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DD or Duplex Drive tanks, nicknamed "
Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
tanks", were a type of
amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...
swimming
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
developed by the British during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The phrase is mostly used for the Duplex Drive variant of the
M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the Military history of the United States during World War II, United States and Allies of World War II, Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman prove ...
medium tank A medium tank is a classification of tanks, particularly prevalent during World War II which represented a compromise between the mobility oriented light tanks and the armour and armament oriented heavy tanks. A medium tank's classification is ...
, that was used by the Western Allies during and after the
Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
in June 1944. DD tanks worked by erecting a 'flotation screen' around the tank, which enabled it to float, and had two propellers powered by the tank's engine to drive them in the water. The DD tanks were one of the many specialized assault vehicles, collectively known as
Hobart's Funnies Hobart's Funnies is the nickname given to a number of specialist armoured fighting vehicles derived from tanks operated during the Second World War by units of the 79th Armoured Division of the British Army or by specialists from the Royal Eng ...
, devised to support the planned invasion of Europe.


History


Early development

Amphibious tanks were devised during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
; a floating version of the British
Mark IX tank The Mark IX tank was a British armoured fighting vehicle from the First World War. It was the world's first specialised armoured personnel carrier (APC). Development During the first actions with tanks, it became clear that infantry often could ...
was being tested in November 1918, just as the war ended. Development continued during the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
. As tanks are heavy for their size, providing them with enough
buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the p ...
was a difficult engineering problem. Designs that could float unaided were generally small and light with thin armour, such as the Soviet T-37. Heavier vehicles, such as the experimental, British AT1* had to be so large that the design was impractical. The alternative was to use flotation devices that the tank discarded as soon as it landed–the approach adopted by the Japanese with their
Type 2 Ka-Mi The was the first amphibious tank of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The Type 2 Ka-Mi was based on the Imperial Japanese Army's Type 95 Ha-Go light tank with major modifications. History and development As early as 1928, the Japanese Army ...
and
Type 3 Ka-Chi The was an amphibious medium tank developed by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The Type 3 Ka-Chi was based on an extensively modified Imperial Japanese Army Type 1 Chi-He medium tank (it had 2 more road-wheels and two more return roll ...
amphibious tanks. In Britain, the Hungarian-born engineer
Nicholas Straussler Nicholas Peter Sorrel Straussler (in Hungarian: ''Straussler Miklós Péter'') (7 May 1891 – 3 June 1966) was an engineer mainly remembered for devising the flotation system used by Allied amphibious DD tanks during World War II. Born in Hun ...
developed collapsible floats for Vickers-Armstrong that could be mounted on either side of a light tank to make it amphibious. Trials conducted by the British
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
showed that such a tank, propelled by an
outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...
, 'swam' reasonably well. The system was unsatisfactory in other ways, due mainly to the unwieldy bulk of the floats that were big enough to float a tank – these were each roughly the size of the tank itself. In practice, there would be severe difficulties in transporting enough floats, even collapsed ones, to move a large unit of tanks across a body of water. Also, such floats made a tank too wide to launch from an off-shore landing craft, making their use in amphibious landings impractical. In 1940, Straussler solved the problem by devising the flotation screen – a device which folded and was made of waterproofed
canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...
. The screen covered the top half of the tank effectively creating a canvas hull, greatly increasing the vehicle's
freeboard In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...
, and providing buoyancy in the water. When collapsed, it would not interfere with the tank's mobility or combat effectiveness. The first tank to be experimentally fitted with a flotation screen was a redundant
Tetrarch Tetrarch, Tetrarchs, or Tetrarchy may refer to: * Tetrarchy, the four co-emperors of the Roman Empire instituted by the Emperor Diocletian * Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs - a sculpture of the four co-emperors of the Roman Empire * Herodian Tetrarc ...
light tank provided to Straussler.Fletcher (2006) p6 Its first trial took place in June 1941 in
Brent Reservoir The Brent Reservoir (popularly called the Welsh Harp) is a reservoir in North West London. It straddles the boundary between the boroughs of Brent and Barnet and is owned by the Canal & River Trust. The reservoir takes its informal name from a pu ...
(also known as Welsh Harp Reservoir) in north London in front of General Sir Alan Brooke (at the time General Officer-in-Command Home Forces). The reservoir had been the location where trials of the floating version of the World War I,
Mark IX tank The Mark IX tank was a British armoured fighting vehicle from the First World War. It was the world's first specialised armoured personnel carrier (APC). Development During the first actions with tanks, it became clear that infantry often could ...
took place, 23 years earlier. Satisfactory sea trials of the Tetrarch took place in
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
Harbour. A prototype of a Duplex Drive
Valentine tank The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in eleven marks, plus various specialised variants, accounting for approximately a quarter ...
began trials on 21 May 1942, although it subsequently sank (during a trial in which it was subject to machine gun fire). In June 1942, permission was given by the
Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...
for the manufacture of 450 Valentine DDs. It later became clear that the
Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name) ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a tank Sherman may also refer to: Places United St ...
was more suitable for use with a screen than the Valentine and the DD screen was adapted for the Sherman by April 1943. One reason for this was that the Sherman could move in the water with its gun forward ready to fire as soon as land was reached. The Valentine was also an older and generally inferior design.


