Canada's Naval 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.

Artifact Record

D-Day

War artist Tom Wood was present as the 262nd Flotilla's ten infantry landing craft, loaded with Canadian soldiers, swept in to Juno Beach.

LCI(L) 276 (foreground), delayed by congestion on the beaches, did not disgorge its load of Canadian 9th Brigade soldiers until almost noon. Although the tide was higher by then, it did not protect the flotilla's landing craft from underwater obstructions and mines. Fully half of them were damaged to varying degrees, and several had to remain on the beach to avoid sinking. LCI(L) 276, undamaged, helped by towing disabled craft off the beach.

D-Day
Painted by Tom Wood in 1944
Beaverbrook Collection of War Art
CWM 19710261-4857