,on Monday,7th August,1944:-

D-DAY.Historic World War Two Military Vehicle Street Parade in Isigny-Sur-Mer,France,2013,commemerating and celebrating D-Day. GMC CCKW and French Resistance:-

D-DAY.Ford CMP F15A GS,CMP No.13-cabbed,15 CWT,Covered Fixedside-bodied,4x4 General Service Lorry,Serial No.109943, 796 LGU. Built Wednesday,13th January,1943. FOV:-

D-DAY.Ford CMP F15A GS,CMP No.13-cabbed,15 CWT,Covered Fixedside-bodied,4x4 General Service Lorry,Serial No.109943, 796 LGU. Built Wednesday,13th January,1943. FFV shows the beautiful styling of the front end:-

D-DAY.Liberation of Paris,Celebratory Parade on the Champs Elysees,American tank crew,August 1944.This is what the D-Day Operation Overlord was all about- to free Western Europe from the evil Hitler-■■■■ regime. 4:-

D-DAY.Liberation of Paris,Celebratory Parade,Victory Crowds greet American soldiers,August 1944.This is what the D-Day Operation Overlord was all about- to free Western Europe from the evil Hitler-■■■■ regime. 2:-

D-DAY.A parade of historic World War Two Military Vehicles at a D-Day Festival,Bayeux-Bessin,France,2013:-

D-DAY.Above a hundred World War Two Era Military Vehicles,owned by Military Vehicles Trust members,que at Portsmouth’s ferry port for embarkation to Normandy,France,where the members will commemorate the D-Day 70th Anniversary:-

D-DAY.Liberation of Paris,An aeroplane flies over the Celebratory Parade on the Champs Elysees,August 1944:-

D-DAY.Liberation of Paris,Celebratory Parade on the Champs Elysees,August 1944:-

D-DAY.Liberation of Paris,the Americans in the Celebratory Parade on the Champs Elysees,Arc De Triomphe ,August 1944:-

D-DAY.Liberation of Paris,American military vehicles travel on the Champs Elysees,August 1944:-

D-DAY.The Kaye Family,of Mytton,near Shrewsbury,are celebrating-commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day in France with their two Scammell Pioneer’s,a R100 HAT and a SV2S HRV.They are members of the Military Vehicle Trust:-

D-DAY.Diamond T 980 M20 6x4 Ballast Road Locomotive & M9 Trailer,Corgi 55102 - Diamond T HRV-Wrecker,Corgi 55101,D-Day Operation Overlord 50th Anniversary Corgi Models,6th June 1944-6th June 1994:-

D-DAY.D-Day Festival,Procession of Military Vehicles,a beautiful Diamond T 969A 6x6 Wrecker-Heavy Recovery Vehicle:-

D-DAY.Scammell Pioneer TRMU,30 6x4 Tractive Unit-Tank Transporter,H4576041,55-18, DAS 952:-

D-DAY.Diamond T 980 M20 6x4 Ballast Road Locomotive,G159, 75 14, VFF 273:-

D-DAY Festival,Bayeux-Bessin,France,D-Day celebration revellers in fancy period dress dancing to the great World War Two era music:The Andrews Sisters,Glenn Miller,Tommy Dorsey,Artie Shaw,Harry James,etc:-

D-DAY.On Gold Beach at Arrowmanches,France,Sunday,7th June,2009,D-Day veterans,vehicle enthusiasts and the general public commemorating the 65th Anniversary of D-Day.WW2 military vehicles include an AEC Matador and several Jeeps:-

As it was then so it is now :smiley:

VALKYRIE

RESPECT.

That’s a beautiful and very impressive post. Thankyou so much!!!

Here’s my little homage:-

Woken up at six this morning by a stupid truck driver who, instead of following my instructions decided to trust his satnav. So, feeling very grumpy,I had to go out and rescue him. Then I looked around at the beautiful green dew-laden countryside and the sunshine and the birdsong and the fresh morning breeze and I smiled. But then I thought of all those young teens and twenties seventy years ago who this morning were fighting fascism on the beaches of Normandy for the liberty of Europe. Many of them were wounded, many maimed and many gave their lives. Our generation cannot ever thank them enough for allowing us to live our lives and bring up our own families in peace and freedom. Then I returned home and made a cup of tea and thanked them again. And I will go on thanking them until the day I die!