Training

Valentine DDs were used for training and the majority of the US, British, and Canadian DD crews did their preliminary training with them. Crews learned elementary phases of the DD equipment at
Fritton Lake Fritton Lake or Fritton Decoy is a lake on the border of the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk close to the towns of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth. It is located within the parishes of Fritton and St Olaves and Somerleyton, Ashby and Herrin ...
, on the
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
/
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
border. Here they learnt to waterproof and maintain their tanks, use
Amphibious Tank Escape Apparatus Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...
, launch from mock up LCT ramps and navigate around the two and a half mile lake. After two weeks of training at Fritton, the crews moved to
Stokes Bay Stokes Bay ( grid ref.:)) (50.782982, -1.163868) is an area of the Solent that lies just south of Gosport, between Portsmouth and Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire. There is a shingle beach with views of Ryde and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight to the ...
,
Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...
, Hampshire for three weeks of intensive training from landing craft. The DDs would be loaded on the hards at Stokes Bay, and launch into the
Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...
. They would form up in echelon, cross of water and land at
Osborne Bay Osborne Bay is a bay on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England, in the eastern arm of the Solent. It lies to the east of East Cowes and is from the entrance to the River Medina. Its shoreline is in length and is gently curving. It ...
on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
. The regiments would then move to Combined Training Centres, such as at the
Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...
in Scotland and Barafundle Bay in Wales to train with other elements and units, during which period crews incurred several losses. On 4 April 1944, Operation Smash was held at
Studland Bay Studland is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, England. The village is located about north of the town of Swanage, over a steep chalk ridge, and south of the South East Dorset conurbation at Sandbanks, from which it i ...
with the Valentine DDs. The trial run of the tanks ran into difficulty when a change in the weather adversely affected the sea conditions. Six tanks sank with the loss of six crew members. The sunken wrecks of at least 10 tanks, lost during training, are known to lie off the British coast. Another sunken DD tank remains at the bottom of Fritton Lake.


