As the skipper was addressing the crew, over one hundred flying fortresses passed over the ship heading towards France.[3] Anti-aircraft operations were suspended; the crew were not to fire on any aircraft as almost all overhead were assumed to be friendly.
That evening, Trentonian and the other escorts, Mayflower, Drumheller, Rimouski, Lindsay, and Nasturtium, entered Poole Bay with their convoy and anchored.[4] Trentonian remained on duty patrolling for E-boats — the escort ships would take turns performing picket duty, patrolling the convoy.
The activities in Poole Bay gave the crew their first glimpse of the size and scope of the invasion. It appeared to them that every ship afloat was there: battleships, cruisers, destroyers, corvettes, minesweepers, and the multitude of merchant and troop ships. Signalman Jack Harold remarked in his diary, “If the tyrant of Germany, Hitler, could even conceive a quarter of the Allied strength that is being massed for this invasion, I feel he would quake with fear to the very depths of his fowl [sic] black heart.”[5]
With Trentonian’s picket duties complete, as senior officer of the convoy, Lt. Harrison assigned the next escort to picket duties and anchored his ship in Poole Bay. That night some of the crew took to writing letters home while others wrote wills.[6] The mood in the ship was a mixture of excitement and expectation, and adrenalin was running high. With the mess decks crowded, the tension became unbearable for two of Trentonian’s crew members and a fight broke out. The two battling parties were separated by their mates before anything serious could happen.[7]
The moon was almost full, but the crew could see an obvious glow on the horizon coming from the French side of the English Channel. They knew the bombing had already started. They also knew their turn to head into the battle was coming. The ships of their convoy took on a new importance, no longer were they the old derelict pieces of scrap iron they once begrudgingly described. Speculation amongst the crew was these ships would die a hero’s death at the entrance to various harbours along the French coast. They surmised the ships would be sunk, blocking the harbours, trapping the enemy’s ships, E-boats, and submarines so the Allies could destroy the entire German fleet.[8]
During the night the big battleships, cruisers, and destroyers made their way out of Poole Bay and towards France. They were followed by the troop ships and landing ships. Telegraphist Tom Farrell remembers watching them leave the sheltered anchorage; many of the large ships had barrage balloons secured to them with long steel cables to prevent German aircraft from coming too close. The sea was rough and he could see the smaller landing craft bouncing over the waves with their soldiers being tossed about and wondering, “How many of these men would still be alive at this time tomorrow.”[9]
The original planning map of the invasion area showing the designated patrol areas and beach designations.
Map credit: Department of National Defence, Directorate of History and Heritage, box 83, file 81/520/1650, D-Day — Neptune Maps.
The next morning at 0400, June 6, 1944, when Signalman Jack Harold came on duty for his morning watch, he could see bright flashes on the eastern horizon and hear the continuous drone of hundreds of aircraft flying overhead. Once the sun started to rise the crew watched as large formations of aircraft flew by, fighters, bombers, and cargo planes, all flying towards France. They also watched as planes returned, no longer in the pristine formations and some obviously damaged.[10] Later in the morning, a radio news broadcast was sent over Trentonian’s PA system stating the invasion of Europe had begun and thousands of Allied soldiers had landed.
To minimize the risk to the crew, Harrison ordered the men living in the lower mess decks to pack any essential gear, clothes, and hammocks and move into the upper messes. The watertight hatches to the lower mess decks were then secured and no one was allowed back into them. Lieutenant Harrison did not want anyone trapped sleeping in the lower mess decks.[11] This made the space for the crew extremely cramped; the mess decks were normally very tight, with each man being allowed a few inches of personal space. As Telegrapher Vince Hadley described, “the mess deck was fourteen by twenty-two feet and normally twenty-two of us would live there.”[12] Now there were twice as many men in the same space.
News of the invasion was sporadic and came from what they could hear on the radio announced by the BBC. Throughout the day they watched as ships took up their anchor and left the bay while hundreds of aircraft flew overhead. Some complained; being kept in the dark led to harmful rumours and unfound speculation as to how the invasion was proceeding.[13] The big question was always on their minds, was the invasion succeeding or failing?