Hiya…I’ve had a drive of that Diamond T (vff) she has a GM 2 stroke under the bonnet wow dose she scream 28 mph flat out.
on another note theres a clip (35mins) of how the govenment put a fuel line under the channel. its worth a look…key in
operation… PLUTO WW2…on google or you.tube.
John

Bear with me on this, back in the mid eighties I was sent to Bayeux to collect a yacht, I arrived in the town in the late afternoon and was told I was too late to load and would be loaded in the morning when the crane arrived, no problem for me, had a shower, shave and tidy up and was directed to a restaurant just down the road so dropped the trailer in their yard and set of with the unit to the restaurant which turned out to be just closing, the patron seeing my unit outside said there was a Routiers near by, give him a minute and he would take me there, he came round to the front in his car and told me to following him we eventually ended up in some nice little leafy road just outside of town and sure enough half way down was a Routiers with the Patron standing outside who indicated for me to park opposite, next to a Dutch lorry. With the normal French welcome he shook my hand and ushered me inside, at the time the only other person in the restaurant was the Dutch driver who joined me at the bar for a drink I ordered a beer for myself and the Dutchman, the patron immediately gave us each a double Brandy I thought this is going to be an expensive night, because every time we finished our drink he topped it up with a double again. Then a coach load of French pensioners came in, the patron said something to them, pointing to me next thing I had all these pensioners coming over to me and kissing me on the cheek and shaking my hand and trying to buy me a drink which I had to politely refuse otherwise I would have been legless before I got my dinner, the pensioners went off to a room out back and me and the Dutch sat down for our dinner, we were not allowed a choice we were to have the best beef steak and all the dressing to go with it, this night was definitely going to be expensive, when the steak came it was the biggest thing I’ve ever seen I think he had just cut the tail and horns off and left the rest, anyway a great night was had, hors d’oevre, the steak, dessert and cheese board and of course plenty of wine to wash it down, finished of with couple of Café Calvados my favourite tipple. When it came to paying the bill my knees were knocking but the patron would accept no money, when I pushed him as why, he took me out back to the room were the pensioners had gone and all around the wall was a mural depicting the allied landings on D Day he explained that this evening was the 5th June, tomorrow the 6th this was Bayeux right in the middle of the landings and he had an Englishman in his restaurant and to quote him “My honorary Englishman” this is what he had been telling the pensioners when they came in, who were there to celebrate D Day and why all the hand shaking and kisses. Now that was some evening to remember, French hospitality at its best, Vive la France.

The irony of it all was I was loaded early next morning and everything strapped down ready to go but was not allowed to move because of the D Day celebrations going on, are well win some loose some.

But could never forget that night.

Ossie

Sadly this old chap has missed this,he died in 2011,
youtube.com/watch?v=YwCSIrNkl3A
An old pal of mine
R.I.P Bill Sowerby

Impressive thread!
Oz, I also found France one of the most hospitable countries for a trucker. Always a ■■■■■■■■■■■■,always a well cooked meal,Vive la France! :smiley:

In 1973 I visited a huge German bunker near St MERE EGLISE that had been cleaned out and turned into a cinema showing contemporary film of the landings. There were 2 German coaches in the car park and the dialogue was in German for them to understand. The lady taking the admission sent word to the projectionist that a Brit was in the house, so he rewound the film and started again with English - sod the 90 or so germans. Boy was I embaressed!! Everywhere I went I got the same treatment. Most of the streets in the town are named after GIs who fell there and the museum ( then in it’s early days) was a tent near the church where the para hung by his chute and was deafened by the bells. A sobering experience.
Lest we forget. Jim

Hi All, intresting thread this picture took my attention it mentions the Leyland Retriever and Willys jeep but if you look in the back ground you can see a couple of gliders of the 6th Airbourne that that glided in so silent and took the bridge just after midnight the landed just 50 metres from the bridge !!! Now that takes some doing God Bless em all !!!