Sherman DD

Rear view of a Sherman DD with its screen raised, showing the twin propellers in their lowered position, upright Modifications to the Sherman included the sealing of the lower hull, the addition of the propeller drive and the addition of Straussler's flotation screen around the hull, together with its inflation system. The base of the canvas flotation screen was attached to a horizontal mild steel boat-shaped platform welded to the tank's hull. The screen was supported by horizontal metal hoops and by 36 vertical rubber tubes. A system of compressed air bottles and pipes inflated the rubber tubes to give the curtain rigidity. The screen could be erected in 15 minutes and quickly collapsed once the tank reached the shore. In practice there was about of
freeboard In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...
. In combat, the flotation system was considered expendable and it was assumed the tank crew would remove and discard it as soon as conditions allowed.Fletcher (2006) In practice, some units kept the flotation equipment and their tanks were used in several amphibious operations. A pair of propellers at the rear provided propulsion. One problem presented by the Sherman was that the configuration of the transmission (gearbox at the front) made it impossible to take a drive-shaft directly from the gearbox to the propellers. The solution to this was to have sprocket wheels at the rear of the tank so power was delivered to the propellers by the tank's tracks. DD Tanks could swim at up to . Both the commander and the driver could steer in the water, although with different methods. A hydraulic system under the control of the driver could swivel the propellers; the commander from a platform at the rear of the turret, where he could see over the skirt, could contribute by operating a large
tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...
. The first DD Shermans produced by the British were used by both British and US units. Later production was by both the US and the UK. British Shermans were Sherman III (M4A2) and Sherman V (M4A4) conversions. The US used the M4A1 only for their conversions. Experience from D-Day led to an improved, Mark II version of the DD Sherman. The screen was extended and strengthened by fixing to the turret, a new type of bilge pump fitted and a second set of hydraulic steering controls was fitted at the commander's station, although his tiller was retained. An air compressor replaced the air cylinders that provided the pressurized air to erect the screen. After D-Day, US Army interest decreased, looking for other options. While the US Army in Europe used the Sherman DD design, in the Pacific LVTs were equipped with armor and guns to support landings up to the sea line; from the sea line, tanks were supposed to support infantry.


Later flotation screen use

Designs were made to give the
Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
and
Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
the DD treatment, but these were never completed. A floating, flame-thrower equipped version of the
Universal Carrier The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier and sometimes simply the Bren Carrier from the light machine gun armament, is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and other ...
was tested, as was a flamethrower-equipped DD Sherman. This towed an armoured fuel trailer, like those used by the
Churchill Crocodile The Churchill Crocodile was a British flame-throwing tank of late Second World War. It was a variant of the Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) Churchill Mark VII, although the Churchill Mark IV was initially chosen to be the base vehicle. The Crocod ...
. The trailer, in the water, was supported by an inflatable flotation device.Fletcher (2007) After the war, the
Centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...
was tested with a flotation screen and duplex drive. By the end of the 1950s, development of DD tanks had ceased, partly because
main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
s were becoming too heavy to be practically made to swim – although experiments were carried-out in the mid-1960s with a floating Centurion that used a similar system, but with rigid panels instead of a flexible screen. The 38 tonne
Vickers MBT The Vickers MBT is a series of main battle tanks (MBTs) developed as a private venture by British company Vickers-Armstrongs for export. The design makes use of proven components, such as the L7 gun of the Centurion, the Leyland L60 multi-fuel e ...
was fitted with a flotation screen that allowed it to swim. Medium and light vehicles continued to be made amphibious by the use of flotation screens into the 1980s, but without the DD. Instead, they used the movement of their standard running gear (e.g. tracks) for water propulsion also. These included the Swedish
Stridsvagn 103 The Stridsvagn 103 (Strv 103), also known as the Alternative S and S-tank, is a Swedish post-World War II main battle tank, designed and manufactured in Sweden. "Strv" is the Swedish military abbreviation of ''stridsvagn'', Swedish for chariot an ...
(S-Tank), the American
M551 Sheridan The M551 "Sheridan" AR/AAV ( Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle) was a light tank developed by the United States and named after General Philip Sheridan, of American Civil War fame. It was designed to be landed by parachute and to sw ...
light tank, the British
FV432 The FV432 is the armoured personnel carrier variant in the British Army's FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles. Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has been the most common variant, being used for transporting infantry on the battlefie ...
Armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...
, the Mark IV version of the
Ferret armoured car The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret scout car, is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company Daimler. It was widely ...
and early versions of the American
M2 Bradley The M2 Bradley, or Bradley IFV, is an American infantry fighting vehicle that is a member of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle family. It is manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, which was formerly United Defense. The Bradley is designed for ...
Infantry Fighting Vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...
. Of these, only the FV432 and the Bradley remain in service and current versions lack flotation screens.


