HMNB Portsmouth the military and naval units destined for Sword Beach on the Normandy coast as a part of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944. Troops destined for each of the landing beaches left from Portsmouth aboard vessels such as the armed merchant cruisers HMCS "Prince Henry" and HMCS "Prince David", escorted by the Canadian destroyers HMCS "Algonquin" and "Sioux". The majority of the naval support for the operation left from Portsmouth, including the Mulberry Harbours. Boathouse 4 (built around the start of hostilities) contributed to the construction of landing craft and support vessels as well as more
Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy 6th Airborne Division on D-Day, and his coverage of the fighting for the BBC soon made him one of the best-known Allied war correspondents. Other Australian journalists in Normandy included John Hetherington, Geoff Hutton and Ronald Monson. Australian airmen were involved in Allied efforts to delay German reinforcements from reaching Normandy throughout June. On the night of 6/7 June, 20 Mosquitos from No. 464 Squadron were dispatched to attack German road convoys and trains in northern France. The four Australian heavy bomber squadrons also participated in raids on French towns on this night. While No. 463, No. 466 and No.