Trentonian’s turn to leave Poole Bay with its convoy and escorts was scheduled for late in the afternoon. Just before departure Lt. Harrison called the crew together. He informed them of the situation on the other side of the Channel: the air and naval bombardment had been successful and the troops were now proceeding inshore.[14]
Trentonian was just one of 122 Canadian ships and landing craft to be assigned to Neptune, including fifteen destroyers, eleven frigates, nineteen corvettes, sixteen minesweepers, fifteen motor torpedo boats, two landing ships, fourteen assault landing craft, and thirty infantry landing craft. Originally scheduled to begin on June 5, to take advantage of the moon and tides along the French coast, the invasion had to be delayed twenty-four hours due to severe weather. During the night, airborne troops were parachuted into France to protect the invasion from counter-attacks by the German army. Several areas along the French coast were bombed by the air force to prevent the Germans from realizing that a single area was being concentrated on for the invasion.
Under the cover of darkness, the Canadian minesweepers took part in sweeping ten channels from a central rendezvous point designated “Area Z.” This gave safe passage for the bombardment force, made up of battleships, monitors, cruisers, and destroyers — including Canadian V-class destroyers Sioux and Algonquin. Anchoring off the beaches before dawn, the ships bombarded the German gun emplacements and fortifications that the French resistance had identified along the coast and inshore.
The invasion force followed, transporting 160,000 troops in a variety of landing craft, landing ships, and troop ships, to the five invasion beaches (the Canadians were assigned Juno beach). The element of surprise was absolutely essential to the success of the first wave of the invasion. All of these preparations had been done with the upmost secrecy and deception, with the final hours executed under the cover of darkness. The German soldiers guarding the coast of Normandy watched the sun set on an empty stretch of water, and would be astonished to see over four thousand Allied ships standing off their positions as dawn broke on the morning of June 6, 1944.
As the initial wave of soldiers fought their way off the beach, other soldiers were arriving in LCI(L)s, Landing Craft Infantry Large, almost the size of a small ship at 160 feet long and each capable of holding over two hundred soldiers. The LCI(L)s would run their bows onto the shore and the soldiers would disembark from ramps located on either side of the vessel.
The soldiers of the Third Canadian Division landed on Juno beach at 0755; the division was comprised of 14,000 men from infantry, armour, artillery and support units from across Canada. The beachhead was divided into two sectors, designated “Mike” and “Nan.” Mike sector was near the French village of Courseulles-sur-Mer on the west and Nan sector was in the east near the villages of Bernieres and Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer.
Initially, the resistance was minimal, but as the Germans reorganized, the fighting became fierce. Opposing the Canadians were eight thousand German soldiers with twenty batteries of heavy and medium guns fortified with pillboxes and other hardened fortifications. The approaches from the sea were heavily mined and the sea wall from the beach was twice as high as the one at Omaha beach. Juno beach was considered to be the second most heavily defended beach of the invasion.
The first wave of Canadians experienced almost 50 percent casualties but was still able to press forward, securing the beachhea
d in just over an hour. By noon the majority of the Third Canadian Division was ashore and moving inland. By 1800, the village of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer was captured by the North Shore Regiment, and over the next few hours, Courseulles-sur-Mer and Bernieres were captured as well.
The Canadian units advanced almost ten kilometres from the beach, penetrating further inland than the Americans and British, and were the only Allied forces to reach their objectives during the first day of the invasion. The human cost on that first day was almost one thousand Canadians killed or wounded.
The ships of Trentonian’s convoy were to be sunk off the invasion beaches to form an area of sheltered water off each of the five beachheads.[15] Each sheltered area was called a “Gooseberry”; their purpose was to provide an area for landing-craft operations and to provide shelter for small craft in rough weather.
The convoy had been designated into three sections, named CornCob I, CornCob II, and CornCob III. All sixty ships were to be escorted to the invasion area; each convoy ship was assigned to one of the five beachheads. The Canadian beachhead at Juno, Gooseberry 4, had eleven ships assigned to it.