Combat

The main use of DD tanks occurred on D-Day. They were also used in
Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...
, the
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
invasion of southern France on 15 August 1944;
Operation Plunder Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Li ...
, the British crossing of the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
on 23 March 1945 and in several operations on the Italian Front in 1945. DD Tanks were sent to India; the
25th Dragoons The 25th Dragoons was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1941 to 1947. Previous regiments bearing the number have been: * De La Bouchetiere's Regiment of Dragoons was re-formed in 1716 as the 25th D ...
were trained in their use, but planned operations against the Japanese in Malaya never occurred.


D-Day

The DD Sherman was used to equip eight tank battalions of American, British, and Canadian forces for the D-Day landings. They were carried in
Tank Landing Craft The Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) (or Tank Landing Craft TLC) was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of ver ...
, also known as Landing Craft, Tank (LCT). These could normally carry nine Shermans, but could fit fewer of the bulkier DDs. British and Canadian LCTs carried five tanks, the Americans carried four as their LCTs were shorter at about . The DDs would typically be launched around from the shore, swim to the beaches and overpower the German defences. The tank's record was a mixture of success and failure, although they are mainly remembered for their disastrous performance on
Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" r ...
.


Sword Beach

On the British
Sword Beach Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fra ...
, at the eastern end of the invasion area, the DD tanks worked well, as the sea was reasonably calm. The DD tanks from 'A' and 'B' Squadrons of
13th/18th Royal Hussars The 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed by the amalgamation of the 13th Hussars and the 18th Royal Hussars in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it amalgamated wit ...
were launched from shore. Five could not be launched as the leading tank on its LCT tore its screen – they were later landed directly on shore – one tank sank after being struck by an LCT.


Gold Beach

On
Gold Beach Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. Gold, the central of the five areas, was lo ...
, the sea was rougher. The tanks of the
Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (Sherwood Rangers) The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY) was a British Yeomanry regiment. In 1967 it was amalgamated with other units to form the Royal Yeomanry (RY), a light cavalry regiment of the Army Reserve. Originally raised as the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Cav ...
were launched late, about from the shore. Eight tanks were lost on the way in and by the time the remainder landed,
Sherman Crab A mine flail is a vehicle-mounted device that makes a safe path through a minefield by deliberately detonating land mines in front of the vehicle that carries it. They were first used by the British during World War II. The mine flail consists of ...
(mine flail) tanks had already destroyed the German artillery and machine-gun positions that would have been their objective. Sea conditions meant the tanks of ‘B’ and ‘C’ Squadrons, from the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, were landed in the shallows. They then drove onto the beach with their screens up so they would not get swamped in the breakers. German anti-tank guns caused heavy losses in some sectors of the beach but the assault was successful.


Juno Beach

On the Canadian
Juno Beach Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold ...
,
The Fort Garry Horse The Fort Garry Horse is a Canadian Army Reserve armoured regiment based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 38 Canadian Brigade Group. It traces its history to a cavalry regiment first formed in 1912 that first took ...
and the 1st Hussars were equipped with DDs, but only those of the 1st Hussars could be launched. They were assigned to the 7th Canadian Brigade, at the western end of the beach. Some of the tanks were launched at and some at 800 yards (700 m); twenty-one out of twenty-nine tanks reached the beach. The 8th Canadian Brigade, at the eastern end of the beach, was forced to land without DD tanks because of rougher seas. They suffered heavy initial casualties, but were still able to make good progress.