Regards Jimski

My dear late Dad was a Gunner with the Royal Artillery joining up in 1939. After early service around Chichester in Sussex he shipped out to the “Western Desert” via the Cape of Good Hope. His regiment joined the legendary 7th Amoured Division,Eighth Army. From there he fought his way back and forth across Libya, culminating with the Battle of El Alemain in October 1942. The invasion of Sicily, then Italy (Salerno) were next. Monte Cassino was also on his list of actions. The Seventh Armoured Div. were then shipped home to prepare for the Invasion of Europe. “D”+1 saw him on the beach at Normandy, then in the thick of the fighting around Caen, he was slightly wounded here, another quarter of an inch and he would have lost his left eye!! This was his only wound in six years of war. He often talked about the the places he visited, but not much about the actions he was involved in specifically. The only thing he was very vocal about was the Concentration Camp 7th Armoured liberated in 1945. he was horrified!! He fought the Germans for six years and respected and even liked them as soldiers, (he learned german and was an interpreter after the war) but this really got to him. I’m raising a glass of Bushmills to him now, he came back!!! lots of his friends didn’t, God bless 'em. Regards Kevmac47.

Brilliant thread . Maximum respect for all veterans :smiley:

VALKYRIE:
D-DAY.Diamond T 980 and 981 M20 6x4 Ballast Road Locomotives,G159,pulling M9 Drawbar Trailers -M19 Tank Transporter combinations in convoy:-
[
[/quote]
That’s a very interesting photo.I think it might be a very rare example of Grant/M3’s being transported in Italy which fits in with the hot climate uniforms and the fact that Grants weren’t in service during the D Day operations having been phased out in the European theatre during the early/mid part of the Italian campaign. :wink:

miniatures.de/hasegawa-MT05-grant.html](Photo Storage)

kevmac47:
My dear late Dad was a Gunner with the Royal Artillery joining up in 1939. After early service around Chichester in Sussex he shipped out to the “Western Desert” via the Cape of Good Hope. His regiment joined the legendary 7th Amoured Division,Eighth Army. From there he fought his way back and forth across Libya, culminating with the Battle of El Alemain in October 1942. The invasion of Sicily, then Italy (Salerno) were next. Monte Cassino was also on his list of actions. The Seventh Armoured Div. were then shipped home to prepare for the Invasion of Europe. “D”+1 saw him on the beach at Normandy, then in the thick of the fighting around Caen, he was slightly wounded here, another quarter of an inch and he would have lost his left eye!! This was his only wound in six years of war. He often talked about the the places he visited, but not much about the actions he was involved in specifically. The only thing he was very vocal about was the Concentration Camp 7th Armoured liberated in 1945. he was horrified!! He fought the Germans for six years and respected and even liked them as soldiers, (he learned german and was an interpreter after the war) but this really got to him. I’m raising a glass of Bushmills to him now, he came back!!! lots of his friends didn’t, God bless 'em. Regards Kevmac47.

My late dad was with the REME attatched to them in Italy having joined up just in time for the Spring offensive/grapeshot and then the fighting against the Yugoslavs for Istria.

desertrats.org.uk/bde/7thAB1945.htm

I visited the Normandy beaches, museums, and military cemetrys back in the mid 1980s. Those days spent looking around was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had. It certainly makes you think, but despite the contemplative mood that unavoidably is part of such an experience to a civilian who was born a few years after that momentous undertaking in 1944, the overwhelming feeling is one of pride, respect, awe, wonderment, and immense gratitude for those that endured either a life-changing, or sadly, a life-giving experience. Lest we Forget…Never.

On bbc 2 last night, an old interview with one of the paratroopers that landed 50 metres from Pegasus bridge, the gliders in the picture are about 50 mt from the bridge.
Some of the best photos i have ever viewed on this topic,thankyou.
Klunk.

Respect dad. :sunglasses:
IMG_0003.jpg