The timetable for Overlord started when Trentonian left Oban, Scotland on May 31. This was the very first movement of ships and set in motion all the plans in the complex invasion schedule. It could be argued that Trentonian was the spearhead of the invasion of Normandy.
Now Harrison’s reaction to Lt. Parre’s broken leg became obvious. When they arrived in Londonderry, the skipper and the navigator had been whisked away for several days to be briefed on the invasion. Parre had committed to memory all the movements of Trentonian and where the ship was to be in the complex timetable of the invasion. With Parre’s injury, his replacement, Lt. MacBeth, had days to learn what Parre had weeks to prepare.[16]
Trentonian picked up its anchor and started to escort Cob I and Cob II sections of the convoy out of Poole Bay at 1607.[17] The crew was closed up to action stations as the other escorts and old ships started across the English Channel.
Trentonian and escorts Mayflower, Drumheller, Rimouski, Lindsay, and Nasturtium proceeded slowly into the Channel and, as darkness fell, the sky ahead of them was lit by flashes of gunfire, star shell, flares, and tracer fire. With each passing minute, Trentonian crept closer to the battle that was unfolding ahead. The convoy arrived at Area Z ahead of schedule and Harrison ordered the convoy turned to circle away at 2250, to delay their entrance into the swept channels.[18]
Trentonian’s convoy reached the swept channels of the assault area at 0540 on June 7. Cob II was split in two and each section was sent to the American Gooseberries. Cob I was split into three sections and proceeded with the two sections destined for Gooseberry 4 off Juno Beach and Gooseberry 5 off the British beach.[19] The commodore for Gooseberries 4 and 5 was in the convoy in the freighter Manchester Spinner.
Original planning map indicating the channels swept by the minesweepers late in the afternoon of the first day. The ten individual channels have been increased in size and combined and navigational buoys are being laid.
Map credit: Department of National Defence, Directorate of History and Heritage, box 83, file 81/520/1650, D-Day — Neptune Maps.
Trentonian then returned to the remaining section of Cob I and escorted it to Channel 56 for the Commodore of Gooseberry 3 in the freighter Alynbank, at 0700. This left HMS Nasturtium to escort Gooseberry 3 to the British Gold Beach off Arromanches. Trentonian then returned to Channel 78 to escort the two sections of Cob I to Juno and Sword Beachheads.[20]
This photo was taken from the port side of Trentonian’s bridge on the morning of June 7, 1944, as it approached the invasion area. Artist Marc Magee used this photo in his painting for the cover of this book.
Photo credit: A. Singleton, courtesy of Bruce Keir.
At 1025, Trentonian was requested by the commodore of Gooseberries 4 and 5 in Manchester Spinner to contact the Mulberry tugs inshore and she proceeded ahead of the convoy to the beachhead.[21] Trentonian located the tug close inshore and led the tug to the commodore, dropping anchor alongside Manchester Spinner off Juno Beach at 1155 in the morning of June 7, 1944.[22]
Able Seaman George Hayward recalled that, while they were anchored, Trentonian was near HMS Roberts, a ship classed as a monitor, similar in size to a cruiser, but mounting a single turret with two fifteen-inch guns. The soldiers onshore would call for artillery support and Robert’s guns would roar to life. Each time she fired, the concussion would shake Trentonian, knocking out the lights and breaking dishes.[23]
Two large landing ships moving towards the beaches in Normandy. The near landing ship is heavily armed with anti-aircraft weapons, while the second ship is fully laden with trucks and equipment.
Photo credit: A. Singleton, courtesy of Bruce Keir.
Able Seaman Jack Scott commented on a troop ship that passed Trentonian with soldiers filling its decks, heading for the beachhead, “They recognized the maple leaf on our stack [funnel] and they started to cheer. The troop ship was carrying a French Canadian Army unit.[24] We then cheered them back.”