Utah Beach

On
Utah Beach Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...
, the DDs were operated by the
70th Tank Battalion The 70th Armor Regiment is an armored (tank) unit of the United States Army. It was constituted as the 70th Tank Battalion in July 1940, an independent tank battalion intended to provide close support to infantry units. In this role, it saw acti ...
. Armoured support was reduced by four DDs when their LCT was lost to German artillery fire. The remaining tanks were launched 15 minutes late from the beach. Twenty-seven out of twenty eight reached the beach but confusion caused by the massive smoke screen meant they landed around from their aiming point and saw some German opposition. At around 7:45 a.m. the 3rd battalion who was attached to the 8th infantry landed at Red Beach. Soon after, the 3rd battalion moved to Exit 2, which was now designated as the route vehicles would take to move inland. Some of the 70th tank battalion with its DD Shermans tagged along with the 3rd battalion. Part way along the causeway, some congestion formed due to an 88mm anti-tank gun and a ditch blown in the road. Two Shermans were knocked out (one of them was knocked out by a mine in the road) in the skirmish, but the gun that blocked the road was cleared by a direct hit from another Sherman.


Omaha Beach

At
Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" r ...
almost all of the tanks launched offshore were lost, their absence contributing to the high casualty rate and sluggish advance from that beach. The first wave at Omaha included 112 tanks: 56 from each of the 741st and
743rd Tank Battalion The 743rd Tank Battalion was an independent tank battalion that participated in the European Theater of Operations with the United States Army in World War II. It was one of five tank battalions (all independent) which landed in Normandy on D-Day ...
s. Each of these battalions had 32 DD and 24 other Shermans (including many Sherman bulldozers for clearing obstacles). Starting at about 0540, the 741st Tank Battalion put 29 DDs into the sea, but 27 of these sank, the remaining two made the long swim to the beach. Some of the crews of the sinking tanks managed to radio back and warn following units not to launch so far out. The remaining vehicles of the 741st Tank Battalion and all tanks of the 743rd Tank Battalion, (except for the four aboard one LCT that was hit by artillery fire just off the beach), were landed directly on the beach, starting at about 0640. DD Tanks were designed to operate in waves up to 1 foot (0.3 m) high; however, on D-Day, the waves were up to high. These were much worse conditions than the tanks had been tested in and hence they were swamped. Also, the tanks of 741st Tank Battalion were launched too far out: about offshore. These factors also exacerbated the inherent difficulty of steering a 35-ton "vessel" with a low freeboard. The crews were equipped with DSEA emergency breathing apparatus capable of lasting 5 minutes, the tanks were also equipped with inflatable rafts.Vaughan, Don. ''Neptune’s Treasures''
oaa.org
Some sources claim that these life-saving measures were ineffective; this was contradicted by the testimony of survivors. Most of the crews were rescued, mainly by the landing craft carrying the 16th Regimental Combat Team, although five crewmen are known to have died during the sinkings. Until very recently it was believed that most of the DD Shermans of the 741st Tank Battalion were sunk almost immediately. Research undertaken in 2000 by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
, in cooperation with Robert's Naval Historical Center's
Underwater Archaeology Branch The Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) of the Naval History & Heritage Command (NHHC) is a unit of the United States Department of the Navy. It was formally founded in 1996 as a consequence of the emerging need to manage, study, conserve, and cu ...
, found evidence that some had come close to safely landing: Some stayed afloat for a matter of minutes; according to the crews one tank swam for 15 minutes, another: "We weren’t in the ocean ic10 minutes when we had a problem". Tanks at the other four beaches suffered no such problems.


Operation Dragoon

The
Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...
landings took place on 15 August 1944 between
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
and
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
in southern France. A total of 36 DD tanks were used by three American tank battalions – the 191st, the 753rd and the 756th. The 756th had eight tanks that were launched from the beaches; one was swamped by the bow-wave of a landing craft and one sank after striking an underwater obstacle. The twelve tanks of the 191st battalion were all landed on or close to the beach. Five of the C Company tanks of the 191st were immobilized by mines. The 753rd battalion had 16 tanks, of which eight were launched at sea and successfully reached the shore, eight were landed directly on the beach later in the day.


