Below is a list of ships responsible for bombarding targets at Utah Beach as part of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, the opening day of Operation Overlord. This force, code-named "Bombardment Group A", and commanded by Rear Admiral Morton Deyo, was a group of eighteen warships assigned to support the amphibious landings on Utah Beach on June 6, 1944 ("D-Day"); this was the opening day of Operation Overlord, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II.
It was part of US Navy Force U, which consisted of 865 ships under Rear Admiral Don P. Moon. This was in turn part of the Western Naval Task Force, under Admiral Alan G Kirk.
+ US Navy Force U Bombardment Group Name Type National service Captain Battleship US Navy Captain P. M. Rhea Monitor Royal Navy Captain J. S. Colquhoun Heavy cruiser Royal Navy Captain J. W. Josselyn Heavy cruiser US Navy Captain E. M. Senn Heavy cruiser US Navy Captain J. B. Waller; flagship of Rear Admiral Morton Deyo Light cruiser Royal Navy Captain D. M. Lees Light cruiser Royal Navy Captain H. T. Grant Gunboat Netherlands Lt. Cmdr. H. H. Propper Destroyer US Navy Cmdr. M. Matthews Destroyer US Navy Lt. Cmdr. G. Hoffman Destroyer US Navy Cmdr. K. Walpole Destroyer US Navy Cmdr. Letts Destroyer US Navy Cmdr. M. Curtin Destroyer US Navy Cmdr. G. Moore Destroyer US Navy Lieutenant K. Loveland Destroyer US Navy Lt. Cmdr. W. Blenman Destroyer escort US Navy Lt. Cmdr. H. Wilmerding Destroyer escort US Navy Lt. Cmdr. E. Michel Frigate Royal Navy A/Lt.Cdr. Sydney Ayles Frigate Royal Navy Lt. Christopher H. Rankin
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