PT boats shepherd invaders to France
Tiny craft, in wake of sweepers, made surprise possible
Aboard a U.S. PT boat, off France (UP) – (June 6)
Thousands of vessels arrived safely at their rendezvous off the French coast this morning, and although the operation began in broad daylight yesterday, the Germans were kept so busy by our planes they never knew what was happening.
The tactical surprise was so complete that an hour after British and U.S. battleships and cruisers opened a gigantic shore bombardment the enemy had not fire one answering shot. Not until 5:30 a.m. did a lone enemy reconnaissance plane, with the help of flares, discover the Allied armada. And there was little its pilot could do by then.
So completely off-guard were the German defenders that British minesweepers, which were escorted by the PT squadron, cleared a broad highway right up to the French shoreline. A maneuver unprecedented in naval history, it was carried out without the loss of a PT, despite the extreme hazards. Without the run by the minesweepers and PTs to clear the Channel directly to the coast, the invasion would have been a most costly operation.
The rough seas left the PT crews battered and some acutely seasick, but the plywood navy shepherded the minesweepers along the charter route all night. Because of the slowness of the minesweepers, it was necessary to begin the operation in broad daylight yesterday.
The barrage began at 5:40 a.m., when the dreadnoughts let loose their first salvos. It was more like maneuvers than a historic invasion and a big disappointment to the PT crews, who were spotting for a fight.
Ralph Gaetter, a quartermaster from Malden, Massachusetts, said:
It’s more like the Poughkeepsie regatta than an invasion.