Northwest Europe

The
Staffordshire Yeomanry The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) was a unit of the British Army. Raised in 1794 following Prime Minister William Pitt's order to raise volunteer bodies of men to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion, the Staffordshir ...
were converted to DD tanks after D-Day and trained initially at
Burton-upon-Stather __NOTOC__ Burton upon Stather, also hyphenated as Burton-upon-Stather, is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated north from Scunthorpe, and is near the east bank of the River Trent. The civil parish ...
, near Scunthorpe, before moving with them to Belgium. From early September, they were based at Elewyt at Lac d'Hofstade. On 26 October 1944, they undertook a swim across the
Western Scheldt The Western Scheldt ( nl, Westerschelde) in the province of Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, is the estuary of the Scheldt river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are now disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the W ...
to attack
South Beveland Zuid-Beveland (; "South Beveland") is part of the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands north of the Western Scheldt and south of the Eastern Scheldt. Topography It is a former island, now peninsula, crossed by the Canal through Zuid-Bevela ...
, during the
Battle of the Scheldt The Battle of the Scheldt in World War II was a series of military operations led by the First Canadian Army, with Polish and British units attached, to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Allies ...
. The DD Tanks' longest operational water crossing took place without casualties, but they had great difficulty in landing – 14 became bogged down in mud and only four were available for action.Fletcher (2006), p.37 Operation Plunder, the Rhine crossing, began on the night of 23 March 1945. As well as the Staffordshire Yeomanry, DD tanks equipped the American 736th and 738th Tank Battalions and the British 44th Royal Tank Regiment. Some tanks were lost in the river, but the crossings were considered a success. The tanks were launched from points upstream from their objectives, to take account of the Rhine's strong current. Mats laid at the objective points (carried across beforehand by Buffalos) allowed the DDs to climb the steep, muddy banks of the river. The DD's last combat swimming operation was the Staffordshire Yeomanry's crossing of the River
Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
at
Artlenburg Artlenburg is a municipality in the district of Lüneburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russi ...
on 29 April 1945.


Italian campaign

By February 1945, the
7th Queen's Own Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...
in Italy had been trained and equipped with DD tanks, both Shermans and Valentines. DD Shermans were successfully used in the crossing of the
Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ligurian language (ancient), Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira (river), Mair ...
on 24 April. On 28 April, those tanks still able to swim were used in an assault across the River
Adige The Adige (; german: Etsch ; vec, Àdexe ; rm, Adisch ; lld, Adesc; la, Athesis; grc, Ἄθεσις, Áthesis, or , ''Átagis'') is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the prov ...
. During this operation, Valentine DDs were used to transport fuel (their only known use on active service). The tanks continued to be used in combat in the advance towards Venice. There were no further swimming operations, but it was found that the folded flotation screen offered a large seating area, making the tanks useful troop transports.Fletcher (2006), p.38


"T-6 Device"

An alternative to the DD was the "T-6 Device", developed by the US Army. Limited numbers of the "T-6 Device" were used by the US Army and Marines during the landings on Okinawa. The "T-6 Device" kit consisted of a structure of box-like, pressed-steel floats (pontoons) mounted on the front, rear and sides of a Sherman. No propellers were fitted – propulsion was provided by the rotation of the tracks. The front and rear floats were discarded on the beach, some in the water. Explosive bolts were used. Side floats were removed from the tanks on shore when the tactical situation permitted. In an oral interview with former Pvt. Maurice Dean Derby 37699146, Browning Automatic Rifleman, Co. A, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, he related that "On the night of the landing (Okinawa, 1 April 1945) we were kept awake all night because the Tank Crews were beating on the pontoons with sledgehammers to remove them from the Tanks." The tanks were Co. B, 711 Tank Battalion. Compared with the DD, the floats were bulky and harder to stow, limiting the number of tanks that could be carried in a landing craft. However, the system was more seaworthy and had the advantage of allowing the Sherman to fire its main gun as it approached the beach. The Sherman's gyroscopic gun stabilization allowed accurate fire even when the tank was being pitched by waves.


