Battleships in World War II part of Operation Neptune, in support of the D-Day landings in June 1944. D-Day also saw the deliberate sacrifice of two old dreadnoughts ( and ), which were scuttled as part of the breakwater around the Allied Mulberry harbours. The sinking of "Prince of Wales" and "Repulse" off the coast of Malaya in 1941 demonstrated that even the most modern battleships could not hold off aerial attacks without decent aerial defenses. The British HACS fire control system had been rendered inoperable by the extreme heat and humidity of the Malaya tropical climate, and the anti-aircraft artillery had managed to shoot
Order of battle for the American airborne landings in Normandy Order of battle for the American airborne landings in Normandy The Order of battle for the American airborne landings in Normandy is a list of the units immediately available for combat on the Cotentin Peninsula between June 6, 1944, and June 15, 1944, during the American airborne landings in Normandy during World War II. Allied chain of command Supreme Allied Commander: Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower 21st Army Group: Gen. Sir Bernard Montgomery U.S. First Army: Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley U.S. VII Corps: Maj. Gen. J. Lawton Collins Maj. Gen. Paul L. Williams (Grantham, Lincs) Brig. Gen. Julian M. Chappell at