Robert Lochner (engineer) major element, the Mulberry Harbour. One of the major challenges facing the D-Day landings was to secure a European port for the delivery of essential supplies, but instead of capturing an existing port, the Allies decided on an audacious plan to build temporary harbours off the coast of Normandy. The big challenge in the rough seas of the English Channel was to create a breakwater to protect the concrete landings from the vicious waves and Robert Lochner was the man chosen by Churchill to lead a group of scientists known as The Wheezers And Dodgers to solve this challenge. The
Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy D-Day landings, it is not possible to determine the exact number involved. However, it has been estimated that about 3,000 Australian military personnel and merchant seamen participated in the operation. The total number of Australians killed on 6 June was 14, of whom 12 were RAAF airmen and two were members of the RAN. The fighting in Normandy continued until August 1944, when the Allies broke out of the region and rapidly advanced to the German border. This campaign dominated the activities of eight of the ten Australian squadrons in the UK, as well as most of the airmen posted