The U.S. 741st and 743rd Tank Battalions At Omaha Beach

With the 75th Anniversary of the June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France upon us (D-Day) I thought it would be appropriate to highlight one of the more important contributions to the D-Day effort. That being the armor tasked with supporting the assaulting infantry at Omaha beach. During the abortive Dieppe raid of August 1942 it had become obvious that significant armored support was essential if any Allied invasion force had hopes of getting past the German beach defenses. There, only 29 Churchill tanks landed. Twenty-two were knocked out or immobilized, and all such vehicles ultimately captured.

With that lesson in mind, one of the core elements underlying the planning for D-Day (Operation Overlord) was to make sure that when the Allies came back that they had plenty of armored support. The U.S. invasion force had been tasked with forming two beachheads - codenamed Utah and Omaha Beach. Our focus here is on Omaha Beach (in addition, a considerable amount of armor was tasked to support the three British/Canadian assaults to the east of the U.S. beaches). The armored support for the U.S. infantry in the initial landing waves at Omaha Beach would come from the 741st and 743rd Tank Battalions - each equipped with M4 Sherman tanks.

Now, these Sherman tanks had been extensively modified for their amphibious support role. These modifications included the addition of a duplex drive propulsion system that could move the tank on land and at sea. In the latter case mobility came from a pair of propeller screws mounted on the rear of the tank, ostensibly allowing it to travel at up to four and a half knots. The top of the tank hull would be protected by a ruberized canvas screen (pictured here in its "lowered" position) supported by metal struts affixed to a metal framework welded to the hull. When raised this screen allowed the tank to float. The screen could be lowered and raised using a pnuematic system - with the idea being that when the tank hit the beach the screen would come down and allow it to immediately bring its firepower to bear. In addition, a waterproofing compound was applied to all of the tanks joints, hatches, and the like.

This system was heavily tested in lakes and lochs around England and Scotland in the months leading up to D-Day. In addition, it was tested in the ocean and found to be quite lacking in rough seas. In two exercises during the spring of 1944 the Royal Army (who would also be using DD tanks) lost eight tanks. That said, because of shortages not all the tanks assigned to the U.S. Tank Battalions were DD tanks, only two tank company's in each battalion had been so equipped. The third company in each battalion received Sherman tanks featuring full waterproofing plus two stacks extending the air intakes and exhausts. This thus allowed the tanks to drive off landing craft and traverse water as deep as six feet (thus relying on experience gained during the landings in Sicily where this system was successfully used the prior year).

At Omaha Beach the 741st Tank Battalion had been assigned to support the U.S. 1st Infantry Division's assault while the 743rd Tank Battalion would support the 29th Infantry Division's assault. Omaha beach featured the strongest defenses and toughest set of natural obstacles (high bluffs with only a scattering of draws offering egress from the beach) of any of the Allied landing beaches. Moreover, its stout defenses of bunkers, blockhouses, trenches, minefields, and the like would be manned by the 352nd Infantry Division (including a considerable number of Eastern Front veterans that far outclassed the men of the German 716th Infantry Division otherwise defending the bulk of the shoreline).

Early on the morning of June 6th the invasion fleet reached the embarkation points for landing. H-Hour came at 0630 hours in a turbulent sea roiling due to the storms that had been blowing across France and the English Channel during the first week of June. The U.S. amphibious assault began with a forty minute bombardment during which the DD tanks of each tank battalion (B and C company in both cases) motored their way in. Ideally, and upon the bombardment's ending, they would hit the beaches - while A company in each battalion would be carried in by landing craft.

In the case of the 741st Tank Battalion (and unlike the 743rd Tank Battalion's situation) in spite of the heavy seas (that had been swamping infantry landing craft and DUKWs alike in the offshore loading area) the decision was made to launch the DD tanks of B and C company some 5,000 yards offshore. It quickly became a disaster. The entire sixteen tank complement of C Company foundered. All told, of the 29 DD tanks launched, only two made it to shore. Three of B company's tanks ended up being delivered straight to shore when the lead tank - each LCT carried four tanks - reacted to incoming German artillery by first backing into the other tanks and damaging their screens and then launching itself into the water where it promptly sank. This meant the entire left flank of Omaha Beach (then being assaulted by the 1st Infantry Division) was supported by only five DD Tanks (one of which was promptly disabled upon reaching the beach).

As for the 741st Tank Battalion's A Company, things went marginally better. One LCT had hit a mine crossing the channel, sending two M4s and a tank dozer to the bottom. From there, three landing craft brought in at H-Hour six A Company Sherman's and three tank dozers. A German AT-gun promptly immobilized one tank (though its crew continued to fire its weapons), another sank in water too deep for its wading equipment, a tank dozer was destroyed by a German 88mm gun, and so it went. Within minutes of landing a third of A Company's armor had been lost (either crossing the Channel or immediately after reaching shore).

This initial carnage left seven M4 tanks and four tank dozers to support the infantry (of sixteen M4s and eight tank dozers designated to land directly on the beaches with A Company). However, those Shermans that landed performed well in supporting the otherwise pinned down initial landing waves. The Sherman tanks knocked out a considerable number of German positions. By 1100 hours six of the Shermans had joined an all-out assault directed at the E-3 Colleville Draw. One threw a track on the shingle, and another hit a mine - disabling it. However, three Shermans pushed up the E-3 exit and began directing murderous fire on the German defenders. Unfortunately, one Sherman threw a track, and another was knocked out by a German anti-tank gun. The third tank reversed its way back to the beach where it ultimately swamped in the surf. That said, the infantry were able to gradually work their way up the draw, onto the bluffs, and begin reducing the German strongpoints from behind. Meanwhile, the tanks on the beach continued to fire on the German positions, but were gradually knocked out or immobilized (five threw tracks on the shingle).

By 2315 hours the 741st Tank Battalion could report only three tanks operational, two in repair, and a staggering 48 tanks lost.

In contrast the 743rd Tank Battalion had been delivered directly on the beach where it provided much better support for the 29th Infantry Division's assault. There, the LCT flotilla commander and 743rd Tank Battalion command had decided the seas were too rough to launch the DD tanks and instead the LCT's would take them right in to the beach. This still meant they had to face the German beach defenses.

The first tank off LCT 591 was promptly brewed up by a German anti-tank gun while the landing craft was already reversing. All of which meant the three remaining tanks debarked unprepared into deep water and sank. However, in contrast to the disaster at sea that virtually wiped out the 741st Tank Battalion's B and C Company - the corresponding DD company's of the 743rd Tank Battalion would lose "only" nine tanks knocked out and one damaged during the day. Meanwhile, A Company of the 743rd Tank Battalion would lose eight tanks and six dozers as well.

By the end of D-Day the 743rd Tank Battalion could report 38 operational tanks (with one in repair). Nevertheless, the much larger numbers of tanks that made it to the beach from the 743rd Tank Battalion by all accounts proved critical in suppressing and destroying German positions. This helped the 29th Infantry Division's men to get off the beach at the D-1 Vierville draw. In addition, the 743rd Tank Battalion even took over for the missing 741st Tank Battalion's armor in helping to open the E-1 St Laurent draw off the beach.

In retrospect the decision to launch the DD tanks in the rough seas proved costly. Though the tanks delivered directly to shore by LCT also suffered losses, as shown by the 743rd Tank Battalion's experience these were not nearly as high as the near total wipeout of the 741st Tank Battalion's B and C Companies at sea. This should not take away however from the bravery of both tank battalion's crews, who contributed in no small part to D-Day's ultimate success.