Gooseberries and Blockships
British blackships
Battle of Normandy
To facilitate the landing of human and material reinforcements by sea, while limiting the impact of the sea on these operations, the Allies had the idea of deliberately scuttling old ships off the coast, which were used as breakwaters: these were the “Gooseberries”. The sea current was thus greatly reduced and navigation improved.
List of British breakwaters used during the Battle of Normandy off the Normandy landing beaches.
|
Ship
|
Mission
|
|---|---|
| HMS Alynbank | Blockship at Gold Beach |
| Becheville | Blockship at Sword Beach |
| Bendoran | Blockship at Juno Beach |
| HMS Centurion | Blockship at Omaha Beach |
| Dover Hill | Blockship at Sword Beach |
| HMS Durban | Blockship at Gold Beach |
| Elswick Park | Blockship at Juno Beach |
| Empire Bunting | Blockship at Sword Beach |
| Empire Defiance | Blockship at Juno Beach |
| Empire Flamingo | Blockship at Juno Beach |
| Empire Moorhen | Blockship at Sword Beach |
| Empire Tamar | Blockship at Sword Beach |
| Empire Tana | Blockship at Juno Beach |
| Empire Waterhen | Blockship at Gold Beach |
| Ingman | Blockship at Gold Beach |
| Innerton | Blockship at Gold Beach |
| Manchester Spinner | Blockship at Juno Beach |
| Mariposa | Blockship at Juno Beach |
| Panos | Blockship at Juno Beach |
| Saltersgate | Blockship at Gold Beach |
| Vera Radcliffe | Blockship at Juno Beach |
| Vinlake | Blockship at Gold Beach |
| Winha | Blockship at Gold Beach |
DDay-Overlord.com – Reproduction subject to authorization of the author – Contact