German equivalent

During planning for an invasion of England in 1940 (
Operation Sea Lion Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...
), the Germans also worked on developing amphibious tanks capable of directly supporting infantry during a beach assault. The Schwimmpanzer II was a modified version of the
Panzer II The Panzer II is the common name used for a family of German tanks used in World War II. The official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' II (abbreviated PzKpfw II). Although the vehicle had originally been designed as a stopgap while la ...
which, at 8.9 tons, was light enough to float with the attachment of long rectangular boxes to either side of the tank's hull. The boxes were made of aluminum and filled with Kapok sacks to preserve buoyancy if water leaked into the pontoons. Motive power came from the tank's own tracks which were connected by rods to a propeller shaft running through each float. The Schwimmpanzer II could make 5.7 km/h in the water. An inflatable rubber hose around the turret ring created a waterproof seal between the hull and turret. The tank's 2 cm gun and coaxial machinegun were kept operational and could be fired while the tank was still churning its way ashore. Schwimmpanzer IIs were deployed from a specially modified landing barge (Type C) and could be launched directly into open water from a hatch cut into the stern. The Germans converted 52 of these tanks to amphibious use prior to Sea Lion's cancelation.Schenk, p.113 Instead of floating, the
Tauchpanzer Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle ...
, a modification of the
Panzer III The ''Panzerkampfwagen III'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight oth ...
and
Panzer IV The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the ''Panzer'' IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panze ...
, drove on the sea-bed. A rubber hose supplied the engine and crew with air and gave the waterproofed tank a maximum diving depth of making it an extreme example of a wading tank. The Germans converted 168 Panzer IIIs and 42 Panzer IVs for use in Operation Sea Lion.


Surviving DD tanks


Valentine

A DD Valentine, restored to running condition, is in private ownership in England. The sunken wrecks of eight others, lost during training, are in the
Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...
in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
; two have been located and are regularly visited by recreational divers. Two sunken Valentine DDs rest 3.5 miles out of Swanage Bay, Dorset. These tanks are 100 metres apart in 15 meters of water.


Sherman

*
The Tank Museum The Tank Museum (previously The Bovington Tank Museum) is a collection of armoured fighting vehicles at Bovington Camp in Dorset, South West England. It is about north of the village of Wool and west of the major port of Poole. The collection ...
, Bovington in England has an M4A2 DD Sherman in working order, with its canvas flotation screens still intact. *Three of the DD Shermans lost on D-Day were salvaged in the 1970s. Two M4A1s are displayed at the ''Musée des Épaves Sous-Marine du Débarquement'' (Museum of Underwater Wrecks of the Invasion), a privately owned museum near
Port-en-Bessin Port-en-Bessin-Huppain () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. The commune contains the two towns of Port-en-Bessin and Huppain. Population History The name ''Huppain'' stems from Norse ...
, in
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. :One of these tanks, along with a variety of personal items recovered with it, has been purchased by an American company, Overlord Research, LLC, based in West Virginia. The owners intend to return the tank to the United States, preferably for public display in an American Museum, such as the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana or the National Museum of the United States Army, to be constructed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Details of the repatriation of the DD Tank and its final location in the United States are still being determined. As the tank was submerged for many years, Overlord believes preservation in its current condition, which shows its loss at sea as it approached
Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" r ...
, is an aspect that is more historically important than attempting a restoration. *A Canadian M4A4 recovered in 1971 is displayed as a monument at
Courseulles-sur-Mer Courseulles-sur-Mer (, ), commonly known as ''Courseulles'', is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Until 1957, the town's name was simply ''Courseulles''. It lies 3 km west of Bernières-sur-Mer and 18  ...
. In an effort led by Canadian ex-pat Léo Gariépy, who had commanded a 1st Hussars DD tank that landed near there in the first wave, the town took the initiative to retrieve from the water a DD tank (" Bold") which had sank in front of Courseulles on D-Day. The tank was retrieved, restored, and installed in the ''Place Léo Gariépy''. *In 2000, there was an unsuccessful attempt by the
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
to raise a sunken M4A1 DD Sherman, located near
Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It was eventually recovered on 18 May 2002. It has been restored and is on display in the Piana delle Orme museum, in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, near
Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...
, south of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. *A Sherman tank that was lost off the
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
coast in the UK, was recovered in the 1980s, largely due to the efforts of a beachcomber named Ken Small. It is now on display in the village of
Torcross Torcross is a village in the South Hams district of south Devon in England. It stands at grid reference at the southern end of Slapton Sands, a narrow strip of land and shingle beach which separates the freshwater lake of Slapton Ley from St ...
as part of a memorial to those who died on 8 April 1944 when an invasion rehearsal,
Exercise Tiger Exercise Tiger, or Operation Tiger, was one of a series of large-scale rehearsals for the D-Day invasion of Normandy, which took place in April 1944 on Slapton Sands in Devon. Coordination and communication problems resulted in friendly fire ...
, was attacked by
E-boat E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a lar ...
s. This Sherman is an M4A1 DD tank, this can be seen because of the specific gears to which the propellers were connected, under the rear deck. While the metal frame on which the flotation screen was fixed disappeared due to rust, some traces of it can still be seen around the hull. *An M4A2E8 HVSS Duplex Drive tank (possibly) the same tank unit was later displayed at the Museum Support Center in Anniston, AL, around 2013; A converted M4A2E8 was displayed at the World War II US Military Vehicle Museum in
San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...
, in 2016. *An M4A1 DD is part of the collection of the French tank museum, the
Musée des Blindés The ''Musée des Blindés'' ("Museum of Armoured Vehicles") or ''Musée Général Estienne'' is a tank museum located in the Loire Valley of France, in the town of Saumur. It is now one of the world's largest tank museums. It began in 1977 un ...
. It carries a 76mm turret and main gun, which are not original to the tank when it was used during World War II. *An M4A2 DD tank is displayed in India, at the Cavalry Tank Museum,
Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1494 ...
, India.