Stoker Bruce Keir recalled the troop ship anchored next to Trentonian. The air was filled with the rumble of the steel anchor chains sliding over its deck. Then sirens and a steady stream of orders over the PA system, calling the soldiers to the landing craft. Once again the air was filled with the noise of the landing craft being launched from the ship’s deck, followed by the steady rumble of the big diesel engines in each boat. Keir and his shipmates watched as the Canadian soldiers scrambled down the nets into the waiting craft alongside. They could hear the curses, as the soldiers were tossed against the steel side of the troopship and thrown on the decks of the bobbing landing craft.
HMS Roberts classed as a monitor, on June 7, 1944. The ship is the size of a cruiser but mounted with a battleship turret. It is designed to anchor off-shore and bombard enemy positions with heavy fifteen-inch guns.
Photo credit: A. Singleton, courtesy of Bruce Keir.
This activity culminated with the roar of the landing craft engines as they all started their race toward the beach. The crew of Trentonian gave their army brethren one final cheer. As the men in Trentonian looked back at the troopship, they were amazed at the change from only moments ago. The large ship, so full of activity and noise only moments ago, now bobbed silently from its anchor, a ghost ship, empty of life. Keir wondered how many of those men would still be alive by tomorrow?
While the tugs distributed the CornCob ships into line to start forming Gooseberry 4 (Juno beach) and Gooseberry 5 (Sword beach), Trentonian remained at anchor. Signalman Jack Harold took the opportunity to write his first impressions of the assault area in his diary.
French-Canadian troops transferring from their troop ship to landing craft.
Photo credit: A. Singleton, courtesy of Bruce Keir.
This morning we came in sight of the coast of France. We closed up to action stations in readiness for anything. However, not a great deal happened. I have never seen so many ships in my life. There were corvettes, destroyers of all classes and types, cruisers light and heavy, battle cruisers and battleships, but everything was surprisingly quiet. Bombers and fighters were continuously roaring overhead, on their missions of destruction. Every now and then the air was shattered by the bellow of the big guns. The capital ships are of course still smashing hell out of the shore defences. Troops are pushing their way inland at a fair pace but it is up to the Navy and the Air Force to more or less weaken the enemy’s resistance.[25]
The landing craft carries the French-Canadian soldiers to Juno Beach.
Photo credit: A. Singleton, courtesy of Bruce Keir.
Trentonian weighed anchor at 1350 and escorted tugs to the ships of Gooseberry 3.[26] The ship remained in the area while the CornCob ships were laid in line and scuttling operations began. Stoker Sid Coates recalls that the sea was still very rough and there was great difficulty in getting the blockships lined up straight.[27]
The ship
s had explosives placed in them to scuttle them in position. They were manned by a skeleton crew who were taken off prior to the charges being detonated. When HMS Centurion was sunk in position, its crew of around seventy-five men were taken off in small boats before the charges sent the ship to the sea floor. A German gun position within site reported that a British battleship had exploded and sank with heavy loss of life, as only a few men of the one thousand or more crew where seen to abandon the ship.
A landing ship discharging men and material to the beach.
Photo credit: A. Singleton, courtesy of Bruce Keir.
At 1600, Trentonian departed the invasion area with Drumheller and Mayflower, escorting the CornCob convoy commodore in Durban[28] to join the third section of the CornCob convoy, Cob III, still on the north side of the English Channel.
The small group joined Cob III at 2300 that night and the remaining blockships were split into five sections,[29] one for each of the Gooseberries located in the invasion area. They proceeded back across the English Channel, entering Channel 78 at 0240 in the morning of June 8, 1944.
HMS Durban, a D-class light cruiser built in 1921, was destined to become part of the breakwater to protect the beaches of Normandy.
Photo credit: A. Singleton, courtesy of Bruce Keir.
Trentonian led the old Dutch cruiser Sumatra and a section of Cob III south through the channel.[30] Harrison received instructions from the captain southbound to lead his convoy to the anchorage.[31] With the sheer volume of ship traffic at the invasion area and in the English Channel, all movement north and south was controlled by two commands, captain southbound into the assault area and captain northbound out of the invasion area.
White Ensign Flying Page 9
