home
Explore History

Second World War (1939-1945)
The Navy in European Waters  - D-Day and the Normandy Landings

Over 100 Canadian warships and some 10,000 Canadian sailors supported D-Day, the 6 June 1944 landings in Normandy. Canadian ships and sailors helped protect the invasion fleet, cleared German minefields, and ferried Allied troops across the Channel.

LCI(L) 249 at Bernières-sur-Mer, 6 June 1944
LCI(L) 249 at Bernières-sur-Mer, 6 June 1944

This photograph taken from landing craft LCI(L) 249 shows the beach at Bernières-sur-Mer, with Allied tanks and troops fighting German defenders.

Taken at about 9:00 AM, it gives a detailed view of the state of the beach a little more than an hour after the first landings. Canadian and British personnel are sheltering from enemy fire behind the sea-wall (centre), while two amphibious tanks remain near the water's edge. LCI(L) 249, already damaged by a mine, is unloading engineers, some of whom carry demolition charges to help clear the beaches of enemy obstacles and defences.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 20020039-001_p20b





HMCS Caraquet Model
Oropesa Minesweeping Float
Tangled Float, No.2
Chaudières Embarking for Normandy Assault
Third Canadian Division Assault Troops
260th Landing Craft Flotilla, Southampton, England
Officers of the 260th and 262nd Flotillas
The Crew of LCI(L) 135
D-Day
LCI(L) 249, Bernières-sur-Mer, 6 June 1944
LCI(L) 249 at Bernières-sur-Mer, 6 June 1944
LCI(L) 135 on Juno Beach
LCI(L) 249 in Drydock, Portsmouth, England
White Ensign, LCI(L) 250
Chaplain James Harold Graven's Pyx
Royal Canadian Navy Beach Commando Battle Dress Blouse
Lanchester Sub-Machine-gun
Southampton Pub, D-Day Plus One
Rescue at Sea
The Gale of Hurricane Force on the Normandy Beach