See also

*
Deep wading Deep wading or deep fording is a technique used by some heavy semi-amphibious vehicles to traverse water that is several metres deep - the vehicle drives on the riverbed/lakebed/seabed and uses screens or a pipe (a snorkel) that reaches above the ...
(driving a tank on the seabed using a snorkel) *
T-37A tank The T-37A was a Soviet amphibious light tank. The tank is often referred to as the T-37, although that designation was used by a different tank which never left the prototype stage. The T-37A was the first series of mass-produced fully amphibio ...
– World War II Soviet amphibious tank. * T-38 – World War II Soviet amphibious tank. *
Type 2 Ka-Mi The was the first amphibious tank of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The Type 2 Ka-Mi was based on the Imperial Japanese Army's Type 95 Ha-Go light tank with major modifications. History and development As early as 1928, the Japanese Army ...
– World War II Japanese amphibious tank. *
Type 3 Ka-Chi The was an amphibious medium tank developed by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The Type 3 Ka-Chi was based on an extensively modified Imperial Japanese Army Type 1 Chi-He medium tank (it had 2 more road-wheels and two more return roll ...
– World War II Japanese amphibious tank. *
Allied Technological Cooperation During WW2 The Allies of World War II cooperated extensively in the development and manufacture of new and existing technologies to support military operations and intelligence gathering during the Second World War. There are various ways in which the allie ...


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * *


External links


DD Tank
Saving Private Ryan online encyclopedia, 14 April 2005 * BBC online new
'The tanks that didn't land on D-Day'
15 April 2005



* Vaughan, Don
''Neptune’s Treasures: A survey of ships and other craft lost during Operation Neptune''

Burton upon Stather Heritage Group
are a voluntary organisation involved in the preservation and restoration one of the World War II testing sites for DD tanks on the banks of the River Trent. Their website contains interviews with those who worked on the then secret operations and those who lived in the area during the war. It also includes photographs of the testing site past and present.
Duplex Drive Tanks of D Day
covers the development of the DD Tank and training in the UK at the various specialist wings (1943–48) {{History of the tank, style=wide Amphibious vehicles of World War II Amphibious tanks World War II tanks of the United Kingdom Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944